ALBERT

Description: While the kinematics of Anatolia plate and the North Anatolian Fault System (NAFS) has been studied extensively, the slip rate and locking depth along the NAFS are usually assumed constant in the analyses due to the lack of sufficient data. This is also partly due to the reasonably good fit of Euler small circle and partly due to the lack of spatial resolution of observations to determine slip rates independently from locking depths. On the other hand, recent geodetic studies show a contrast for locking depth between Marmara and other parts of the NAFS, implying a non-uniform locking depth across the NAFS. In this study, we analyse new GPS data and homogenously combine available data sets covering the eastern part of the NAFS to form the most complete data set. In particular, we incorporate the first results of Turkish Real-Time Kinematic GPS Network (CORS-TR) into our data set. A detailed analysis of three profiles within the NAFS reveals an increase of locking depth in the middle profile to 19.1 ± 3.4 km from 11.9 ± 3.5 km in the easternmost profile while the slip rate is nearly constant (20–22 mm yr –1 ), which implies a variation of strain rate of ~100 nanostrain yr –1 . Assuming a constant locking depth throughout whole NAFS gives an average locking depth of 14.3 ± 1.7 km. Our best estimates of slip rates in block modelling which takes the variation of locking depths into account are in the range between 22.5 and 22.8 mm yr –1 over eastern part of the NAFS.

Description: The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is one of the world's most productive regions of rhyolitic volcanism and contains the highly active Okataina Volcanic Centre (OVC). Within the TVZ, intra-arc extension is expressed as normal faulting within a zone known as the Taupo Rift. The OVC is located within a complex part of the rift, where volcanism and deformation is considered influenced by rift structure and kinematics. There has been significant research on the structural, volcanic and geophysical properties of the rift and OVC, but less focus on deformation using geodetic data. The limited studies that have utilized geodetic data do not clearly resolve the distribution of deformation and strain rates within the rift and OVC. This is essential to ensure that deformation signals from volcanic processes at the OVC are correctly identified and distinguished from those related to regional tectonic or local hydrothermal processes within the rift. In this paper, we present a picture of contemporary deformation at the OVC and within the surrounding rift in detail, using existing and new GPS campaign and continuous GPS (cGPS) data collected between 1998 and 2011. The results show a highly heterogeneous deformation and strain rate field (both extension and shortening) through the study area, partitioned into different parts of the rift. Our results agree well with earlier geodetic studies, as well as identify new features, but some deformation patterns conflict with long-term geological observations. In the OVC, we observe a locally rotated horizontal velocity field, significant vertical deformation and variable strain rates across the caldera. In the Tarawera Rift, we identify elevated extension and shear rates, which may have significant implications for volcanism there. A shortening pattern is identified through the central rift, which is unexpected in an intra-arc rifting environment. We attempt to explain the source/s of shortening and extension and discuss their implications for geodetic monitoring efforts in the OVC.

Description: The pre- and current collision of the Juan Fernández Ridge with the central Chilean margin at 31°–33°S is characterized by large-scale crustal thinning and long-term subsidence of the submarine forearc caused by subduction erosion processes. Here, we study the structure of the central Chilean margin in the ridge–trench collision zone by using wide-angle and multichannel seismic data. The transition from the upper to middle continental slope is defined by a trenchward dipping normal scarp with variable offsets of 500–2000 m height. Beneath the scarp, the 2-D velocity–depth models show a prominent lateral velocity contrast of 〉1 s –1 that propagates deep into the continental crust defining a major lateral seismic discontinuity. The discontinuity is interpreted as the lithological contact between the subsided/collapsed outermost forearc (composed of eroded and highly fractured volcanic rocks) and the seaward part of the uplifted Coastal Cordillera (made of less fractured metamorphic/igneous rocks). Extensional faults are abundant in the collapsed outermost forearc, however, landward of the continental slope scarp, both extensional and compressional structures are observed along the uplifted continental shelf that forms part of the Coastal Cordillera. Particularly, at the landward flank of the Valparaíso Forearc Basin (32°–33.5°S), shallow crustal seismicity has been recorded in 2008–2009 forming a dense cluster of thrust events of M w 4–5. The estimated hypocentres spatially correlate with the location of the fault scarp, and they highlight the upper part of the seismic crustal discontinuity.

Description: Geodetic observations of interseismic deformation in the Western United States provide constraints on microplate rotations, earthquake cycle processes, and slip partitioning across the Pacific–North America Plate boundary. These measurements may be interpreted using block models, in which the upper crust is divided into microplates bounded by faults that accumulate strain in a first-order approximation of earthquake cycle processes. The number and geometry of microplates are typically defined with boundaries representing a limited subset of the large number of potentially seismogenic faults. An alternative approach is to include a large number of potentially active faults bounding a dense array of microplates, and then algorithmically estimate the boundaries at which strain is localized. This approach is possible through the application of a total variation regularization (TVR) optimization algorithm, which simultaneously minimizes the L 2 norm of data residuals and the L 1 norm of the variation in the differential block motions. Applied to 3-D spherical block models, the TVR algorithm can be used to reduce the total variation between estimated rotation vectors, effectively grouping microplates that rotate together as larger blocks, and localizing fault slip on the boundaries of these larger block clusters. Here we develop a block model comprised of 137 microplates derived from published fault maps, and apply the TVR algorithm to identify the kinematically most important faults in the western United States. This approach reveals that of the 137 microplates considered, only 30 unique blocks are required to approximate deformation in the western United States at a residual level of 〈2 mm yr –1 .

Description: We develop and validate a systematic approach to infer plate boundary strength and rheological parameters in models of mantle flow from surface velocity observations. Based on a realistic rheological model that includes yielding and strain rate weakening from dislocation creep, we formulate the inverse problem in a Bayesian inference framework. To study the distribution of parameters that are consistent with the observations, we compute the maximum a posteriori (MAP) point, Gaussian approximations of the parameter distribution around that MAP point, and employ Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling methods. The computation of the MAP point and the Gaussian approximation require first and second derivatives of an objective function subject to non-linear Stokes equations; these derivatives are computed efficiently using adjoint Stokes equations. We set up 2-D numerical experiments with many of the elements expected in a global geophysical inversion. This setup incorporates three subduction zones with slab and weak zone (interplate fault) geometry consistent with average seismic characteristics. With these experiments, we demonstrate that when the temperature field is known, we can recover the strength of plate boundaries, the yield stress and strain rate exponent in the upper mantle. When the number of uncertain parameters increases, there are trade-offs between the inferred parameters. These trade-offs depend on how well the observational data represents the surface velocities, and on the weakness of plate boundaries. As the plate boundary coupling drops below a threshold, the uncertainty of the inferred parameters increases due to insensitivity of plate motion to plate coupling. Comparing the trade-offs between inferred rheological parameters found from the Gaussian approximation of the parameter distribution and from MCMC sampling, we conclude that the Gaussian approximation—which is significantly cheaper to compute—is often a good approximation, in particular locally around the MAP point. Thus, the method can be applied to the global problem of inferring non-linear constitutive parameters and plate coupling factors for each subduction zone in a global geophysical inversion with known slab structure.

Description: We explore thermal convection of a fluid with a temperature-dependent viscosity in a basally heated 3-D spherical shell using linear stability analyses and numerical experiments, while considering the application of our results to terrestrial planets. The inner to outer radius ratio of the shell f assumed in the linear stability analyses is in the range of 0.11–0.88. The critical Rayleigh number R c for the onset of thermal convection decreases by two orders of magnitude as f increases from 0.11 to 0.88, when the viscosity depends sensitively on the temperature, as is the case for real mantle materials. Numerical simulations carried out in the range of f  = 0.11–0.55 show that a thermal boundary layer (TBL) develops both along the surface and bottom boundaries to induce cold and hot plumes, respectively, when f is 0.33 or larger. However, for smaller f values, a TBL develops only on the bottom boundary. Convection occurs in the stagnant-lid regime where the root mean square velocity on the surface boundary is less than 1 per cent of its maximum at depth, when the ratio of the viscosity at the surface boundary to that at the bottom boundary exceeds a threshold that depends on f . The threshold decreases from 10 6.5 at f  = 0.11 to 10 4 at f  = 0.55. If the viscosity at the base of the convecting mantle is 10 20 –10 21  Pa s, the Rayleigh number exceeds R c for Mars, Venus and the Earth, but does not for the Moon and Mercury; convection is unlikely to occur in the latter planets unless the mantle viscosity is much lower than 10 20  Pa s and/or the mantle contains a strong internal heat source.

Description: Subducting oceanic lithosphere is an example of a thin sheet-like object whose characteristic lateral dimension greatly exceeds its thickness. Here we exploit this property to derive a new hybrid boundary-integral/thin sheet (BITS) representation of subduction that combines in a single equation all the forces acting on the sheet: gravity, internal resistance to bending and stretching, and the tractions exerted by the ambient mantle. For simplicity, we limit ourselves to 2-D. We solve the BITS equations using a discrete Lagrangian approach in which the sheet is represented by a set of vertices connected by edges. Instantaneous solutions for the sinking speed of a slab attached to a trailing flat sheet obey a scaling law of the form V / V Stokes  = fct(St), where V Stokes is a characteristic Stokes sinking speed and St is the sheet's flexural stiffness. Time-dependent solutions for the evolution of the sheet's shape and thickness show that these are controlled by the viscosity ratio between the sheet and its surroundings. An important advantage of the BITS approach is the possibility of generalizing the sheet's rheology, either to a viscosity that varies along the sheet or to a non-Newtonian shear-thinning rheology.

Description: The aftershock distribution of the 1933 Sanriku-oki outer trench earthquake is estimated by using modern relocation methods and a newly developed velocity structure to examine the spatial extent of the source-fault and the possibility of a triggered interplate seismicity. In this study, we first examined the regional data quality of the 1933 earthquake based on smoked-paper records and then relocated the earthquakes by using the 3-D velocity structure and double-difference method. The improvements of hypocentre locations using these methods were confirmed by the examination of recent earthquakes that are accurately located based on ocean bottom seismometer data. The results show that the 1933 aftershocks occurred under both the outer- and inner-trench-slope regions. In the outer-trench-slope region, aftershocks are distributed in a ~280-km-long area and their depths are shallower than 50 km. Although we could not constrain the fault geometry from the hypocentre distribution, the depth distribution suggests the whole lithosphere is probably not under deviatoric tension at the time of the 1933 earthquake. The occurrence of aftershocks under the inner trench slope was also confirmed by an investigation of waveform frequency difference between outer and inner trench earthquakes as recorded at Mizusawa. The earthquakes under the inner trench slope were shallow (depth less double equals30 km) and the waveforms show a low-frequency character similar to the waveforms of recent, precisely located earthquakes in the same area. They are also located where recent activity of interplate thrust earthquakes is high. These suggest that the 1933 outer-trench-slope main shock triggered interplate earthquakes, which is an unusual case in the order of occurrence in contrast with the more common pairing of a large initial interplate shock with subsequent outer-slope earthquakes. The off-trench earthquakes are distributed about 80 km width in the trench perpendicular direction. This wide width cannot be explained from a single high-angle fault confined at a shallow depth (depth less double equals50 km). The upward motion of the 1933 tsunami waveform records observed at Sanriku coast also cannot be explained from a single high-angle west-dipping normal fault. If we consider additional fault, involvement of high-angle, east-dipping normal faults can better explain the tsunami first motion and triggering of the aftershock in a wide area under the outer trench slope. Therefore multiple off-trench normal faults may have activated during the 1933 earthquake. We also relocated recent (2001–2012) seismicity by the same method. The results show that the present seismicity in the outer-trench-slope region can be divided into several groups along the trench. Comparison of the 1933 rupture dimensions based on our aftershock relocations with the morphologies of fault scarps in the outer trench slope suggest that the rupture was limited to the region where fault scarps are largely trench parallel and cross cut the seafloor spreading fabric. These findings imply that bending geometry and structural segmentation of the incoming plate largely controls the spatial extent of the 1933 seismogenic faulting. In this shallow rupture model for this largest outer trench earthquake, triggered seismicity in the forearc and structural control of faulting represent an important deformation styles for off-trench and shallow megathrust zones.

Description: Four antibiotics (pamamycin, oligomycin A, oligomycin B and echinosporin) were isolated and characterized from the fermentation broth of the marine Streptomyces strains B8496 and B8739. Bioassays revealed that each of these compounds impaired motility and caused subsequent lysis of P. viticola zoospores in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Pamamycin displayed the strongest motility inhibitory and lytic activities (IC 50 0.1 μg mL –1 ) followed by oligomycin B (IC 50 0.15 and 0.2 μg mL –1 ) and oligomycin F (IC 50 0.3 and 0.5 μg mL –1 ). Oligomycin A and echinosporin also showed motility inhibitory activities against the zoospores with IC 50 values of 3.0 and 10.0 μg mL –1 , respectively. This is the first report of motility inhibitory and lytic activities of these antibiotics against zoospores of a phytopathogenic peronosporomycete. Structures of all the isolated compounds were determined based on detailed spectroscopic analysis.

Description: In sulfidic environments, microbes oxidize reduced sulfur compounds via several pathways. We used metagenomics to investigate sulfur metabolic pathways from microbial mat communities in two subterranean sulfidic streams in Lower Kane Cave, WY, USA and from Glenwood Hot Springs, CO, USA. Both unassembled and targeted recA gene assembly analyses revealed that these streams were dominated by Epsilonproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria , including groups related to Sulfurovum , Sulfurospirillum , Thiothrix and an epsilonproteobacterial group with no close cultured relatives. Genes encoding sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (SQR) were abundant at all sites, but the specific SQR type and the taxonomic affiliation of each type differed between sites. The abundance of thiosulfate oxidation pathway genes (Sox) was not consistent between sites, although overall they were less abundant than SQR genes. Furthermore, the Sox pathway appeared to be incomplete in all samples. This work reveals both variations in sulfur metabolism within and between taxonomic groups found in these systems, and the presence of novel epsilonproteobacterial groups.

Description: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen with high resistance to a wide variety of antimicrobials. The multidrug resistance pump MexAB-OprM promotes the efflux of various antibiotics, mostly when mutations accumulate in the transcriptional regulators MexR, NalC and NalD, thereby causing MexAB-OprM overexpression. In this work, a characterization of 50 P. aeruginosa isolates obtained from Brazilian agricultural soils to determine the reasons of their resistance to aztreonam was done. The majority of the isolates showed higher aztreonam resistance than wild-type strain by MIC method. DNA sequence analysis of mexR , nalC and nalD genes from 13 of these isolates showed the amino acid substitution in NalC for all tested isolates, just one mutation was detected in MexR and none in NalD. Furthermore, an increase in the level of mexA expression by real-time RT-PCR analysis in eight isolates harboring mutations in NalC was found. Although there was not a relationship between MIC of aztreonam and the level of mexA expression, on the other hand, the results presented here suggest that novel mutations in NalC, including Arg 97 -Gly and Ala 186 -Thr, are related to MexAB-OprM overexpression causing aztreonam resistance in P. aeruginosa environmental isolates.

Description: Sedge-dominated wetlands on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau are methane emission centers. Methanotrophs at these sites play a role in reducing methane emissions, but relatively little is known about the composition of active methanotrophs in these wetlands. Here, we used DNA stable isotope probing to identify the key active aerobic methanotrophs in three sedge-dominated wetlands on the plateau. We found that Methylocystis species were active in two peatlands, Hongyuan and Dangxiong. Methylobacter species were found to be active only in Dangxiong peat. Hongyuan peat had the highest methane oxidation rate, and cross-feeding of carbon from methanotrophs to methylotrophic Hyphomicrobium species was observed. Owing to a low methane oxidation rate during the incubation, the labeling of methanotrophs in Maduo wetland samples was not detected. Our results indicate that there are large differences in the activity of methanotrophs in the wetlands of this region.

Description: Here we present the generation and function of two sets of bacterial plasmids that harbor fluorescent genes encoding either blue, cyan, yellow or red fluorescent proteins. In the first set, protein expression is controlled by the strong and constitutive nptII promoter whereas in the second set, the strong tac promoter was chosen that underlies LacI q regulation. Furthermore, the plasmids are mobilizable, contain Tn 7 transposons and a temperature-sensitive origin of replication. Using Escherichia coli S17-1 as donor strain, the plasmids allow fast and convenient Tn 7 -transposon delivery into many enterobacterial hosts, such as the here-used E. coli O157:H7. This procedure omits the need of preparing competent recipient cells and antibiotic resistances are only transiently conferred to the recipients. As the fluorescence proteins show little to no overlap in fluorescence emission, the constructs are well suited for the study of multicolored synthetic bacterial communities during biofilm production or in host colonization studies, e.g. of plant surfaces. Furthermore, tac promoter-reporter constructs allow the generation of so-called reproductive success reporters, which allow to estimate past doublings of bacterial individuals after introduction into environments, emphasizing the role of individual cells during colonization.

Description: Geodetic, geologic and palaeomagnetic data reveal that Oregon (western USA) rotates clockwise at 0.3 to 1.0° Ma –1 (relative to North America) about an axis near the Idaho–Oregon–Washington border, while northeast Washington is relatively fixed. This rotation has been going on for at least 15 Ma. The Yakima fold and thrust belt (YFTB) forms the boundary between northern Oregon and central Washington where convergence of the clockwise-rotating Oregon block is apparently accommodated. North–south shortening across the YFTB has been thought to occur in a fan-like manner, increasing in rate to the west. We obtained high-accuracy, high-density geodetic GPS measurements in 2012–2014 that are used with earlier GPS measurements from the 1990s to characterize YFTB kinematics. The new results show that the deformation associated with the YFTB starts at the Blue Mountains Anticline in northern Oregon and extends north beyond the Frenchman Hills in Washington, past the epicentre of the 1872 M w 7.0 Entiat earthquake to 49°N. The north–south strain rate across the region is 2 to 3 x 10 –9 yr –1 between the volcanic arc and the eastern edge of the YFTB (241.0°E); east of there it drops to about 10 –9 yr –1 . At the eastern boundary of the YFTB, faults and earthquake activity are truncated by a north-trending, narrow zone of deformation that runs along the Pasco Basin and Moses Lake regions near 240.9°E. This zone, abutting the Department of Energy Hanford Nuclear Reservation, accommodates about 0.5 mm yr –1 of east to northeast shortening. A similar zone of N-trending transpression is seen along 239.9°E where there is a change in the strike of the Yakima folds. The modern deformation of the YFTB is about 600 km wide from south to north and internally may be controlled by pre-existing crustal structure.

Description: The Central Anatolian orogenic plateau is represented by young volcanism, rapid plateau uplift and distinctive (past and active) tectonic deformation. In this study, we consider observational data in terms of regional present-day geodynamics in the region. The residual topography of Central Anatolia was derived to define the regional isostatic conditions according to Airy isostasy and infer the potential role of ‘dynamic topography’. 2-D thermomechanical forward models for coupled mantle-lithosphere flow/deformation were conducted along an N–S directional profile through the region (e.g. northern/Pontides, interior and southern/Taurides). These models were based on seismic tomography data that provide estimates about the present-day mantle thermal structure beneath the Anatolian plate. We compare the modelling results with calculated residual topography and independent data sets of geological deformation, gravity and high surface heat flow/widespread geothermal activity. Model results suggest that there is ~1 km of mantle flow induced dynamic topography associated with the sublithospheric flow driven by the seismically inferred mantle structure. The uprising mantle may have also driven the asthenospheric source of volcanism in the north (e.g. Galatia volcanic province) and the Cappadocia volcanic province in the south while elevating the surface in the last 10 Myr. Our dynamic topography calculations emphasize the role of vertical forcing under other orogenic plateaux underlain by relatively thin crust and low-density asthenospheric mantle.

Description: In many geological systems, inversion of density stratification sets in Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instabilities, leading to an ascent of relatively low-density materials through the high-density overburden in the form of diapirs. These diapirs often originate from dipping low-density layers. This study aims to show how the initial tilt of such source layers can control the ascent behaviour of diapirs initiated by RT instabilities. Using two-layer viscous models we produced RT instabilities in physical experiments, and investigated the effects of source-layer tilts ( β ). Our experiments suggest that these diapirs ascend with contrasting lateral spreading rates in the up and down slope directions, resulting in their axi-asymmetric geometry. However, their heads retain a circular outline on the horizontal top surface, where the upwelling axis is located away from their geometric centre in the upslope direction. In this paper, we present a series of experimental models to demonstrate the spectrum of axi-symmetric to -asymmetric geometrical transitions with increasing β . Our experiments also reveal that when β is large (〉4°) the diapirs become unstable, resulting in a continuous migration of their stems in the upslope direction. Using the volume of fluid method we ran computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations to study the underlying hydrodynamics of axi-asymmetric diapiric growth. The CFD simulations show that β 〉 0° conditions develop stronger flow vortices on the downslope side of an ascending diapir, leading to a pressure difference between the up- and downslope flanks. Such a differential pressure causes the diapir head to spread at a faster rate in the tilt direction. An estimate of the asymmetric spreading rates is given as a function of β . Our present study provides a fundamental understanding of the hydrodynamic flow structure responsible for the asymmetric growth of RT instabilities on tilted source layers, as applicable to a wide range of large-scale geological settings, such as sedimentary basins and subduction zones.

Description: The geomechanical analysis of a highly compartmentalized reservoir is performed to simulate the seafloor subsidence due to gas production. The available observations over the hydrocarbon reservoir consist of bathymetric surveys carried out before and at the end of a 10-yr production life. The main goal is the calibration of the reservoir compressibility c M , that is, the main geomechanical parameter controlling the surface response. Two conceptual models are considered: in one (i) c M varies only with the depth and the vertical effective stress (heterogeneity due to lithostratigraphic variability); in another (ii) c M varies also in the horizontal plane, that is, it is spatially distributed within the reservoir stratigraphic units. The latter hypothesis accounts for a possible partitioning of the reservoir due to the presence of sealing faults and thrusts that suggests the idea of a block heterogeneous system with the number of reservoir blocks equal to the number of uncertain parameters. The method applied here relies on an ensemble-based data assimilation (DA) algorithm (i.e. the ensemble smoother, ES), which incorporates the information from the bathymetric measurements into the geomechanical model response to infer and reduce the uncertainty of the parameter c M . The outcome from conceptual model (i) indicates that DA is effective in reducing the c M uncertainty. However, the maximum settlement still remains underestimated, while the areal extent of the subsidence bowl is overestimated. We demonstrate that the selection of the heterogeneous conceptual model (ii) allows to reproduce much better the observations thus removing a clear bias of the model structure. DA allows significantly reducing the c M uncertainty in the five blocks (out of the seven) characterized by large volume and large pressure decline. Conversely, the assimilation of land displacements only partially constrains the prior c M uncertainty in the reservoir blocks marginally contributing to the cumulative seafloor subsidence, that is, blocks with low pressure.

Description: This work aims to explore the ongoing tectonic activity of structures in the outermost sector of the Northern Apennines, which represents the active leading edge of the thrust belt and is dominated by compressive deformation. We have applied the Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) technique to obtain new insights into the present-day deformation pattern of the frontal area of the Northern Apennine. PSI has proved to be effective in detecting surface deformation of wide regions involved in low tectonic movements. We used 34 Envisat images in descending geometry over the period of time between 2004 and 2010, performing about 300 interferometric pairs. The analysis of the velocity maps and of the PSI time-series has allowed to observe ground deformation over the sector of the Po Plain between Piacenza and Reggio Emilia. The time-series of permanent GPS stations located in the study area, validated the results of the PSI technique, showing a good correlation with the PS time-series. The PS analysis reveals the occurrence of a well-known subsidence area on the rear of the Ferrara arc, mostly connected to the exploitation of water resources. In some instances, the PS velocity pattern reveals ground uplift (with mean velocities ranging from 1 to 2.8 mm yr –1 ) above active thrust-related anticlines of the Emilia and Ferrara folds, and part of the Pede-Apennine margin. We hypothesize a correlation between the observed uplift deformation pattern and the growth of the thrust-related anticlines. As the uplift pattern corresponds to known geological features, it can be used to constrain the seismo-tectonic setting, and a working hypothesis may involve that the active Emilia and Ferrara thrust folds would be characterized by interseismic periods possibly dominated by aseismic creep.

Description: Spa -typing and microarray techniques were used to study epidemiological changes in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in South-East Austria. The population structure of 327 MRSA isolated between 2002 and 2012 was investigated. MRSA was assigned to 58 different spa types and 14 different MLST CC (multilocus sequence type clonal complexes); in particular, between 2007 and 2012, an increasing diversity in MRSA clones could be observed. The most abundant clonal complex was CC5. On the respective SCC mec cassettes, the CC5 isolates differed clearly within this decade and CC5/SCC mec I, the South German MRSA, predominant in 2002, was replaced by CC5/SCC mec II, the Rhine-Hesse MRSA in 2012. Whereas in many European countries MLST CC22-MRSA (EMRSA 15, the Barnim epidemic MRSA) is predominant, this clone occurred in Austria nearly 10 years later than in neighbouring countries. CC45, the Berlin EMRSA, epidemic in Germany, was only sporadically found in South-East Austria. The Irish ST8-MRSA-II represented by spa -type t190 was frequently found in 2002 and 2007, but disappeared in 2012. Our results demonstrate clonal replacement of MRSA clones within the last years in Austria. Ongoing surveillance is warranted for detection of changes within the MRSA population.

Description: This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary fibre sources on the gut microbiota in suckling piglets, and to test the hypothesis that a moderate increase of dietary fibre may affect the gut microbiota during the suckling period. Suckling piglets were fed different fibre-containing diets or a control diet from postnatal day 7 to 22. Digesta samples from cecum, proximal colon and distal colon were used for Pig Intestinal Tract Chip analysis. The data showed that the effects of fibre-containing diet on the gut microbiota differed in the fibre source and gut location. The alfalfa diet increased Clostridium cluster XIVb and Sporobacter termitidis in the cecum compared to the pure cellulose diet. Compared to the control diet, the alfalfa diet also increased Coprococcus eutactus in the distal colon, while the pure cellulose diet decreased Eubacterium pyruvativorans in the cecum. The pure cellulose diet increased Prevotella ruminicola compared to the wheat bran diet. Interestingly, the alfalfa group had the lowest abundance of the potential pathogen Streptococcus suis in the cecum and distal colon. These results indicated that a moderate increase in dietary fibres affected the microbial composition in suckling piglets, and that the alfalfa inclusion produced some beneficial effects on the microbial communities.

Description: One function of the gut microbiota gaining recent attention, especially in herbivorous mammals and insects, is the metabolism of plant secondary metabolites (PSMs). We investigated whether this function exists within the gut communities of a specialist avian herbivore. We sequenced the cecal metagenome of the Greater Sage-Grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ), which specializes on chemically defended sagebrush ( Artemisia spp.). We predicted that the cecal metagenome of the sage-grouse would be enriched in genes associated with the metabolism of PSMs when compared to the metagenome of the domestic chicken. We found that representation of microbial genes associated with ‘xenobiotic degradation and metabolism’ was 3-fold higher in the sage-grouse cecal metagenomes when compared to that of the domestic chicken. Further, we identified a complete metabolic pathway for the degradation of phenol to pyruvate, which was not detected in the metagenomes of the domestic chicken, bovine rumen or 14 species of mammalian herbivores. Evidence of monoterpene degradation (a major class of PSMs in sagebrush) was less definitive, although we did detect genes for several enzymes associated with this process. Overall, our results suggest that the gut microbiota of specialist avian herbivores plays a similar role to the microbiota of mammalian and insect herbivores in degrading PSMs.

Description: Intracellular endosymbiotic bacteria are common and can play a crucial role for insect pathology. Therefore, such bacteria could be a potential key to our understanding of major losses of Western honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) colonies. However, the transmission and potential effects of endosymbiotic bacteria in A. mellifera and other Apis spp. are poorly understood. Here, we explore the prevalence and transmission of the genera Arsenophonus , Wolbachia , Spiroplasma and Rickettsia in Apis spp. Colonies of A. mellifera ( N = 33, with 20 eggs from worker brood cells and 100 adult workers each) as well as mated honey bee queens of A. cerana , A. dorsata and A. florea ( N = 12 each) were screened using PCR. While Wolbachia , Spiroplasma and Rickettsia were not detected, Arsenophonus spp. were found in 24.2% of A. mellifera colonies and respective queens as well as in queens of A. dorsata (8.3%) and A. florea (8.3%), but not in A. cerana . The absence of Arsenophonus spp. from reproductive organs of A. mellifera queens and surface-sterilized eggs does not support transovarial vertical transmission. Instead, horizontal transmission is most likely.

Description: In Europe, common input data types for seismic hazard evaluation include earthquake catalogues, seismic zonation models and ground motion models, all with well-constrained epistemic uncertainties. In contrast, neotectonic deformation models and their related uncertainties are rarely considered in earthquake forecasting and seismic hazard studies. In this study, for the first time in Europe, we developed a seismic hazard model based exclusively on active fault and geodynamic deformation models. We applied it to the External Dinarides, a slow-deforming fold-and-thrust belt in the Central Mediterranean. The two deformation models furnish consistent long-term earthquake rates above the M w 4.7 threshold on a latitude/longitude grid with 0.2° spacing. Results suggest that the use of deformation models is a valid alternative to empirical-statistical approaches in earthquake forecasting in slow-deforming regions of Europe. Furthermore, we show that the variability of different deformation models has a comparable effect on the peak ground motion acceleration uncertainty as do the ground motion prediction equations.

Description: An important real world application of doublet flow occurs in well design of both geothermal and hydrocarbon reservoirs. A guiding principle for fluid management of injection and extraction wells is that mass balance is commonly assumed between the injected and produced fluid. Because the doublets are considered closed loops, the injection fluid is assumed to eventually reach the producer well and all the produced fluid ideally comes from stream tubes connected to the injector of the well pair making up the doublet. We show that when an aquifer background flow occurs, doublets will rarely retain closed loops of fluid recirculation. When the far-field flow rate increases relative to the doublet's strength, the area occupied by the doublet will diminish and eventually vanishes. Alternatively, rather than using a single injector (source) and single producer (sink), a linear array of multiple injectors separated by some distance from a parallel array of producers can be used in geothermal energy projects as well as in waterflooding of hydrocarbon reservoirs. Fluid flow in such an arrangement of parallel source-sink arrays is shown to be macroscopically equivalent to that of a line doublet. Again, any far-field flow that is strong enough will breach through the line doublet, which then splits into two vortices. Apart from fundamental insight into elementary flow dynamics, our new results provide practical clues that may contribute to improve the planning and design of doublets and direct line drives commonly used for flow management of groundwater, geothermal and hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Description: Wood-rotting fungi possess remarkably diverse extracellular oxidation mechanisms, including enzymes, such as laccase and peroxidases, and Fenton chemistry. The ability to biologically drive Fenton chemistry by the redox cycling of quinones has previously been reported to be present in both ecologically diverging main groups of wood-rotting basidiomycetes. Therefore, we investigated whether it is even more widespread among fungal organisms. Screening of a diverse selection of a total of 18 ascomycetes and basidiomycetes for reduction of the model compound 2,6-dimethoxy benzoquinone revealed that all investigated strains were capable of reducing it to its corresponding hydroquinone. In a second step, depolymerization of the synthetic polymer polystyrene sulfonate was used as a proxy for quinone-dependent Fenton-based biodegradation capabilities. A diverse subset of the strains, including environmentally ubiquitous molds, white-rot fungi, as well as peatland and aquatic isolates, caused substantial depolymerization indicative for the effective employment of quinone redox cycling as biodegradation tool. Our results may also open up new paths to utilize diverse fungi for the bioremediation of recalcitrant organic pollutants.

Description: In this study, we isolated 15 endophytic fungi from five Sudanese medicinal plants. Each fungal endophytic strain was identified by sequencing of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rDNA. Ethyl acetate extracts were prepared from each endophyte cultivated in vitro and tested for their respective antibacterial activities and antiproliferative activities against human cancer cells. Antibacterial screening was carried out against two bacterial strains: Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , by the broth dilution method. Cell viability was evaluated by the MTT procedure after exposure of MCF7 breast cancer cells and HT29 or HCT116 human colon adenocarcinoma cells to each endophytic extract. Of interest, Byssochlamys spectabilis isolated from Euphorbia prostata showed cytotoxicity (IC 50 = 1.51 ± 0.2 μg mL –1 ) against MCF7 cells, but had a low effect against HT29 or HCT116 cells (IC 50 〉 20 μg mL –1 ). Cladosporium cladosporioides 2, isolated from Vernonia amygdalina leaves, showed antiproliferative activities against MCF7 cells (IC 50 = 10.5 ± 1.5 μg mL –1 ) only. On the other hand, B. spectabilis and Alternaria sp. extract had antibacterial activities against the S. aureus strain. The findings of this work revealed that endophytic fungi associated with medicinal plants from Sudan could be considered as an attractive source of new therapeutic compounds.

Description: Ice-binding proteins (IBPs), such as antifreeze proteins (AFPs) and ice-nucleating proteins (INPs), have been described in diverse cold-adapted organisms, and their potential applications in biotechnology have been recognized in various fields. Currently, both IBPs are being applied to biotechnological processes, primarily in medicine and the food industry. However, our knowledge regarding the diversity of bacterial IBPs is limited; few studies have purified and characterized AFPs and INPs from bacteria. Phenotypically verified IBPs have been described in members belonging to Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Flavobacteriia classes, whereas putative IBPs have been found in Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria and Bacilli classes. Thus, the main goal of this minireview is to summarize the current information on bacterial IBPs and their application in biotechnology, emphasizing the potential application in less explored fields such as agriculture. Investigations have suggested the use of INP-producing bacteria antagonists and AFPs-producing bacteria (or their AFPs) as a very attractive strategy to prevent frost damages in crops. UniProt database analyses of reported IBPs (phenotypically verified) and putative IBPs also show the limited information available on bacterial IBPs and indicate that major studies are required.

Description: Triazophos is a broad-spectrum and highly effective insecticide, and the residues of triazophos have been frequently detected in the environment. A triazophos-degrading bacterium, Burkholderia sp. SZL-1, was isolated from a long-term triazophos-polluted soil. Strain SZL-1 could hydrolyze triazophos to 1-phenyl-3-hydroxy-1,2,4-triazole, which was further utilized as the carbon sources for growth. The triazophos hydrolase gene trhA , cloned from strain SZL-1, was expressed and homogenously purified using Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid affinity chromatography. TrhA is 55 kDa and displays maximum activity at 25°C, pH 8.0. This enzyme still has nearly 60% activity at the range of 15°C–50°C for 30 min. TrhA was mutated by sequential error prone PCR and screened for improved activity for triazophos degradation. One purified variant protein (Val89-Gly89) named TrhA-M1 showed up to 3-fold improvement in specific activity against triazophos, and the specificity constants of K cat and K cat / K m for TrhA-M1 were improved up to 2.3- and 8.28-fold, respectively, compared to the wild-type enzyme. The results in this paper provided potential material for the contaminated soil remediation and hydrolase genetic structure research.

Description: The metal mining industry faces many large challenges in future years, among which is the increasing need to process low-grade ores as accessible higher grade ores become depleted. This is against a backdrop of increasing global demands for base and precious metals, and rare earth elements. Typically about 99% of solid material hauled to, and ground at, the land surface currently ends up as waste (rock dumps and mineral tailings). Exposure of these to air and water frequently leads to the formation of acidic, metal-contaminated run-off waters, referred to as acid mine drainage, which constitutes a severe threat to the environment. Formation of acid drainage is a natural phenomenon involving various species of lithotrophic (literally ‘rock-eating’) bacteria and archaea, which oxidize reduced forms of iron and/or sulfur. However, other microorganisms that reduce inorganic sulfur compounds can essentially reverse this process. These microorganisms can be applied on industrial scale to precipitate metals from industrial mineral leachates and acid mine drainage streams, resulting in a net improvement in metal recovery, while minimizing the amounts of leachable metals to the tailings storage dams. Here, we advocate that more extensive exploitation of microorganisms in metal mining operations could be an important way to green up the industry, reducing environmental risks and improving the efficiency and the economy of metal recovery.

Description: We estimate fluid sources around a subducted seamount along the northern Hikurangi subduction margin of New Zealand, using thermomechanical numerical modelling informed by wedge structure and porosities from multichannel seismic data. Calculated fluid sources are input into an independent fluid-flow model to explore the key controls on overpressure generation to depths of 12 km. In the thermomechanical models, sediment transport through and beneath the wedge is calculated assuming a pressure-sensitive frictional rheology. The change in porosity, pressure and temperature with calculated rock advection is used to compute fluid release from compaction and dehydration. Our calculations yield more precise information about source locations in time and space than previous averaged estimates for the Hikurangi margin. The volume of fluid release in the wedge is smaller than previously estimated from margin-averaged calculations (~14 m 3  yr –1  m –1 ), and is exceeded by fluid release from underlying (subducting) sediment (~16 m 3  yr –1  m –1 ). Clay dehydration contributes only a small quantity of fluid by volume (~2 m 3  yr –1  m –1 from subducted sediment), but the integrated effect is still significant landward of the seamount. Fluid source terms are used to estimate fluid pressures around a subducting seamount in the fluid-flow models, using subducted sediment permeability derived from porosity, and testing two end-members for décollement permeability. Models in which the décollement acts as a fluid conduit predict only moderate fluid overpressure in the wedge and subducting sediment. However, if the subduction interface becomes impermeable with depth, significant fluid overpressure develops in subducting sediment landward of the seamount. The location of predicted fluid overpressure and associated dehydration reactions is consistent with the idea that short duration, shallow, slow slip events (SSEs) landward of the seamount are caused by anomalous fluid pressures; alternatively, it may result from frictional effects of changing clay content along the subduction interface.

Description: A method is outlined by means of which it is possible to estimate high-resolution vertical displacements due to an earthquake even in the case where high-resolution topography is lacking before the earthquake. This result can be achieved by combining a highly accurate, post-event digital elevation model (DEM), for example lidar, with archived satellite imagery. The method is illustrated by calculating vertical displacements for the 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake. For this earthquake, there are both pre- and post-event lidar DEMs from which vertical displacements may also be estimated after correcting for the lateral advection of topography due to horizontal displacements. A comparison between the two means of deriving vertical displacements shows generally good agreement, with the displacements obtained using satellite imagery performing better in high relief areas. As a result of this property, we are able to trace the vertical offsets due to the El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake as the rupture jumped from the Pescadores fault to the Borrego fault in propagating through the high relief of the Sierra Cucapah.

Description: We present observations and models of the Sulaiman Range of western Pakistan that shed new light on the evolution and deformation of fold-thrust belts. Earthquake source inversions show that the seismic deformation in the range is concentrated in the thick pile of sediments overlying the underthrusting lithosphere of the Indian subcontinent. The slip vectors of the earthquakes vary in strike around the margin of the range, in tandem with the shape of the topography, suggesting that gravitational driving forces arising from the topography play an important role in governing the deformation of the region. Numerical models suggest that the active deformation, and the extreme plan-view curvature of the range, are governed by the presence of weak sediments in a pre-existing basin on the underthrusting Indian Plate. These sediments affect the stress-state in the over-riding mountain range and allow for the rapid propagation of the nose of the range and the development of extreme curvature and laterally varying surface gradients.

Description: The mechanical damage characteristics of sandstone subjected to cyclic loading is very significant to evaluate the stability and safety of deep excavation damage zones. However to date, there are very few triaxial experimental studies of sandstone under cyclic loading. Moreover, few X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) observations have been adopted to reveal the damage mechanism of sandstone under triaxial cyclic loading. Therefore, in this research, a series of triaxial cyclic loading tests and X-ray micro-CT observations were conducted to analyse the mechanical damage characteristics of sandstone with respect to different confining pressures. The results indicated that at lower confining pressures, the triaxial strength of sandstone specimens under cyclic loading is higher than that under monotonic loading; whereas at confining pressures above 20 MPa, the triaxial strength of sandstone under cyclic loading is approximately equal to that under monotonic loading. With the increase of cycle number, the crack damage threshold of sandstone first increases, and then significantly decreases and finally remains constant. Based on the damage evolution of irreversible deformation, it appears that the axial damage value of sandstone is all higher than the radial damage value before the peak strength; whereas the radial damage value is higher than the axial damage value after the peak strength. The evolution of Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of sandstone can be characterized as having four stages: (i) Stage I: material strengthening; (ii) Stage II: material degradation; (iii) Stage III: material failure and (iv) Stage IV: structure slippage. X-ray micro-CT observations demonstrated that the CT scanning surface images of sandstone specimens are consistent with actual surface crack photographs. The analysis of the cross-sections of sandstone supports that the system of crack planes under triaxial cyclic loading is much more complicated than that under triaxial monotonic loading. More axial and lateral tensile cracks were observed in the specimens under cyclic loading than under monotonic loading.

Description: We determine the deep structure of the eastern Algerian basin and its southern margin in the Annaba region (easternmost Algeria), to better constrain the plate kinematic reconstruction in this region. This study is based on new geophysical data collected during the SPIRAL cruise in 2009, which included a wide-angle, 240-km-long, onshore–offshore seismic profile, multichannel seismic reflection lines and gravity and magnetic data, complemented by the available geophysical data for the study area. The analysis and modelling of the wide-angle seismic data including refracted and reflected arrival travel times, and integrated with the multichannel seismic reflection lines, reveal the detailed structure of an ocean-to-continent transition. In the deep basin, there is an ~5.5-km-thick oceanic crust that is composed of two layers. The upper layer of the crust is defined by a high velocity gradient and P -wave velocities between 4.8 and 6.0 km s –1 , from the top to the bottom. The lower crust is defined by a lower velocity gradient and P -wave velocity between 6.0 and 7.1 km s –1 . The Poisson ratio in the lower crust deduced from S -wave modelling is 0.28, which indicates that the lower crust is composed mainly of gabbros. Below the continental edge, a typical continental crust with P -wave velocities between 5.2 and 7.0 km s –1 , from the top to the bottom, shows a gradual seaward thinning of ~15 km over an ~35-km distance. This thinning is regularly distributed between the upper and lower crusts, and it characterizes a rifted margin, which has resulted from backarc extension at the rear of the Kabylian block, here represented by the Edough Massif at the shoreline. Above the continental basement, an ~2-km-thick, pre-Messinian sediment layer with a complex internal structure is interpreted as allochthonous nappes of flysch backthrusted on the margin during the collision of Kabylia with the African margin. The crustal structure, moreover, provides evidence for Miocene emplacement of magmatic intrusions in both the deep basin and the continental margin. Based on the crustal structure, we propose that the eastern Algerian basin opened during the southeastward migration of the European forearc before the collision, along a NW–SE elongated spreading centre that ran perpendicular to the subduction trend. Such an atypical geometry is explained by the diverging directions of the subduction rollback during the backarc opening: eastward for the Corsica–Sardinia block, and southward for the Kabylian blocks. This geometry of the forearc can be interpreted as the surface expression of a slab tear at depth, which is responsible for atypical magmatism in the overlying backarc oceanic basin.

Description: In November 2010, intense seismic activity including 29 events with a magnitude above 5.0, started in the western part of the Gulf of Aden, where the structure of the oceanic spreading ridge is characterized by a series of N115°-trending slow-spreading segments set within an EW-trending rift. Using signals recorded by permanent and temporary networks in Djibouti and Yemen, we located 1122 earthquakes, with a magnitude ranging from 2.1 to 5.6 from 2010 November 1 to 2011 March 31. By looking in detail at the space–time distribution of the overall seismicity, and both the frequency and the moment tensor of large earthquakes, we re-examine the chronology of this episode. In addition, we also interpret the origin of the activity using high-resolution bathymetric data, as well as from observations of seafloor cable damage caused by high temperatures and lava flows. The analysis allows us to identify distinct active areas. First, we interpret that this episode is mainly related to a diking event along a specific ridge segment, located at E044°. In light of previous diking episodes in nearby subaerial rift segments, for which field constraints and both seismic and geodetic data exist, we interpret the space–time evolution of the seismicity of the first few days. Migration of earthquakes suggests initial magma ascent below the segment centre. This is followed by a southeastward dike propagation below the rift immediately followed by a northwestward dike propagation below the rift ending below the northern ridge wall. The cumulative seismic moment associated with this sequence reaches 9.1 x 10 17 Nm, and taking into account a very low seismic versus geodetic moment, we estimate a horizontal opening of ~0.58–2.9 m. The seismic activity that followed occurred through several bursts of earthquakes aligned along the segment axis, which are interpreted as short dike intrusions implying fast replenishment of the crustal magma reservoir feeding the dikes. Over the whole period, the opening is estimated to be ~1.76–8.8 m across the segment. A striking feature of this episode is that the seismicity remained confined within one individual segment, whereas the adjacent en-echelon segments were totally quiescent, suggesting that the magma supply system of one segment is disconnected from those of the neighbouring segments. Second, we identify activity induced by the first intrusion with epicentres aligned along an N035°E-trending, ~30 km long at the northwestern end of the active opening segment. This group encompasses more than seven earthquakes with magnitude larger than 5.0, and with strike-slip focal mechanisms consistent with the faults identified in the bathymetry and the structural pattern of the area. We propose that a transform fault is currently in formation which indicates an early stage of the ridge segmentation, at the locus of the trend change of the spreading ridge, which also corresponds to the boundary between a clear oceanic lithosphere and the zone of transform between continental and oceanic crust.

Description: We challenge the perspective that seismicity could contribute to polar motion by arguing quantitatively that, in first approximation and on the average, interseismic deformations can compensate for it. This point is important because what we must simulate and observe in Earth Orientation Parameter time-series over intermediate timescales of decades or centuries is the residual polar motion resulting from the two opposing processes of coseismic and interseismic deformations. In this framework, we first simulate the polar motion caused by only coseismic deformations during the longest period available of instrumental seismicity, from 1900 to present, using both the CMT and ISC-GEM catalogues. The instrumental seismicity covering a little longer than one century does not represent yet the average seismicity that we should expect on the long term. Indeed, although the simulation shows a tendency to move the Earth rotation pole towards 133°E at the average rate of 16.5 mm yr –1 , this trend is still sensitive to individual megathrust earthquakes, particularly to the 1960 Chile and 1964 Alaska earthquakes. In order to further investigate this issue, we develop a global seismicity model (GSM) that is independent from any earthquake catalogue and that describes the average seismicity along plate boundaries on the long term by combining information about present-day plate kinematics with the Anderson theory of faulting, the seismic moment conservation principle and a few other assumptions. Within this framework, we obtain a secular polar motion of 8 mm yr –1 towards 112.5°E that is comparable with that estimated from 1900 to present using the earthquake catalogues, although smaller by a factor of 2 in amplitude and different by 20° in direction. Afterwards, in order to reconcile the idea of a secular polar motion caused by earthquakes with our simplest understanding of the seismic cycle, we adapt the GSM in order to account for interseismic deformations and we use it to quantify, for the first time ever, their contribution to polar motion. Taken together, coseismic and interseismic deformations make the rotation pole wander around the north pole with maximum polar excursions of about 1 m. In particular, the rotation pole moves towards about Newfoundland when the interseismic contribution dominates over the coseismic ones (i.e. during phases of low seismicity or, equivalently, when most of the fault system associated with plate boundaries is locked). When megathrust earthquakes occur, instead, the rotation pole is suddenly shifted in an almost opposite direction, towards about 133°E.

Description: While elasticity is a defining characteristic of the Earth's lithosphere, it is often ignored in numerical models of long-term tectonic processes in favour of a simpler viscoplastic description. Here we assess the consequences of this assumption on a well-studied geodynamic problem: the growth of normal faults at an extensional plate boundary. We conduct 2-D numerical simulations of extension in elastoplastic and viscoplastic layers using a finite difference, particle-in-cell numerical approach. Our models simulate a range of faulted layer thicknesses and extension rates, allowing us to quantify the role of elasticity on three key observables: fault-induced topography, fault rotation, and fault life span. In agreement with earlier studies, simulations carried out in elastoplastic layers produce rate-independent lithospheric flexure accompanied by rapid fault rotation and an inverse relationship between fault life span and faulted layer thickness. By contrast, models carried out with a viscoplastic lithosphere produce results that may qualitatively resemble the elastoplastic case, but depend strongly on the product of extension rate and layer viscosity U x L . When this product is high, fault growth initially generates little deformation of the footwall and hanging wall blocks, resulting in unrealistic, rigid block-offset in topography across the fault. This configuration progressively transitions into a regime where topographic decay associated with flexure is fully accommodated within the numerical domain. In addition, high U x L favours the sequential growth of multiple short-offset faults as opposed to a large-offset detachment. We interpret these results by comparing them to an analytical model for the fault-induced flexure of a thin viscous plate. The key to understanding the viscoplastic model results lies in the rate-dependence of the flexural wavelength of a viscous plate, and the strain rate dependence of the force increase associated with footwall and hanging wall bending. This behaviour produces unrealistic deformation patterns that can hinder the geological relevance of long-term rifting models that assume a viscoplastic rheology.

Description: Steady plate subduction elastically brings about permanent lithospheric deformation in island arcs, though this effect has been neglected in most studies based on elastic dislocation theory. We investigate the characteristics of the permanent lithospheric deformation using a kinematic model, in which steady slip motion is given along a plate interface in the elastic lithosphere overlying the viscoelastic asthenosphere under gravity. As a rule of thumb, long-term lithospheric deformation can be understood as a bending of an elastic plate floating on non-viscous fluid, because the asthenosphere behaves like water on the long term. The steady slip below the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary does not contribute to long-term lithospheric deformation. Hence, the key parameters that control the lithospheric deformation are only the thickness of the lithosphere and the geometry of the plate interface. Slip on a plate interface generally causes substantial vertical displacement, and gravity always tries to retrieve the original gravitational equilibrium. For a curved plate interface gravity causes convex upward bending of the island-arc lithosphere, while for a planar plate interface gravity causes convex downward bending. Larger curvature and thicker lithosphere generally results in larger deformation. When the curvature changes along the plate interface, internal deformation is also involved intrinsically, which modifies the deformation field due to gravity. Because the plate interface generally has some curvature, at least near the trench, convex upward bending of the island-arc lithosphere, which involves uplift of island-arc and subsidence around the trench, is always realized. On the other hand, the deformation field of the island-arc lithosphere sensitively depends on lithospheric thickness and plate interface geometry. These characteristics obtained by the numerical simulation are consistent with observed topography and free-air gravity anomalies in subduction zones: a pair of topography and gravity anomalies, high in the arc and low around the trench, is observed without exceptions all over the world, while there are large variety in the amplitude and horizontal scale of the topography and gravity anomalies.

Description: Differential inhibitors are important for measuring the relative contributions of microbial groups, such as ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), to biogeochemical processes in environmental samples. In particular, 2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl 3-oxide (PTIO) represents a nitric oxide scavenger used for the specific inhibition of AOA, implicating nitric oxide as an intermediate of thaumarchaeotal ammonia oxidation. This study investigated four alternative nitric oxide scavengers for their ability to differentially inhibit AOA and AOB in comparison to PTIO. Caffeic acid, curcumin, methylene blue hydrate and trolox were tested on Nitrosopumilus maritimus , two unpublished AOA representatives (AOA-6f and AOA-G6) as well as the AOB representative Nitrosomonas europaea . All four scavengers inhibited ammonia oxidation by AOA at lower concentrations than for AOB. In particular, differential inhibition of AOA and AOB by caffeic acid (100 μM) and methylene blue hydrate (3 μM) was comparable to carboxy-PTIO (100 μM) in pure and enrichment culture incubations. However, when added to aquarium sponge biofilm microcosms, both scavengers were unable to inhibit ammonia oxidation consistently, likely due to degradation of the inhibitors themselves. This study provides evidence that a variety of nitric oxide scavengers result in differential inhibition of ammonia oxidation in AOA and AOB, and provides support to the proposed role of nitric oxide as a key intermediate in the thaumarchaeotal ammonia oxidation pathway.

Description: Resveratrol is a well-known triphenolic natural product present in red wine. For its contribution to human health, the demand for resveratrol as a food and nutrition supplement has increased significantly. In recent years, the rapid development of synthetic biology has promoted extensive work to increase the production of resveratrol in microbes. However, supplementation of expensive phenylpropanoic precursors was required in current engineered strains. Here, we first utilized the site-specific integration strategy to produce resveratrol in Escherichia coli . The genes tal , 4cl and sts were site-specific integrated into the loci of genes tyrR and trpED in the chromosome of E. coli BW25113 (DE3). The final strain was capable of producing 4.612 mg L –1 of resveratrol from glucose.

Description: While extensively studied in several model organisms, the role of small, non-coding RNAs in the stress response remains largely unexplored in Clostridium organisms. About 100 years after the first industrial Acetone–Butanol–Ethanol fermentation process, based on the Weizmann Clostridium acetobutylicum strain, strain tolerance to butanol remains a crucial factor limiting the economics of the process. Several studies have examined the response of this organism to metabolite stress, and several genes have been engaged to impart enhanced tolerance, but no sRNAs have yet been directly engaged in this task. We show that the two stress-responsive sRNAs, 6S and tmRNA, upon overexpression impart tolerance to butanol as assessed by viability assays under process-relevant conditions. 6S overexpression enhances cell densities as well as butanol titres. We discuss the likely mechanisms that these two sRNAs might engage in this tolerance phenotype. Our data support the continued exploration of sRNAs as a basis for engineering enhanced tolerance and enhanced solvent production, especially because sRNA-based strategies impose a minimal metabolic burden on the cells.

Description: We investigate the influence of the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) on the deformation at the surface and at seismogenic depths in Fennoscandia. The surface strain rate field, derived from geodetic data, is controlled by GIA which causes NW–SE extension of up to 4  x  10 –9  yr –1 in most of mainland Fennoscandia, surrounded by regions of radial shortening towards the centre of uplift. The seismic deformation field, derived from a new compilation of focal mechanisms, shows consistent NW–SE compression on the Norwegian continental margin and a tendency towards tension in mainland Fennoscandia. The seismic moment rate is at least two orders of magnitude smaller than the geodetic moment rate. We propose that the low level of seismicity and the tendency towards tensional focal mechanisms in mainland Fennoscandia may be explained by the destructive interference of the regional stress from ridge push with the flexural stress due to GIA.

Description: New Guinea is a region characterized by rapid oblique convergence between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates. The detailed tectonics of the region, including the partitioning of relative block motions and fault slip rates within this complex boundary plate boundary zone are still not well understood. In this study, we quantify the distribution of the deformation throughout the central and western parts of Papua New Guinea (PNG) using 20 yr of GPS data (1993–2014). We use an elastic block model to invert the regional GPS velocities as well as earthquake slip vectors for the location and rotation rates of microplate Euler poles as well as fault slip parameters in the region. Convergence between the Pacific and the Australian plates is accommodated in northwestern PNG largely by the New Guinea Trench with rates exceeding 90 mm yr –1 , indicating that this is the major active interplate boundary. However, some convergent deformation is partitioned into a shear component with ~12 per cent accommodated by the Bewani-Torricelli fault zone and the southern Highlands Fold-and-Thrust Belt. New GPS velocities in the eastern New Guinea Highlands region have led to the identification of the New Guinea Highlands and the Papuan Peninsula being distinctly different blocks, separated by a boundary through the Aure Fold-and-Thrust Belt complex which accommodates an estimated 4–5 mm yr –1 of left-lateral and 2–3 mm yr –1 of convergent motion. This implies that the Highlands Block is rotating in a clockwise direction relative to the rigid Australian Plate, consistent with the observed transition to left-lateral strike-slip regime observed in western New Guinea Highlands. We find a better fit of our block model to the observed velocities when assigning the current active boundary between the Papuan Peninsula and the South Bismark Block to be to the north of the city of Lae on the Gain Thrust, rather than on the more southerly Ramu-Markham fault as previously thought. This may indicate a temporary shift of activity onto out of sequence thrusts like the Gain Thrust as opposed to the main frontal thrust (the Ramu-Markham fault). In addition, we show that the southern Highlands Fold-and-Thrust Belt is the major boundary between the rigid Australian Plate and the New Guinea Highlands Block, with convergence occurring at rates between ~6 and 13 mm yr –1 .

Description: We examine the geodetically derived rotational variations for the rate of change of degree-two harmonics of Earth's geopotential, $\skew5\dot J_2$ , and true polar wander, combining a recent melting model of glaciers and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets taken from the IPCC 2013 Report (AR5) with two representative GIA ice models describing the last deglaciation, ICE5G and the ANU model developed at the Australian National University. Geodetically derived observations of $\skew4\dot J_2$ are characterized by temporal changes of –(3.7 ± 0.1)  x 10 –11 yr –1 for the period 1976–1990 and –(0.3 ± 0.1)  x 10 –11 yr –1 after ~2000. The AR5 results make it possible to evaluate the recent melting of the major ice sheets and glaciers for three periods, 1900–1990, 1991–2001 and after 2002. The observed $\skew4\dot J_2$ and the component of $\skew4\dot J_2$ due to recent melting for different periods indicate a long-term change in $\skew4\dot J_2$ —attributed to the Earth's response to the last glacial cycle—of –(6.0–6.5)  x 10 –11 yr –1 , significantly different from the values adopted to infer the viscosity structure of the mantle in most previous studies. This is a main conclusion of this study. We next compare this estimate with the values of $\skew4\dot J_2$ predicted by GIA ice models to infer the viscosity structure of the mantle, and consequently obtain two permissible solutions for the lower mantle viscosity ( lm ), ~10 22 and (5–10)  x 10 22 Pa s, for both adopted ice models. These two solutions are largely insensitive to the lithospheric thickness and upper mantle viscosity as indicated by previous studies and relatively insensitive to the viscosity structure of the D '' layer. The ESL contributions from the Antarctic ice sheet since the last glacial maximum (LGM) for ICE5G and ANU are about 20 and 30 m, respectively, but glaciological reconstructions of the Antarctic LGM ice sheet have suggested that its ESL contribution may have been less than ~10 m. The GIA-induced $\skew4\dot J_2$ for GIA ice models with an Antarctic ESL component of ~10 m suggests two permissible lower mantle viscosity solutions of lm ~ 2  x 10 22 and ~5  x 10 22 Pa s or one solution with (2–5)  x 10 22 Pa s. These results suggest that the effective lower mantle viscosity is larger than ~10 22 Pa s regardless of the uncertainties for an Antarctic ESL component. We also examine the polar wander due to recent melting and GIA processes, suggesting that the observed polar wander may be significantly attributed to convection motions in the mantle and/or another cause, particularly for permissible lower mantle viscosity solution of (5–10)  x 10 22 Pa s.

Description: In this work, we test the analysis of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) for the study of diapirs in the Naval salt wall that is located in the western end of the South Pyrenean Central Unit. Two hundred eighty-six specimens from 30 sites were sampled in the mobilized Middle-Upper Triassic evaporites and shales that constitute the core of this diapir. Resulting magnetic ellipsoids are mostly oblate and scalar parameters are similar to those found in weakly deformed, sedimentary rocks. From the observation of samples and thin sections, magnetic fabrics can be related to petrofabric: magnetic foliation corresponds to flattening or shear planes and magnetic lineation to flow/shear direction, elongation of grains or tight microfolds. The magnetic foliation shows a roughly circular pattern with shallow dips and some deflections due to Pyrenean structures. Magnetic lineations show a slightly dominant NE–SW trend and shallow plunges. Magnetic lineations and foliations are consistent with the theoretical pattern expected at the roof of a vertically grown salt wall, thus supporting that magnetic fabrics registered evaporitic flow at late stages of diapiric growth. We demonstrate that AMS is an efficient and promising tool to define diapiric flow where tectonic fabric cannot be directly measured. Knowledge of the geometry and internal deformation of the diapiric body helps to minimize ambiguities in the interpretation of magnetic fabrics in terms of internal deformation.

Description: Several large earthquakes in the Hellenic subduction zone have been documented in historical records from around the eastern Mediterranean, but the relative seismic quiescence of the region over the period of instrumental observation means that the exact locations of these earthquakes and their tectonic significance are not known. We present AMS radiocarbon dates from uplifted late Holocene palæoshorelines from the island of Rhodes, showing that uplift is most consistent with a single large ( M W  ≥ 7.7) reverse-faulting earthquake between about 2000 BC and 200 BC. Analysis of the uplift treating the earthquake as a dislocation in an elastic half-space shows a predominantly reverse-faulting event with a slip vector oblique to the direction of convergence between Rhodes and Nubia. We suggest that the fault responsible for the uplift dips at an angle of 30–60° above the more gently dipping oblique subduction interface. The highly oblique convergence across the eastern Hellenic plate boundary zone appears to be partitioned into reverse slip on faults that strike parallel to the boundary and strike-parallel or oblique slip on the subduction interface. Hydrodynamical simulation of tsunami propagation from a range of tectonically plausible sources suggests that earthquakes on the fault uplifting Rhodes represent a significant tsunami hazard for Rhodes and SW Turkey, and also possibly for Cyprus and the Nile Delta.

Description: Reconstructions of the history of convergence between the Nubia and Eurasia plates constitute an important part of a broader framework for understanding deformation in the Mediterranean region and the closing of the Mediterranean Basin. Herein, we combine high-resolution reconstructions of Eurasia-North America and Nubia-North America Plate motions to determine rotations that describe Nubia-Eurasia Plate motion at ~1 Myr intervals for the past 20 Myr. We apply trans-dimensional hierarchical Bayesian inference to the Eurasia-North America and Nubia-North America rotation sequences in order to reduce noise in the newly estimated Nubia-Eurasia rotations. The noise-reduced rotation sequences for the Eurasia-North America and Nubia-North America Plate pairs describe remarkably similar kinematic histories since 20 Ma, consisting of relatively steady seafloor spreading from 20 to 8 Ma, ~20 per cent opening-rate slowdowns at 8–6.5 Ma, and steady plate motion from ~7 Ma to the present. Our newly estimated Nubia-Eurasia rotations predict that convergence across the central Mediterranean Sea slowed by ~50 per cent and rotated anticlockwise after ~25 Ma until 13 Ma. Motion since 13 Ma has remained relatively steady. An absence of evidence for a significant change in motion immediately before or during the Messinian Salinity Crisis at 6.3–5.6 Ma argues against a change in plate motion as its causative factor. The detachment of the Arabian Peninsula from Africa at 30–24 Ma may have triggered the convergence rate slowdown before 13 Ma; however, published reconstructions of Nubia-Eurasia motion for times before 20 Ma are too widely spaced to determine with confidence whether the two are correlated. A significant discrepancy between our new estimates of Nubia-Eurasia motion during the past few Myr and geodetic estimates calls for further investigation.

Description: The Yellowstone–East Snake River Plain hotspot track has been intensely studied since several decades and is widely considered to result from the interaction of a mantle plume with the North American plate. An integrated conclusive geodynamic interpretation of this extensive data set is however presently still lacking, and our knowledge of the dynamical processes beneath Yellowstone is patchy. It has been argued that the Yellowstone plume has delaminated the lower part of the thick Wyoming cratonic lithosphere. We derive an original dynamic model to quantify delamination processes related to mantle plume–lithosphere interactions. We show that fast (~300 ka) lithospheric delamination is consistent with the observed timing of formation of successive volcanic centres along the Yellowstone hotspot track and requires (i) a tensile stress regime within the whole lithosphere exceeding its failure threshold, (ii) a purely plastic rheology in the lithosphere when stresses reach this yield limit, (iii) a dense lower part of the 200 km thick Wyoming lithosphere and (iv) a decoupling melt horizon inside the median part of the lithosphere. We demonstrate that all these conditions are verified and that ~150 km large and ~100 km thick lithospheric blocks delaminate within 300 ka when the Yellowstone plume ponded below the 200 km thick Wyoming cratonic lithosphere. Furthermore, we take advantage of the available extensive regional geophysical and geological observation data sets to design a numerical 3-D upper-mantle convective model. We propose a map of the ascending convective sheets contouring the Yellowstone plume. The model further evidences the development of a counter-flow within the lower part of the lithosphere centred just above the Yellowstone mantle plume axis. This counter-flow controls the local lithospheric stress field, and as a result the trajectories of feeder dykes linking the partial melting source within the core of the mantle plume with the crust by crosscutting the lithospheric mantle. This counter-flow further explains the 50 km NE shift observed between the mantle plume axis and the present-day Yellowstone Caldera as well as the peculiar shaped crustal magma chambers.

Description: We present source models for the August 2014 Murmuri (Dehloran) earthquake sequence in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. An M w 6.2 mainshock was followed by an aftershock sequence containing five events of M w ≥ 5.4. Models of P and SH waveforms show that all events had dominantly thrust-faulting mechanisms, and had centroid depths that place them within the thick sedimentary sequence, above the crystalline basement. The combination of our estimated focal mechanisms, relative relocations of the event hypocentres and the surface displacement patterns observed using InSAR imply that the mainshock and largest aftershock ruptured different fault planes and both contributed to the surface deformation. The fault planes both slipped in horizontally elongated patches, possibly due to rheological layering limiting the updip and downdip extent of rupture. The slip vector of the Murmuri mainshock implies that the decollement beneath the Lorestan Arc is weaker than any such feature beneath the Dezful Embayment, providing an explanation for the plan-view sinuosity of the range-front of the Zagros Mountains.

Description: Displacements and stress-field changes associated with earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides and human activity are often simulated using numerical models in an attempt to understand the underlying processes and their governing physics. The application of elastic dislocation theory to these problems, however, may be biased because of numerical instabilities in the calculations. Here, we present a new method that is free of artefact singularities and numerical instabilities in analytical solutions for triangular dislocations (TDs) in both full-space and half-space. We apply the method to both the displacement and the stress fields. The entire 3-D Euclidean space $\mathbb {R}^{3}$ is divided into two complementary subspaces, in the sense that in each one, a particular analytical formulation fulfils the requirements for the ideal, artefact-free solution for a TD. The primary advantage of the presented method is that the development of our solutions involves neither numerical approximations nor series expansion methods. As a result, the final outputs are independent of the scale of the input parameters, including the size and position of the dislocation as well as its corresponding slip vector components. Our solutions are therefore well suited for application at various scales in geoscience, physics and engineering. We validate the solutions through comparison to other well-known analytical methods and provide the MATLAB codes.

Description: Using dynamic rupture models of a right-lateral fault embedded in an elastic or elastoplastic 3-D medium, we investigate elastic and inelastic responses of compliant fault zones to nearby earthquake ruptures. We particularly examine effects of fault zone depth, width, shape and rigidity reduction on the surface displacement field. Our results from elastic models show that deeper and wider fault zones generally result in larger residual displacements. However, for shallow fault zones, the vertical residual displacement is insensitive to or even decreases with fault zone width. The width of horizontal displacement anomalies across a fault zone is only indicative of the fault zone width near the Earth's surface. There are trade-off effects among fault zone depth, width, shape and rigidity reduction on the amplitude of surface residual displacements. Our elastoplastic models show that plastic strain can occur along the entire fault zone near the Earth's surface and in the extensional quadrant at depth, if fault zone rocks are close to failure before a nearby earthquake happens. Compared with results from elastic models, plastic strain near the Earth's surface generally enhances surface displacements of a fault zone and does not change the trend of effects of fault zone depth and width, while plastic strain at depth can result in reduced retrograde motion or sympathetic motion across the fault zone, and introduce complexities in effects of fault zone depth and width. Sympathetic horizontal motion more likely occurs across a narrow fault zone with inelastic response at depth. Vertical motion in the extensional quadrant may actually decrease with fault zone width in elastoplastic models. Sympathetic horizontal motion, or small retrograde horizontal motion in conjunction with large vertical motion above a fault zone is indicative of inelastic response of a fault zone at depth.

Description: Models of the glacial isostatic adjustment process, which is dominated by the influence of the Late Pleistocene cycle of glaciation and deglaciation, depend on two fundamental inputs: a history of ice-sheet loading and a model of the radial variation of mantle viscosity. These models may be tested and refined by comparing their local predictions of relative sea level history to geological inferences based upon appropriate sea level indicators. The U.S. Atlantic coast is a region of particular interest in this regard, due to the fact that data from the length of this coast provides a transect of the forebulge associated with the former Laurentide ice sheet. High-quality relative sea level histories from this region are employed herein to explore the ability of current models of mantle viscosity to explain the inferred evolution of relative sea level that have accompanied forebulge collapse following deglaciation. Existing misfits are characterized, and alternatives are explored for their reconciliation. It is demonstrated that a new model of mantle viscosity, referred to herein as VM6, when coupled with the latest model of deglaciation history ICE-6G_C, is able to eliminate the majority of these misfits, while continuing to reconcile a wide range of other important geophysical observables, as well as additional relative sea level data from the North American. West coast which also record the collapse of the forebulge but which have not been employed in tuning the viscosity profile to enable ICE-6G_C (VM6) to fit the East coast data set.

Description: Ten indole alkaloids were obtained from the marine sponge-associated fungus Neosartorya siamensis KUFA 0017. We studied the antimicrobial properties of these and of three other compounds previously isolated from the soil fungus N. siamensis KUFC 6349. Only neofiscalin A showed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE); with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 8 μg mL –1 against both strains. Another compound, fiscalin C, presented synergistic activity against MRSA when combined with oxacillin, although alone showed no antibacterial effect. Moreover, neofiscalin A, when present at sub-MICs, hampered the ability of both MRSA and VRE strains to form a biofilm. Additionally, the biofilm inhibitory concentration values of neofiscalin A against the MRSA and VRE isolates were 96 and 80 μg mL –1 , respectively. At a concentration of 200 μg mL –1 , neofiscalin A was able to reduce the metabolic activity of the biofilms by ~50%. One important fact is that our results also showed that neofiscalin A had no cytotoxicity against a human brain capillary endothelial cell line.

Description: Peatlands of all latitudes play an integral role in global climate change by serving as a carbon sink and a primary source of atmospheric methane; however, the microbial ecology of mid-latitude peatlands is vastly understudied. Herein, next generation Illumina amplicon sequencing of small subunit rRNA genes was utilized to elucidate the microbial communities in three southern Appalachian peatlands. In contrast to northern peatlands, Proteobacteria dominated over Acidobacteria in all three sites. An average of 11 bacterial phyla was detected at relative abundance values 〉1%, with three candidate divisions (OP3, WS3 and NC10) represented, indicating high phylogenetic diversity. Physiological traits of isolates within the candidate alphaproteobacterial order, Ellin 329, obtained here and in previous studies indicate that bacteria of this order may be involved in hydrolysis of poly-, di- and monosaccharides. Community analyses indicate that Ellin 329 is the third most abundant order and is most abundant near the surface layers where plant litter decomposition should be primarily occurring. In sum, members of Ellin 329 likely play important roles in organic matter decomposition, in southern Appalachian peatlands and should be investigated further in other peatlands and ecosystem types.

Description: Marine viruses are the most abundant biological entity in the oceans, the majority of which infect bacteria and are known as bacteriophages. Yet, the bulk of bacteriophages form part of the vast uncultured dark matter of the microbial biosphere. In spite of the paucity of cultured marine bacteriophages, it is known that marine bacteriophages have major impacts on microbial population structure and the biogeochemical cycling of key elements. Despite the ecological relevance of marine bacteriophages, there are relatively few isolates with complete genome sequences. This minireview focuses on knowledge gathered from these genomes put in the context of viral metagenomic data and highlights key advances in the field, particularly focusing on genome structure and auxiliary metabolic genes.

Description: The fynbos biome in South Africa is globally recognised as a plant biodiversity hotspot. However, very little is known about the bacterial communities associated with fynbos plants, despite interactions between primary producers and bacteria having an impact on the physiology of both partners and shaping ecosystem diversity. This study reports on the structure, phylogenetic composition and potential roles of the endophytic bacterial communities located in the stems of three fynbos plants ( Erepsia anceps , Phaenocoma prolifera and Leucadendron laureolum ). Using Illumina MiSeq 16S rRNA sequencing we found that different subpopulations of Deinococcus-Thermus, Alphaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Firmicutes dominated the endophytic bacterial communities. Alphaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria were prevalent in P. prolifera , whereas Deinococcus-Thermus dominated in L. laureolum , revealing species-specific host–bacteria associations. Although a high degree of variability in the endophytic bacterial communities within hosts was observed, we also detected a core microbiome across the stems of the three plant species, which accounted for 72% of the sequences. Altogether, it seems that both deterministic and stochastic processes shaped microbial communities. Endophytic bacterial communities harboured putative plant growth-promoting bacteria, thus having the potential to influence host health and growth.

Description: During unconventional protein secretion (UPS), proteins do not pass through the classical endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–Golgi-dependent pathway, but are transported to the cell membrane via alternative routes. One type of UPS is dependent on several autophagy-related (Atg) proteins in yeast and mammalian cells, but mechanisms for unconventional secretion are largely unknown for filamentous fungi. In this study, we investigated whether the autophagy machinery is used for UPS in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger . An aspartic protease, which we called PepN, was identified as being likely to be secreted unconventionally, as this protein is highly abundant in culture filtrates during carbon starvation while it lacks a conventional N-terminal secretion sequence. We analysed the presence of PepN in the culture filtrates of carbon starved wild-type, atg1 and atg8 deletion mutant strains by Western blot analysis and by secretome analysis using nanoLC-ESI-MS/MS (wild-type and atg8 deletion mutant). Besides the presence of carbohydrate-active enzymes and other types of proteases, PepN was abundantly found in culture filtrates of both wild-type and atg deletion strains, indicating that the secretion of PepN is independent of the autophagy machinery in A. niger and hence most likely occurs via a different mechanism.

Description: In the context of the 2014 realization of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame, the International DORIS (Doppler Orbitography Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite) Service (IDS) has delivered to the IERS a set of 1140 weekly SINEX files including station coordinates and Earth orientation parameters, covering the time period from 1993.0 to 2015.0. From this set of weekly SINEX files, the IDS combination centre estimated a cumulative DORIS position and velocity solution to obtain mean horizontal and vertical motion of 160 stations at 71 DORIS sites. The main objective of this study is to validate the velocities of the DORIS sites by comparison with external models or time-series. Horizontal velocities are compared with two recent global plate models (GEODVEL 2010 and NNR-MORVEL56). Prior to the comparisons, DORIS horizontal velocities were corrected for Global Isostatic Adjustment from the ICE-6G (VM5a) model. For more than half of the sites, the DORIS horizontal velocities differ from the global plate models by less than 2–3 mm yr –1 . For five of the sites (Arequipa, Dionysos/Gavdos, Manila and Santiago) with horizontal velocity differences with respect to these models larger than 10 mm yr –1 , comparisons with GNSS estimates show the veracity of the DORIS motions. Vertical motions from the DORIS cumulative solution are compared with the vertical velocities derived from the latest GPS cumulative solution over the time span 1995.0–2014.0 from the University of La Rochelle solution at 31 co-located DORIS-GPS sites. These two sets of vertical velocities show a correlation coefficient of 0.83. Vertical differences are larger than 2 mm yr –1 at 23 percent of the sites. At Thule, the disagreement is explained by fine-tuned DORIS discontinuities in line with the mass variations of outlet glaciers. Furthermore, the time evolution of the vertical time-series from the DORIS station in Thule show similar trends to the GRACE equivalent water height.

Description: We have used ensemble averages of satellite-derived free-air gravity anomaly data, together with inverse modelling techniques, to determine the effective elastic thickness, T e , of circum-Pacific subducting oceanic lithosphere and its relationship to plate age. Synthetic modelling tests show that T e can be recovered best using gravity anomaly, rather than bathymetry, data and profiles that are at least 750 km long. Inverse modelling based on a uniform T e elastic plate suggests that T e increases with age of the subducting oceanic lithosphere and is given approximately by the depth to the 390 ± 10 °C oceanic isotherm based on a cooling plate model. Misfits between the observed and calculated gravity anomalies are significantly improved if a mechanically weak zone is included between the trench axis and the outer rise. This weak zone is coincident with observations of bend-faulting and seismicity. Inverse modelling shows that T e landward of the outer rise is generally 40–65 per cent less than the T e seaward of the outer rise. Both landward and seaward T e increases with age of the lithosphere and are given by the depth to the 342–349 °C and 671–714 °C oceanic isotherm, respectively. A dependence of T e on age is consistent with models for the cooling of oceanic lithosphere as it moves away from a mid-ocean ridge and the temperature-dependent ductile creep of oceanic lithospheric minerals such as olivine. By comparing the observed T e to the predicted T e based on laboratory-derived yield strength envelopes and an assumption of elastic-perfectly plastic deformation, we have attempted to constrain the rheology of oceanic lithosphere. Regardless of the assumed friction coefficient, the dry-olivine low-temperature plasticity flow laws of Goetze, Evans & Goetze, Raterron et al . and Mei et al . all provide quite a good fit to the observed T e at circum-Pacific subduction zones. This result contrasts with the Hawaiian Islands, where these flow laws are generally too strong to fit the observations. The discrepancy in rheology within Pacific plate may be caused by differences in the timescale of loading and therefore the amount of viscoelastic stress relaxation that has occurred. Other possibilities include thermal rejuvenation and magma-assisted flexure at the Hawaiian Islands.

Description: Large gaps and inconsistencies remain in published estimates of Nubia–Somalia plate motion based on reconstructions of seafloor spreading data around Africa. Herein, we use newly available reconstructions of the Southwest Indian Ridge at ~1-Myr intervals since 20 Ma to estimate Nubia–Somalia plate motion farther back in time than previously achieved and with an unprecedented degree of temporal resolution. At the northern end of the East African rift, our new estimates of Nubia–Somalia motion for six times from 0.78 Ma to 5.2 Ma differ by only 2 per cent from the rift-normal component of motion that is extrapolated from a recently estimated GPS angular velocity. The rate of rift-normal extension thus appears to have remained steady since at least 5.2 Ma. Our new rotations indicate that the two plates have moved relative to each other since at least 16 Ma and possibly longer. Motion has either been steady since at least 16 Ma or accelerated modestly between 6 and 5.2 Ma. Our Nubia–Somalia rotations predict 42.5 ± 3.8 km of rift-normal extension since 10.6 Ma across the well-studied, northern segment of the Main Ethiopian Rift, consistent with 40–50 km estimates for extension since 10.6 Myr based on seismological surveys of this narrow part of the plate boundary. Nubia–Somalia rotations are also derived by combining newly estimated Somalia–Arabia rotations that reconstruct the post-20-Ma opening of the Gulf of Aden with Nubia–Arabia rotations estimated via a probabilistic analysis of plausible opening scenarios for the Red Sea. These rotations predict Nubia–Somalia motion since 5.2 Myr that is consistent with that determined from Southwest Indian Ridge data and also predict 40 ± 3 km of rift-normal extension since 10.6 Ma across the Main Ethiopian Rift, consistent with our 42.5 ± 3.8 km Southwest Indian Ridge estimate. Our new rotations exclude at high confidence level previous estimates of 12 ± 13 and 123 ± 14 km for rift-normal extensions across the Main Ethiopian Rift since 10.6 Ma based on reconstructions of Chron 5n.2 along the Southwest Indian Ridge. Sparse coverage of magnetic reversals older than 16 Ma along the western third of the Southwest Indian Ridge precludes reliable determinations of Nubia–Somalia plate motion before 16 Ma, leaving unanswered the key question of when the motion between the two plates began.

Description: The TAMMAR segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge forms a classic propagating system centred about two degrees south of the Kane Fracture Zone. The segment is propagating to the south at a rate of 14 mm yr –1 , 15 per cent faster than the half-spreading rate. Here, we use seismic refraction data across the propagating rift, sheared zone and failed rift to investigate the crustal structure of the system. Inversion of the seismic data agrees remarkably well with crustal thicknesses determined from gravity modelling. We show that the crust is thickened beneath the highly magmatic propagating rift, reaching a maximum thickness of almost 8 km along the seismic line and an inferred (from gravity) thickness of about 9 km at its centre. In contrast, the crust in the sheared zone is mostly 4.5–6.5 km thick, averaging over 1 km thinner than normal oceanic crust, and reaching a minimum thickness of only 3.5 km in its NW corner. Along the seismic line, it reaches a minimum thickness of under 5 km. The PmP reflection beneath the sheared zone and failed rift is very weak or absent, suggesting serpentinisation beneath the Moho, and thus effective transport of water through the sheared zone crust. We ascribe this increased porosity in the sheared zone to extensive fracturing and faulting during deformation. We show that a bookshelf-faulting kinematic model predicts significantly more crustal thinning than is observed, suggesting that an additional mechanism of deformation is required. We therefore propose that deformation is partitioned between bookshelf faulting and simple shear, with no more than 60 per cent taken up by bookshelf faulting.

Description: The functioning of many natural and engineered environments is dependent on long distance electron transfer mediated through electrical currents. These currents have been observed in exoelectrogenic biofilms and it has been proposed that microbial biofilms can mediate electron transfer via electrical currents on the centimeter scale. However, direct evidence to confirm this hypothesis has not been demonstrated and the longest known electrical transfer distance for single species exoelectrogenic biofilms is limited to 100 μm. In the present study, biofilms were developed on electrodes with electrically non-conductive gaps from 50 μm to 1 mm and the in situ conductance of biofilms was evaluated over time. Results demonstrated that the exoelectrogenic mixed species biofilms in the present study possess the ability to transfer electrons through electrical currents over a distance of up to 1 mm, 10 times further than previously observed. Results indicate the possibility of interspecies interactions playing an important role in the spatial development of exoelectrogenic biofilms, suggesting that these biological networks might remain conductive even at longer distance. These findings have significant implications in regards to future optimization of microbial electrochemical systems.

Description: Actin-like MreB paralogs play important roles in cell shape maintenance, cell wall synthesis and the regulation of the D,L-endopeptidases, CwlO and LytE. The gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens LL3, is a poly--glutamic acid (-PGA) producing strain that contains three MreB paralogs: MreB, Mbl and MreBH. In B. amyloliquefaciens , CwlO and LytE can degrade -PGA. In this study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that modulating transcript levels of MreB paralogs would alter the synthesis and degradation of -PGA. The results showed that overexpression or inhibition of MreB, Mbl or MreBH had distinct effects on cell morphology and the molecular weight of the -PGA products. In fermentation medium, cells of mreB inhibition mutant were 50.2% longer than LL3, and the -PGA titer increased by 55.7%. However, changing the expression level of mbl showed only slight effects on the morphology, -PGA molecular weight and titer. In the mreBH inhibition mutant, -PGA production and its molecular weight increased by 56.7% and 19.4%, respectively. These results confirmed our hypothesis that suppressing the expression of MreB paralogs might reduce -PGA degradation, and that improving the cell size could strengthen -PGA synthesis. This is the first report of enhanced -PGA production via suppression of actin-like MreB paralogs.

Description: Bacteriophages are increasingly being used as water quality indicators. Two groups of phages infecting Escherichia coli , somatic and F-specific coliphages, are being considered as indicators of fecal and viral contamination for several types of water around the world. However, some uncertainties remain regarding which coliphages to assess. Recently, E. coli strain CB390 has been reported to be suitable for simultaneous detection of both groups, which seems to be more informative than determining only one of the groups. Here, a significant number of samples from different settings, mostly those where F-specific phages have been reported to outnumber somatic coliphages, are analyzed for somatic coliphages, F-specific RNA phages by standardized methods and coliphages detected by host strain CB390. The results presented here confirm that the numbers of phages counted using CB390 are equivalent to the sum of the somatic and F-specific coliphages counted independently in all settings. Hence the usefulness of this strain for simultaneous detection of somatic and F-specific coliphages is confirmed. Also, sets of data on the presence of coliphages in reclaimed and groundwater are reported.

Description: Knowledge and understanding of the ocean–continent transition (OCT) structure, continent–ocean boundary (COB) location and crustal type are of critical importance in evaluating rifted continental margin formation and evolution. OCT structure, COB location and magmatic type also have important implications for the understanding of the geodynamics of continental breakup and in the evaluation of petroleum systems in deep-water frontier oil and gas exploration at rifted continental margins. Mapping the distribution of thinned continental crust and lithosphere, its distal extent and the start of unequivocal oceanic crust and hence determining the OCT structure and COB location at rifted continental margins is therefore a generic global problem. In order to assist in the determination of the OCT structure and COB location, we present methodologies using gravity anomaly inversion, residual depth anomaly (RDA) analysis and subsidence analysis, which we apply to the west Iberian rifted continental margin. The west Iberian margin has one of the most complete data sets available for deep magma-poor rifted margins, so there is abundant data to which the results can be calibrated. Gravity anomaly inversion has been used to determine Moho depth, crustal basement thickness and continental lithosphere thinning; subsidence analysis has been used to determine the distribution of continental lithosphere thinning; and RDAs have been used to investigate the OCT bathymetric anomalies with respect to expected oceanic bathymetries at rifted continental margins. These quantitative analytical techniques have been applied to the west Iberian rifted continental margin along profiles IAM9, Lusigal 12 (with the TGS-extension) and ISE-01. Our predictions of OCT structure, COB location and magmatic type (i.e. the volume of magmatic addition, whether the margin is ‘normal’ magmatic, magma-starved or magma-rich) have been tested and validated using ODP wells (Legs 103, 149 and 173), which provide observational constraints on the west Iberian margin.

Description: The large-scale geological evolution of the North Atlantic Realm during the past 450 Myr is largely understood, but crucial elements remain uncertain. These involve the Caledonian orogeny, the formation of the North Atlantic and accompanying igneous activity, and the present-day high topography surrounding the North Atlantic. Teleseismic receiver function interpretation in the Central Fjord Region of East Greenland recently suggested the presence of a fossil Caledonian subduction complex, including a slab of eclogitised mafic crust and an overlying wedge of serpentinised mantle peridotite. Here we further investigate this topic using inverse receiver functions modelling. The obtained velocity models are tested with regard to their consistency with the regional gravity field and topography. We find that the obtained receiver function model is generally consistent with gravity and isostasy. The western part of the section, with topography of 〉1000 m, is clearly supported by the 40-km-thick crust. The eastern part requires additional buoyancy as provided by the hydrated mantle wedge. The geometry, velocities and densities are consistent with interpretation of the lithospheric structure as a fossil subduction zone complex. The spatial relations with Caledonian structures suggest a Caledonian origin. The results indicate that topography is isostatically compensated by density variations within the lithosphere, and that significant dynamic topography is not required at the present-day.

Description: We present a high-resolution shear wave tomography of the Japan subduction zone down to a depth of 700 km, which is determined by inverting a large number of high-quality S -wave arrival-time data from local earthquakes and teleseismic events. The subducting Pacific and Philippine Sea (PHS) slabs are revealed clearly as high-velocity (high- V ) zones, whereas low-velocity (low- V ) anomalies are revealed in the mantle wedge above the two slabs. The PHS slab has subducted aseismically down to a depth of 480 km under the Japan Sea and to a depth of 540 km under the Tsushima Strait. A window is revealed within the aseismic PHS slab, being consistent with P -wave tomography. Prominent low- V and high-Poisson's ratio ( ) anomalies exist below the PHS slab and above the Pacific slab, which reflect hot and wet mantle upwelling caused by the joint effect of deep dehydration of the Pacific slab and convective circulation process in the mantle wedge above the Pacific slab. The hot and wet mantle upwelling has caused the complex geometry and structure of the PHS slab in SW Japan, and contributed to the Quaternary volcanism along the Japan Sea coast. In eastern Japan, low- V zones are revealed at depths of 200–700 km below the Pacific slab, which may reflect hot upwelling from the lower mantle or even the core–mantle boundary.

Description: The Piano di Pezza fault is the central section of the 35 km long L'Aquila-Celano active normal fault-system in the central Apennines of Italy. Although palaeoseismic data document high Holocene vertical slip rates (~1 mm yr –1 ) and a remarkable seismogenic potential of this fault, its subsurface setting and Pleistocene cumulative displacement are still poorly known. We investigated for the first time the shallow subsurface of a key section of the main Piano di Pezza fault splay by means of high-resolution seismic and electrical resistivity tomography coupled with time-domain electromagnetic soundings (TDEM). Our surveys cross a ~5-m-high fault scarp that was generated by repeated surface-rupturing earthquakes displacing Holocene alluvial fans. We provide 2-D Vp and resistivity images, which show significant details of the fault structure and the geometry of the shallow basin infill material down to 50 m depth. Our data indicate that the upper fault termination has a sub-vertical attitude, in agreement with palaeoseismological trench evidence, whereas it dips ~50° to the southwest in the deeper part. We recognize some low-velocity/low-resistivity regions in the fault hangingwall that we relate to packages of colluvial wedges derived from scarp degradation, which may represent the record of some Holocene palaeo-earthquakes. We estimate a ~13–15 m throw of this fault splay since the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (~18 ka), leading to a 0.7–0.8 mm yr –1 throw rate that is quite in accordance with previous palaeoseismic estimation of Holocene vertical slip rates. The 1-D resistivity models from TDEM soundings collected along the trace of the electrical profile significantly match with 2-D resistivity images. Moreover, they indicate that in the fault hangingwall, ~200 m away from the surface fault trace, the pre-Quaternary carbonate basement is at ~90–100 m depth. We therefore provide a minimal ~150–160 m estimate of the cumulative throw of the Piano di Pezza fault system in the investigated section. We further hypothesize that the onset of the Piano di Pezza fault activity may date back to the Middle Pleistocene (~0.5 Ma), so this is a quite young active normal fault if compared to other mature normal fault systems active since 2–3 Ma in this portion of the central Apennines.

Description: To investigate the coupling relationship between great earthquake and ionosphere, the GPS-derived total electron contents (TECs) by the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe and the foF2 data from the Space Weather Prediction Center were used to analyse the impending ionospheric anomalies before the Iquique Mw8.2 earthquake in Chile on 2014 April 1. Eliminating effects of the solar and geomagnetic activities on ionosphere by the sliding interquartile range with the 27-day window, the TEC analysis results represent that there were negative anomalies occurred on 15th day prior to the earthquake, and positive anomalies appeared in 5th day before the earthquake. The foF2 analysis results of ionosonde stations Jicamarca, Concepcion and Ramey show that the foF2 increased by 40, 50 and 45 per cent, respectively, on 5th day before the earthquake. The TEC anomalous distribution indicates that there was a widely TEC decrement over the epicentre with the duration of 6 hr on 15th day before the earthquake. On 5th day before the earthquake, the TEC over the epicentre increased with the amplitude of 15 TECu, and the duration exceeded 6 hr. The anomalies occurred on the side away from the equator. All TEC anomalies in these days were within the bounds of equatorial anomaly zone where should be the focal area to monitor ionospheric anomaly before strong earthquakes. The relationship between ionospheric anomalies and geomagnetic activity was detected by the cross wavelet analysis, which implied that the foF2 was not affected by the magnetic activities on 15th day and 5th day prior to the earthquake, but the TECs were partially affected by anomalous magnetic activity during some periods of 5th day prior to the earthquake.

Description: We present the first estimates of Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) plate motions at high temporal resolution during the Quaternary and Neogene based on nearly 5000 crossings of 21 magnetic reversals out to C6no (19.72 Ma) and the digitized traces of 17 fracture zones and transform faults. Our reconstructions of this slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge reveal several unexpected results with notable implications for regional and global plate reconstructions since 20 Ma. Extrapolations of seafloor opening distances to zero-age seafloor based on reconstructions of reversals C1n (0.78 Ma) through C3n.4 (5.2 Ma) reveal evidence for surprisingly large outward displacement of 5 ± 1 km west of 32°E, where motion between the Nubia and Antarctic plates occurs, but 2 ± 1 km east of 32°E, more typical of most mid-ocean ridges. Newly estimated SWIR seafloor spreading rates are up to 15 per cent slower everywhere along the ridge than previous estimates. Reconstructions of the numerous observations for times back to 11 Ma confirm the existence of the hypothesized Lwandle plate at high confidence level and indicate that the Lwandle plate's western and eastern boundaries respectively intersect the ridge near the Andrew Bain transform fault complex at 32°E and between ~45°E and 52°E, in accord with previous results. The Nubia–Antarctic, Lwandle–Antarctic and Somalia–Antarctic rotation sequences that best fit many magnetic reversal, fracture zone and transform fault crossings define previously unknown changes in the Neogene motions of all three plate pairs, consisting of ~20 per cent slowdowns in their spreading rates at 7.2 $^{+0.9 }_{ -1.4}$ Ma if we enforce a simultaneous change in motion everywhere along the SWIR and gradual 3°–7° anticlockwise rotations of the relative slip directions. We apply trans-dimensional Bayesian analysis to our noisy, best-fitting rotation sequences in order to estimate less-noisy rotation sequences suitable for use in future global plate reconstructions and geodynamic studies. Notably, our new Nubia–Antarctic reconstruction of C5n.2 (11.0 Ma) predicts 20 per cent less opening than do two previous estimates, with important implications for motion that is estimated between the Nubia and Somalia plates. A Nubia–Somalia rotation determined from our Nubia–Antarctic and Somalia–Antarctic plate rotations for C5n.2 (11.0 Ma) predicts cumulative opening of 45 ± 4 km (95 per cent uncertainty) across the northernmost East Africa rift since 11.0 Ma, 70 per cent less than a recent 129 ± 62 km opening estimate based on a now-superseded interpretation of Anomaly 5 along the western portion of the SWIR.

Description: Geodynamic models predict that rifting of thick, ancient continental lithosphere should not occur unless it is weakened by heating and magmatic intrusion. Therefore, the processes occurring along sections of the western branch of the East African Rift, where ~150 km thick, Palaeoproterozoic lithosphere is rifting with no surface expression of magmatism, are a significant challenge to understand. In an attempt to understand the apparently amagmatic extension we probed the regional uppermost mantle for signatures of thermal alteration using compressional ( Vp ) and shear ( Vs ) wave speeds derived from Pn and Sn tomography. Pervasive thermal alteration of the uppermost mantle and possibly the presence of melt can be inferred beneath the Rungwe volcanic centre, but no signatures on a similar scale were discerned beneath amagmatic portions of the western rift branch encompassing the southern half of the Lake Tanganyika rift and much of the Rukwa rift. In this region, Vp and Vs wave speeds indicate little, if any, heating of the uppermost mantle and no studies have reported dyking. Vp / Vs ratios are consistent with typical, melt-free, olivine-dominated upper mantle. Although our resolution limit precludes us from imaging potential localised magmatic intrusions with dimensions of tens of kilometres, the absence of surface volcanism, the amagmatic upper crustal rupture known to have occurred at disparate locations on the western branch, the presence of lower crustal seismicity and the low temperatures implied by the fast seismic wave speeds in the lower crust and uppermost mantle in this region suggests possible amagmatic extension. Most dynamic models predict that this should not happen. Indeed even with magmatic intrusion, rifting of continental lithosphere 〉100 km thick is considered improbable under conditions found on Earth. Yield strength envelopes confirm that currently modelled stresses are insufficient to produce the observed deformation along these portions of the rift system. Stresses arising from the gravitational force related to the uplift of the East African Plateau provide only one-eighth of the minimum stress necessary to produce observed lower crustal earthquakes in the western branch. We expect that some of this disparity may be accounted for by considering smaller scale bending stresses and dynamic feedbacks between brittle and elastic deformation and between faulting, topography and weathering that are not currently included in models of the East African Rift.

Description: Microbial production of acetone and butanol was one of the first large-scale industrial fermentation processes of global importance. During the first part of the 20th century, it was indeed the second largest fermentation process, superseded in importance only by the ethanol fermentation. After a rapid decline after the 1950s, acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation has recently gained renewed interest in the context of biorefinery approaches for the production of fuels and chemicals from renewable resources. The availability of new methods and knowledge opens many new doors for industrial microbiology, and a comprehensive view on this process is worthwhile due to the new interest. This thematic issue of FEMS Microbiology Letters, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the first industrial exploitation of Chaim Weizmann's ABE fermentation process, covers the main aspects of old and new developments, thereby outlining a model development in biotechnology. All major aspects of industrial microbiology are exemplified by this single process. This includes new technologies, such as the latest developments in metabolic engineering, the exploitation of biodiversity and discoveries of new regulatory systems such as for microbial stress tolerance, as well as technological aspects, such as bio- and down-stream processing.

Description: Food-grade lactic acid bacteria, such as lactobacilli, represent good candidates for the development of mucosal vectors. Indeed, they are generally recognized as safe microorganisms and some strains display beneficial effects (probiotics). In this study, we described a new lactobacilli in vivo expression (LIVE) system for the production and delivery of therapeutic molecules at mucosal surfaces. The versatility and functionality of this system was successfully validated in several lactobacilli species; furthermore, we assessed in vivo LIVE system in two different mouse models of human pathologies: (i) a model of therapy against intestinal inflammation (inflammatory bowel diseases) and (ii) a model of vaccination against dental caries. We demonstrated that Lactobacillus gasseri expressing the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 under LIVE system efficiently delivered the recombinant protein at mucosal surfaces and display anti-inflammatory effects. In the vaccination model against caries, LIVE system allowed the heterologous expression of Streptococcus mutans antigen GbpB by L. gasseri , leading to a stimulation of the host immune response.

Description: The microbial fermentation process is one of the sustainable and environment-friendly ways to produce 1-butanol and other bio-based chemicals. The success of the fermentation process greatly relies on the choice of bioreactors and the separation methods. In this review, the history and the performance of bioreactors for the acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation is discussed. The subject is then focused on in situ product recovery (ISPR) techniques, particularly for the integrated extraction-gas stripping. The usefulness of this promising hybrid ISPR device is acknowledged by its incorporation with batch, fed-batch and continuous processes to improve the performance of ABE fermentation.

Description: It is well known that Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b has two forms of methane monooxygenase (MMO) responsible for the initial conversion of methane to methanol, a cytoplasmic (soluble) methane monooxygenase and a membrane-associated (particulate) methane monooxygenase, and that copper strongly regulates expression of these alternative forms of MMO. More recently, it has been discovered that M. trichosporium OB3b has multiple types of the methanol dehydrogenase (MeDH), i.e. the Mxa-type MeDH (Mxa-MeDH) and Xox-type MeDH (Xox-MeDH), and the expression of these two forms is regulated by the availability of the rare earth element (REE), cerium. Here, we extend these studies and show that lanthanum, praseodymium, neodymium and samarium also regulate expression of alternative forms of MeDH. The effect of these REEs on MeDH expression, however, was only observed in the absence of copper. Further, a mutant of M. trichosporium OB3b, where the Mxa-MeDH was knocked out, was able to grow in the presence of lanthanum, praseodymium and neodymium, but was not able to grow in the presence of samarium. Collectively, these data suggest that multiple levels of gene regulation by metals exist in M. trichosporium OB3b, but that copper overrides the effect of other metals by an as yet unknown mechanism.

Description: A Neogene magmatic reactivation of the Manihiki Plateau, a large igneous province (LIP) in the central Pacific, is studied using seismic reflection data. Igneous diapirs have been identified exclusively within a narrow WNW–ESE striking corridor in the southern High Plateau (HP), which is parallel to the Neogene Pacific Plate motion and overlaps with an extrapolation of the Society Islands Hotspot (SIH) path. The igneous diapirs are characterized by a narrow width (〉5 km), penetration of the Neogene sediments, and they become progressively younger towards the East (23–10 Ma). The magmatic source appears to be of small lateral extent, which leads to the conclusion that the diapirs represent Neogene hotspot volcanism within a LIP, and thus may be an older, previously unknown extension of the SIH track (〉4.5 Ma). Comparing hotspot volcanism within oceanic and continental lithosphere, we further conclude that hotspot volcanism within LIP crust has similarities to tectonically faulted continental crust.

Description: Many mechanisms control the state of stress within Earth plates. First-order well-known mechanisms include stresses induced by lateral variations of lithospheric density structure, sublithospheric tractions, ridge push and subduction pull. In this study, we attempt to quantify the influence of these mechanisms to understand the origin of stresses in the lithosphere, choosing the African plate (TAP) as an example. A finite-element based suite, Proshell, was developed to combine several data sets, to estimate the gravitational potential energy (GPE) of the lithosphere and to calculate stresses acting on the real (non-planar) geometry of TAP. We introduce several quantitative parameters to measure the degree of fit between the model and observations. Our modelling strategy involves nine series of numerical experiments. We start with the simplest possible model and then, step by step, build it up to be a more physically realistic model, all the while discussing the influence of each additional component. The starting (oversimplified) model series (1) is based on the CRUST2 data set for the crust and a half-space-cooling approximation of the lithospheric mantle. We then describe models (series 2–5) that account for lithospheric mantle density heterogeneities to build a more reliable GPE model. The consecutive series involve basal traction from the convective mantle (series A, C) and the rheological heterogeneity of the TAP via variations in its effective elastic thickness (series B, C). The model quality reflects the increase in complexity between series with an improving match to observed stress regimes and directions. The most complex model (series D) also accounts for the bending stresses in the elastic lithosphere and achieves a remarkably good fit to observations. All of our experiments were based on the iteration of controlling parameters in order to achieve the best fit between modelled and observed stresses, always considering physically feasible values. This gives us confidence that our methodology appropriately models the stress pattern of Africa, and that it may be further applied to other plates on Earth. Our modelling approach allows us to quantify several important features controlling the lithospheric stress pattern. Even though the initial oversimplified model does not fit the observations satisfactorily, it shows how ridge push may create significant compressive stresses in the lithosphere. More complex models show the importance of the density structure of the lithosphere, specifically in the subcrustal lithosphere. The stress regime within the TAP mainly results from a global balance of masses and mass moments between continental and oceanic parts of the plate. The orientation of stresses, in turn, is influenced more by local features expressed by topographic and crustal density variations, whereas existent subcrustal density variations appear to be smoothed by the crust above. The models show that accounting separately for either basal tractions or rheological heterogeneities brings moderate improvement, but the combination of these two mechanisms results in a substantially better match between model and observations. The bending stresses caused by isostatical re-adjustment improve the model match, but they have to be analysed with caution because of their depth-dependent nature.

Description: The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden represent two young basins that formed between Africa and Arabia since the early Oligocene, floored by oceanic crust or by transitional and thinned continental crust. While in the easternmost Gulf of Aden, the rift–drift transition can be dated chron C6 (~20.1 Ma), here we show that in the Red Sea the first pulse of seafloor spreading occurred during chron C3n.2n (~4.6 Ma) around ~17.1°N (present-day coordinates) and propagated southwards from this location, separating the Danakil microplate from Arabia. It is also shown that seafloor spreading between Arabia and Nubia started later, around chron 2A (~2.58 Ma), and propagated northwards. At present, there is no magnetic evidence for the existence of a linear spreading centre in the northern Red Sea at latitudes higher than ~24°N and in the southern Red Sea below ~14.8°N. The present-day plate kinematics of this region can be described with high accuracy by a network of five interacting plates (Nubia, Arabia, Somalia, Sinai and Danakil) and six triple junctions. For times older than anomaly 2A (~2.58 Ma) and up to anomaly 3, the absence of marine magnetic anomalies between Arabia and Nubia prevents a rigorous kinematic description of the five-plates system. However, there is strong evidence that the unique changes in plate motions during the last 5 Myr were a dramatic slowdown at chron C2 (~1.77 Ma) in the spreading or extension rates along the ridge and rift axes, thereby a good representation of the real plate motions can be obtained anyway by backward extension of the oldest Arabia–Nubia and Arabia–Danakil stage rotations determined on the basis of marine magnetic anomalies, respectively, C2–C2A and C2A–C3. The proposed kinematic reconstructions are accompanied by a geodynamic explanation for the genesis of large continent–continent fracture zones at the rift–drift transition and by an analysis of the strain associated with plate motions in Afar, northeastern Egypt and Sinai.

Description: On 2016 February 6 the South Taiwan earthquake ( M w 6.4) occurred in the Meinong District of Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, at a depth of 17 km. It caused 117 fatalities and widespread damage to infrastructures, especially in the Tainan city. To clarify the generating mechanism of this damaging earthquake, we determined high-resolution 3-D images of P - and S -wave velocity ( V P , V S ) and Poisson's ratio ( ) in the epicentral area. We used 105 712 P - and 61 250 S -wave arrival times of 8279 local earthquakes (1.5 ≤ M ≤ 6.4) recorded at 41 seismic stations in South Taiwan during 2000–2011. In the upper crust (depth ≤ 10 km), the most remarkable feature is low- V P , low- V S and high- anomalies in areas with known active faults in the southwestern and easternmost parts of Taiwan. In contrast, high- V P , high- V S and low- anomalies become dominant in the lower crust. The hypocentre of the 2016 South Taiwan earthquake is located in a boundary zone where seismic velocity and Poisson's ratio change drastically in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Furthermore, the hypocentre is underlain by a vertically elongated high- anomaly at depths of 23–40 km, which may reflect ascending fluids from the upper (or uppermost) mantle. The low- V and high- anomalies in the upper crust coincide with areas of low heat flow, negative Bouguer gravity anomaly, and low magnetotelluric resistivity, which may reflect crustal fluids contained in the young fold-and-thrust belt. These results suggest that the 2016 South Taiwan earthquake was triggered by ascending fluids from dehydration of the subducting Eurasian slab, invading into active faults with a high loading rate.

Description: Polysulfides (S x 2– ) are sulfide oxidation intermediates that are important for a variety of environmentally relevant processes including pyrite formation, organic matter sulfidization, isotope exchange among reduced sulfur species, and metal chelation. In addition to their chemical reactivity, laboratory experiments with microbial cultures and enzymes indicate both indirect and direct roles for microorganisms in affecting polysulfide chemistry in natural environments through production and consumption. As polysulfides have been detected in a wide array of natural systems ranging from microbial mats to hydrothermal vents, constraining their biogeochemical cycling has broad impacts. However, many questions remain regarding the processes responsible for polysulfide dynamics in these environments and the precise role that microorganisms play in these processes. This review provides a summary of laboratory experiments investigating the role of polysulfides in microbial metabolism, and observations of polysulfides in the environment in order to provide further insight into and highlight open questions about this significant component of the sulfur cycle.

Description: The Zambales Ophiolite Complex (ZOC) in the western portion of Luzon Island, Philippines represents a typical exposure of an emplaced crust-upper mantle section of an ancient lithosphere. The ZOC is divided into the Acoje and Coto Blocks based on petrological, geochemical and age disparities, thus implying diverse and complex origins for the archipelago's lithospheric sources. We used gravity and magnetic data to reveal differences in the subsurface characteristics of the two ophiolite blocks for the first time. Low Bouguer gravity (〈135 mGal) and magnetic (〈69 nT) anomalies characterize the ophiolitic units in the Acoje Block whereas high Bouguer gravity (〉150 mGal) and magnetic (〉110 nT) anomalies typify the Coto Block. Such contrasting signatures further extend at greater depths which reflect the disparities in the crustal density, the basement structure, and the depth to Moho. Petrophysical characteristics such as density, magnetic susceptibility and natural remanent magnetization (NRM) intensities correlate well with the interpreted Bouguer gravity and magnetic anomalies. Densities of gabbros and peridotites from the Acoje and Coto Blocks reveal mean values ranging from 2640 to 2810 kg m –3 and 2570 to 2690 kg m –3 , respectively. Magnetic susceptibility (〉4.43 x 10 –3 SI) and NRM (〉0.69 A m –1 ) data are also generally higher over the Coto Block. Both Bouguer gravity and magnetic anomaly maps reveal a prominent steep gradient that potentially marks the structural contact between Acoje and Coto Blocks. We further infer that the steep anomaly gradient validates the presence of the Lawis Fault Zone which separates the two ophiolite blocks in the Masinloc Massif. Recent field evidence from rock exposures in Coto reveals both right lateral and vertical displacements along the fault zone.

Description: In this work, we analyse in detail how a large earthquake could cause stress changes on volcano plumbing systems and produce possible positive feedbacks in promoting new eruptions. We develop a sensitivity analysis that considers several possible parameters, providing also new constraints on the methodological approach. The work is focus on the M w 8.8 2010 earthquake that occurred along the Chile subduction zone near 24 historic/Holocene volcanoes, located in the Southern Volcanic Zone. We use six different finite fault-slip models to calculate the static stress change, induced by the coseismic slip, in a direction normal to several theoretical feeder dykes with various orientations. Results indicate different magnitudes of stress change due to the heterogeneity of magma pathway geometry and orientation. In particular, the N–S and NE–SW-striking magma pathways suffer a decrease in stress normal to the feeder dyke (unclamping, up to 0.85 MPa) in comparison to those striking NW–SE and E–W, and in some cases there is even a clamping effect depending on the magma path strike. The diverse fault-slip models have also an effect (up to 0.4 MPa) on the results. As a consequence, we reconstruct the geometry and orientation of the most reliable magma pathways below the 24 volcanoes by studying structural and morphometric data, and we resolve the stress changes on each of them. Results indicate that: (i) volcanoes where post-earthquake eruptions took place experienced earthquake-induced unclamping or very small clamping effects, (ii) several volcanoes that did not erupt yet are more prone to experience future unrest, from the point of view of the host rock stress state, because of earthquake-induced unclamping. Our findings also suggest that pathway orientation plays a more relevant role in inducing stress changes, whereas the depth of calculation (e.g. 2, 5 or 10 km) used in the analysis, is not key a parameter. Earthquake-induced magma-pathway unclamping might contribute to promote new eruptions at volcanoes as far as 450 km from the epicentre.

Description: Seismic studies indicate that the Earth's inner core has a complex structure and exhibits a strong elastic anisotropy with a cylindrical symmetry. Among the various models which have been proposed to explain this anisotropy, one class of models considers the effect of the Lorentz force associated with the magnetic field diffused within the inner core. In this paper, we extend previous studies and use analytical calculations and numerical simulations to predict the geometry and strength of the flow induced by the poloidal component of the Lorentz force in a neutrally or stably stratified growing inner core, exploring also the effect of different types of boundary conditions at the inner core boundary (ICB). Unlike previous studies, we show that the boundary condition that is most likely to produce a significant deformation and seismic anisotropy is impermeable, with negligible radial flow through the boundary. Exact analytical solutions are found in the case of a negligible effect of buoyancy forces in the inner core (neutral stratification), while numerical simulations are used to investigate the case of stable stratification. In this situation, the flow induced by the Lorentz force is found to be localized in a shear layer below the ICB, whose thickness depends on the strength of the stratification, but not on the magnetic field strength. We obtain scaling laws for the thickness of this layer, as well as for the flow velocity and strain rate in this shear layer as a function of the control parameters, which include the magnitude of the magnetic field, the strength of the density stratification, the viscosity of the inner core and the growth rate of the inner core. We find that the resulting strain rate is probably too small to produce significant texturing unless the inner core viscosity is smaller than about 10 12 Pa s.

Description: We analyse Bouguer anomaly data and previously published Moho depths estimated from receiver functions in order to determine the amount of isostatic compensation or uncompensation of the Rif topography in northern Morocco. We use Moho depth variations extracted from receiver function analyses to predict synthetic Bouguer anomalies that are then compared to observed Bouguer anomaly. We find that Moho depth variations due to isostatic compensation of topographic and/or intracrustal loads do not match Moho depth estimates obtained from receiver function analyses. The isostatic misfit map evidences excess crustal root as large as 10 km in the western part of the study area, whereas a ‘missing’ crustal root of ~5 km appears east of 4.3°E. This excess root/missing topography correlates with the presence of a dense mantle lid, the noticeable southwestward drift of the Western Rif area, and with a current surface uplift. We propose that a delaminated mantle lid progressively detaching westward or southwestward from the overlying crust is responsible for viscous flow of the ductile lower crust beneath the Rif area. This gives rise to isostatic uplift and westward drift due to viscous coupling at the upper/lower crust boundary. At the same time, the presence of this dense sinking mantle lid causes a negative dynamic topography, which explains why the observed topography is too low compared to the crustal thickness.

Description: Flow-like landslides are rapidly moving fluid–solid mixtures that can cause significant destruction along paths that run far from their original sources. Existing models for run out prediction and motion simulation of flow-like landslides have many limitations. In this paper, we develop a new method named ‘Tsunami Squares’ to simulate the generation, propagation and stoppage of flow-like landslides based on conservation of volume and momentum. Landslide materials in the new method form divisible squares that are displaced, then further fractured. The squares move under the influence of gravity-driven acceleration and suffer decelerations due to basal and dynamic frictions. Distinctively, this method takes into account solid and fluid mechanics, particle interactions and flow regime transitions. We apply this approach to simulate the 1982 El Picacho landslide in San Salvador, capital city of El Salvador. Landslide products from Tsunami Squares such as run out distance, velocities, erosion and deposition depths and impacted area agree well with field investigated and eyewitness data.

Description: Numerous regional plate reorganizations and the coeval ages of the Hawaiian Emperor bend (HEB) and Louisville bend of 50–47 Ma have been interpreted as a possible global tectonic plate reorganization at ~chron 21 (47.9 Ma). Yet for a truly global event we would expect a contemporaneous change in Africa absolute plate motion (APM) reflected by physical evidence distributed on the Africa Plate. This evidence has been postulated to take the form of the Réunion-Mascarene bend which exhibits many HEB-like features, such as a large angular change close to ~chron 21. However, the Réunion hotspot trail has recently been interpreted as a sequence of continental fragments with incidental hotspot volcanism. Here we show that the alternative Réunion-Mascarene Plateau trail can also satisfy the age progressions and geometry of other hotspot trails on the Africa Plate. The implied motion, suggesting a pivoting of Africa from 67 to 50 Ma, could explain the apparent bifurcation of the Tristan hotspot chain, the age reversals seen along the Walvis Ridge, the sharp curve of the Canary trail, and the diffuse nature of the St. Helena chain. To test this hypothesis further we made a new Africa APM model that extends back to ~80 Ma using a modified version of the Hybrid Polygonal Finite Rotation Method. This method uses seamount chains and their associated hotspots as geometric constraints for the model, and seamount age dates to determine APM through time. While this model successfully explains many of the volcanic features, it implies an unrealistically fast global lithospheric net rotation, as well as improbable APM trajectories for many other plates, including the Americas, Eurasia and Australia. We contrast this speculative model with a more conventional model in which the Mascarene Plateau is excluded in favour of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge rotated into the Africa reference frame. This second model implies more realistic net lithospheric rotation and far-field APMs, but fails to explain key details of the Atlantic Ocean volcanic chains. Both models predict a Canary plume influence beneath the Madeiras. Neither model, when projected via the global plate circuit into the Pacific, predicts any significant change in plate motion around chron 21. Consequently, Africa APM models do not appear to provide independent support for a chron 21 global reorganization.

Description: The North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) starts to branch off in the western Bolu plain. The branches of the NAFZ in this location create the Almacık block which is surrounded by the latest surface ruptures of significant earthquakes that occurred between 1944 and 1999, but its northeastern part remains unruptured. The most recently formed rupture, that was a result of the 1999 November 12 Düzce earthquake, ended to the northwest of the Bakacak Fault. The connection between the Bakacak Fault and the main branch of the NAFZ via the Bolu plain has until now remained unknown. This paper establishes that the route of the missing link runs through the Dağkent, Kasaplar and Bürnük faults, a finding achieved with the help of seismic reflection studies. The paper also argues that the cross cutting nature of these newly determined faults and a stress analysis based on focal mechanism solutions of recent earthquakes demonstrate the termination of the suggested pull-apart nature of the Bolu plain.

Description: The source parameters and slip distribution of the 2013 May 11 M w 6.1 Minab earthquake are studied using seismology, geodesy and field observations. We observe left-lateral strike-slip motion on a fault striking ENE–WSW; approximately perpendicular to previously studied faults in the Minab–Zendan–Palami fault zone. The fault that ruptured in 2013 is one of a series of ~E–W striking left-lateral faults visible in the geology and geomorphology. These accommodate a velocity field equivalent to right-lateral shear on ~N–S striking planes by clockwise rotations about vertical axes. The presence of these faults can reconcile differences in estimates of fault slip rates in the western Makran from GPS and Quaternary dating. The longitudinal range of shear in the western Makran is likely to be controlled by the distance over which the underthrusting Arabian lithosphere deepens in the transition from continent–continent collision in the Zagros to oceanic subduction in the Makran.

Description: The Earth's outer core is a rotating ellipsoidal shell of compressible, stratified and self-gravitating fluid. As such, in the treatment of geophysical problems a realistic model of this body needs to be considered. In this work, we consider compressible and stratified fluid core models with different stratification parameters, related to the local Brunt-Väisälä frequency, in order to study the effects of the core's density stratification on the frequencies of some of the inertial-gravity modes of this body. The inertial-gravity modes of the core are free oscillations with periods longer than 12 hr. Historically, an incompressible and homogeneous fluid is considered to study these modes and analytical solutions are known for the frequencies and the displacement eigenfunctions of a spherical model. We show that for a compressible and stratified spherical core model the effects of non-neutral density stratification may be significant, and the frequencies of these modes may change from model to model. For example, for a spherical core model the frequency of the spin-over mode, the (2, 1, 1) mode, is unaffected while that of the (4, 1, 1) mode is changed from –0.410 for the Poincaré core model to –0.434, –0.447 and –0.483 for core models with the stability parameter β = –0.001, –0.002 and –0.005, respectively, a maximum change of about 18 per cent when β = –0.005. Our results also show that for small stratification parameter, |β| ≤ 0.005, the frequency of an inertial-gravity mode is a nearly linear function of β but the slope of the line is different for different modes, and that the effects of density stratification on the frequency of a mode is likely related to its spatial structure, which remains the same in different Earth models. We also compute the frequencies of some of the modes of the ‘PREM’ (spherical shell) core model and show that the frequencies of these modes may also be significantly affected by non-zero β.

Description: Reaching sub-salt hydrocarbon targets in the deeper part of the Gulf of Mexico requires drilling through a salt canopy. The suture zones in the salt canopy are potential drilling hazards due to anomalous pressure behaviour of entrapped sediments. The Pólya vector field of coalescing salt sheets inside the canopy is used to explain suture formation and distinguish between upright and inclined suture contacts. Our analytical models, based on complex potentials, provide exact solutions for multiple source flows as they compete for space when spreading into the viscous continuum of the salt canopy. The velocity gradient tensor yields the strain rate tensor, which is used to map the principal strain rate magnitude inside the canopy. Quantification of one of the principal strain rates is sufficient because the plane deformation assumption ensures the two principal strain rates are equal in magnitude (but of opposite sign); the third principal dimension can have neither strain nor deviatoric stress. Visualization of the locations where the principal stress vanishes or peaks (with highs and lows) is useful for pre-drilling plans because such peaks must be avoided and the stress-free locations provide the safer drilling sites. A case study—of the Walker Ridge region—demonstrates the practical application of our new method.

Description: The Indochina block is important to our understanding of the extrusion model as a consequence of the Indo-Eurasia collision. The lithospheric structure of this block, however, remains obscured due to a lack of sufficient instrumentation for high resolution seismic imaging. We present a shear velocity model derived from Rayleigh wave phase velocity tomography using data from recently deployed seismic networks in this region. Our inversion results for lithospheric structure show strong correlations with tectonic history in this block. A prominent slow-velocity anomaly (5 per cent) is observed in northern Indochina along the Ailao Shan-Red River (ASRR) shear zone including Chuxiong basin, Lanping-Simao fold belt and Thailand rift basin, which has seen extensive deformation events since Eocene. The Khorat Plateau basin is characterized by thick continental keel type lithosphere, consistent with palaeomagnetic and geological observations indicating this basin has experienced much less deformation than the surrounding regions. Additionally, our inversion imaged a sharp, lithospheric-scale velocity contrast across the southeastern segment of ASRR, indicative of a thin and thus relatively weak lithosphere southwest of Red River Fault. The thin lithosphere, low asthenospheric seismic velocities we observe and the average crustal thicknesses in the region suggest that the topography high is dynamically supported by upwelling asthenosphere rather than thickening of the crust/lithosphere. Based on the occurrence of Palaeogene volcanism and its timing, we prefer an explanation of thinning of the lithosphere and allowing a throughgoing fault rather than emplacement of a thin terrane to explain the thin lithosphere. Therefore, the anomalously thin lithosphere between Khorat Plateau and the ASRR in conjunction with other geological observations is generally consistent with the extrusion model for Indochina, which requires localization of lithospheric deformation around tectonic blocks.

Description: On Earth, oceanic plates subduct beneath a variety of overriding plate (OP) styles, from relatively thin and negatively buoyant oceanic OPs to thick and neutrally/positively buoyant continental OPs. The inclusion of an OP in numerical models of self-consistent subduction has been shown to reduce the rate that subducting slabs roll back relative to the equivalent single plate models. We use dynamic, 2-D subduction models to investigate how the mechanical properties, namely viscosity, thickness, and density, of the OP modify the slab rollback rate and the state of stress of the OP. In addition, we examine the role of the subducting plate (SP) viscosity. Because OP deformation accommodates the difference between the slab rollback rate and the far-field OP velocity, we find that the temporal variations in the rollback rate results in temporal variations in OP stress. The slabs in our models roll back rapidly until they reach the lower mantle viscosity increase, at which point the rollback velocity decreases. Concurrent with this reduction in rollback rate is a switch from an OP dominated by extensional stresses to a compressional OP. As in single plate models, the viscosity of the SP exerts a strong control on subducting slab kinematics; weaker slabs exhibit elevated sinking velocities and rollback rates. The SP viscosity also exerts a strong control on the OP stress regime. Weak slabs, either due to reduced bulk viscosity or stress-dependent weakening, have compressional OPs, while strong slabs have dominantly extensional OPs. While varying the viscosity of the OP alone does not substantially affect the OP stress state, we find that the OP thickness and buoyancy plays a substantial role in dictating the rate of slab rollback and OP stress state. Models with thick and/or negatively buoyant OPs have reduced rollback rates, and increased slab dip angles, relative to slabs with thin and/or positively buoyant OPs. Such elevated trench rollback for models with positively buoyant OPs induces extensional stresses in the OP, while OPs that are strongly negatively buoyant are under compression. While rollback is driven by the negative buoyancy of the subducting slab in such models of free subduction, we conclude that the physical properties of the OP potentially play a significant role in modulating both rollback rates and OP deformation style on Earth.

Description: In the central Andes, the Nazca plate displays large along strike variations in dip with a near horizontal subduction angle between 28 and 32°S referred to the Pampean flat slab segment. The upper plate above the Pampean flat slab has high rates of crustal seismicity and active basement cored uplifts. The SIEMBRA experiment, a 43-broad-band-seismic-station array was deployed to better characterize the Pampean flat slab region around 31°S. In this study, we explore the lithospheric structure above the flat slab as a whole and its relation to seismicity. We use the SIEMBRA data to perform a joint inversion of teleseismic receiver functions and Rayleigh wave phase velocity dispersion to constrain the shear wave velocity variations in the lithosphere. Our joint inversion results show: (1) the presence of several upper-plate mid-crustal discontinuities and their lateral extent that are probably related to the terrane accretion history; (2) zones of high shear wave velocity in the upper-plate lower crust associated with a weak Moho signal consistent with the hypothesis of partial eclogitization in the lower crust; (3) the presence of low shear-wave velocities at ~100 km depth interpreted as the subducting oceanic crust. Finally, in order to investigate the relation of the lithospheric structure to seismicity, we determine an optimal velocity–depth model based on the joint inversion results and use it to perform regional moment tensor inversions (SMTI) of crustal and slab earthquakes. The SMTI for 18 earthquakes that occurred between 2007 and 2009 in the flat slab region below Argentina, indicates systematically shallower focal depths for slab earthquakes (compared with inversions using previous velocity models). This suggests that the slab seismicity is concentrated mostly between 90 and 110 km depths within the subducting Nazca plate's oceanic crust and likely related to dehydration. In addition, the slab earthquakes exhibit extensional focal mechanisms suggesting new faulting at the edges of the flat portion of the slab. SMTI solutions for upper-plate crustal earthquakes match well the geological observations of reactivated structures and agree with crustal shortening. Our new constraints on flat slab structure can aid earthquake characterization for regional seismic hazard assessment and efforts to help understand the mechanisms for slab flattening in the central Andes.

Description: The elastic displacement and stress fields due to rectangular faults and opening-mode fractures within an anisotropic homogeneous half-space are derived in this paper. The solution is expressed in terms of the mathematically elegant and computationally powerful Stroh formalism and can be applied to the generally anisotropic half-space or a transversely isotropic half-space with any oriented isotropic plane. For any flat fault or opening-mode fracture of polygonal shape, one needs only to carry out a simple line integral from 0 to in order to express the fault-induced response. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effect of the anisotropy and fault orientation on the internal and surface responses of the half-space. Our results prove that both rock anisotropy and fault orientation could dramatically change the fields in the domain and one needs to consider these properties as accurately as possible to be able to predict the response in the domain precisely. Anisotropy of the rock mass may alter the dominant displacement and stress components at observation points in the model domain as compared to the isotropic case.

Description: Shear deformation of partially molten rock in laboratory experiments causes the emergence of melt-enriched sheets (bands in cross-section) that are aligned at about 15°–20° to the shear plane. Deformation and deviatoric stress also cause the coherent alignment of pores at the grain scale. This leads to a melt-preferred orientation that may, in turn, give rise to an anisotropic permeability. Here we develop a simple, general model of anisotropic permeability in partially molten rocks. We use linearized analysis and nonlinear numerical solutions to investigate its behaviour under simple-shear deformation. In particular, we consider implications of the model for the emergence and angle of melt-rich bands. Anisotropic permeability affects the angle of bands and, in a certain parameter regime, it can give rise to low angles consistent with experiments. However, the conditions required for this regime have a narrow range and seem unlikely to be entirely met by experiments. Anisotropic permeability may nonetheless affect melt transport and the behaviour of partially molten rocks in Earth's mantle.

Description: Eastern Anatolia region between north–south colliding Arabian and Eurasian plates has no significant crustal root and shallow (upper) mantle flow beneath seems to be vertically supporting its high topography. It has a high surface heat flow and the underlying mantle is characterized by low seismic velocity zones. Using a mantle density/temperature variation field derived from P -wave seismic velocity, current shallow mantle flow and resultant dynamic topography of Eastern Anatolia and adjacent Arabian foreland and Caucasus areas were calculated along a vertical section. The section crosses the tectonic boundaries interrelated with slab bodies (high seismic velocity/cold regions) and the low velocity zones above the slabs. According to the modelling experiments, the surface topography of Eastern Anatolia seems to be supported by shallow mantle flow dynamics. On the other hand, residual topography for the region was calculated using high resolution crustal thickness data. Positive residual topography that suggests an undercompensated state of Eastern Anatolia is in concordance with the dynamic topography anomaly. The modelled local shallow mantle flow support due to the density contrast between hot (low velocity) zones and underlying cold slab bodies beneath the area may be the present-day snapshot of the mantle flow uplift in Eastern Anatolia presence of which was previously suggested.

Description: Anaerobic Clostridium spp. is an important bioproduction microbial genus that can produce solvents and utilize a broad spectrum of substrates including cellulose and syngas. Genome-scale metabolic (GSM) models are increasingly being put forth for various clostridial strains to explore their respective metabolic capabilities and suitability for various bioconversions. In this study, we have selected representative GSM models for six different clostridia ( Clostridium acetobutylicum , C. beijerinckii , C. butyricum , C. cellulolyticum , C. ljungdahlii and C. thermocellum ) and performed a detailed model comparison contrasting their metabolic repertoire. We also discuss various applications of these GSM models to guide metabolic engineering interventions as well as assessing cellular physiology.

Description: Crystallization experiments in the dendritic regime have been carried out in hypergravity conditions (from 1 to 1300 g) from an ammonium chloride solution (NH 4 Cl and H 2 O). A commercial centrifuge was equipped with a slip ring so that electric power (needed for a Peltier device and a heating element), temperature and ultrasonic signals could be transmitted between the experimental setup and the laboratory. Ultrasound measurements (2–6 MHz) were used to detect the position of the front of the mushy zone and to determine attenuation in the mush. Temperature measurements were used to control a Peltier element extracting heat from the bottom of the setup and to monitor the evolution of crystallization in the mush and in the liquid. A significant increase of solid fraction and attenuation in the mush is observed as gravity is increased. Kinetic undercooling is significant in our experiments and has been included in a macroscopic mush model. The other ingredients of the model are conservation of energy and chemical species, along with heat/species transfer between the mush and the liquid phase: boundary-layer exchanges at the top of the mush and bulk convection within the mush (formation of chimneys). The outputs of the model compare well with our experiments. We have then run the model in a range of parameters suitable for the Earth's inner core. This has shown the role of bulk mush convection for the inner core and the reason why a solid fraction very close to unity should be expected. We have also run melting experiments: after crystallization of a mush, the liquid has been heated from above until the mush started to melt, while the bottom cold temperature was maintained. These melting experiments were motivated by the possible local melting at the inner core boundary that has been invoked to explain the formation of the anomalously slow F-layer at the bottom of the outer core or inner core hemispherical asymmetry. Oddly, the consequences of melting are an increase in solid fraction and a decrease in attenuation. It is hence possible that surface seismic velocity and attenuation of the inner core are strongly affected by melting.

Description: The coupling that exists between surface processes and deformation within both the shallow crust and the deeper mantle-lithosphere has stimulated the development of computational geodynamic models that incorporate a free surface boundary condition. We introduce a treatment of this boundary condition that is suitable for staggered grid, finite difference schemes employing a structured Eulerian mesh. Our interface capturing treatment discretizes the free surface boundary condition via an interface that conforms with the edges of control volumes (e.g. a ‘staircase’ representation) and requires only local stencil modifications to be performed. Comparisons with analytic solutions verify that the method is first-order accurate. Additional intermodel comparisons are performed between known reference models to further validate our free surface approximation. Lastly, we demonstrate the applicability of a multigrid solver to our free surface methodology and demonstrate that the local stencil modifications do not strongly influence the convergence of the iterative solver.

Description: Observations of the temporal variations in the volume flux of a plume can provide useful constraints on geodynamic models of plumes and plume-plate interactions. Furthermore, they can be compared with observations at other plumes and may be analysed further to understand the nature and cause of the variations. The volume plume flux is typically derived from a sum of edifice and compensation root volumes. The former can be obtained via the application of regional–residual separation procedures that split the observed relief into regional (swell) and residual (edifice) components, while the latter is generally inferred from the former using local (Airy) or regional (flexural) compensation models. Most regional–residual techniques used in past studies give non-unique results and provide no estimates of the uncertainty in the separation, which impacts the significance of the results. Here, the optimal robust separator (ORS) method achieves a unique separation for the swell and edifice components of the Hawaiian Ridge and furthermore obtain confidence bounds on the total volume flux. A fast spectral method for plate flexure with different edifice and infill densities is used to determine compensation volumes. Although my flux estimates have assigned confidence bounds, these are much smaller than the flux estimates themselves. A comparison of my new results to published volume flux curves shows that my revised flux estimates are lower by a factor of 2–3. Reproducing the prior higher results demonstrates that these discrepancies appear to be related to shortcomings in the implementation of the methodology used in the separation. The variability in the Hawaiian plume flux occurs at two different time scales: A short (1–2 Myr) periodicity related to the spacing of islands and seamounts, which ultimately is related to plume-plate flexural interactions, and a much longer (10–15 Myr) periodicity that may be related to plate kinematic changes. Superimposed on these trends may be an exponential increase towards more recent times, but this trend may also be explained by a higher flux level during the period when the plume was positioned beneath the relatively younger lithospheric segment bracketed by the Murray and Molokai fracture zones. Landslides and erosion of the edifice may imply an underestimation of total volumes by 5–10 per cent. The main uncertainty facing studies of plume flux is related to the unknown quantity of magmatic underplating.