Earthquake hazard assessment after Mexico (1985)

The 1985 Mexican earthquake ranks foremost amongst the major earthquake disasters of the twentieth century. One of the few positive aspects of the disaster is that it provided massive quantities of data that would otherwise have been unobtainable. Every opportunity should be taken to incorporate the findings from these data in earthquake hazard assessments. The purpose of this paper is to provide a succinct summary of some of the more important lessons from Mexico. It stems from detailed field investigations, and subsequent analyses, conducted by the author on the behalf of reinsurance companies.     

Design and validation of a practical index for trauma assessment

In the past 20 years a variety of indices have been suggested for measuring the severity of trauma, however none of them meets the requirement of being a simple and objective instrument that can be utilized efficiently by lay persons and providers of health services without previous experience in triaging. A new system has been proposed which meets this requirement and which has been validated with 197 injured persons at the emergency ward of the Valle University Hospital in Call, Colombia. The instrument showed a high level of concordance with the conventional triaging method and classifies victims into four categories: critical with recovery unlikely, critical but recoverable, moderately serious, and ambulatory. There is discussion on the reliability of this instrument and it is recommended that it be validated with victims from larger disasters. Regardless, it has the advantage of being specific and free of the subjectivity that characterizes other indices.     

Surveillance for adverse health effects following a chemical release in west virginia

On 11 August 1985, a large inadvertent release occurred from a chemical manufacturing plant in Institute, West Virginia. The emission was related to overheating of a storage tank that contained chemicals for the production of aldicarb, a cholinesterase inhibiting pesticide. As a result of this emission, 136 persons were treated in five local emergency rooms, 29 of whom were hospitalized for one or more days, mostly for observation. No fatalities resulted. Interviews with treated persons and non-treated community residents confirmed that the health effects were transient and compatible with exposure to irritating vapors rather than with exposure to methyl isocyanate (a chemical used in the process) or to aldicarb. Only 5% of the treated persons and 5% of the community residents surveyed were adequately warned of the emission by the plant siren. Because persons in the nearby community are potentially vulnerable to chemical injury, we recommend the development of an improved warning system, a formal evacuation procedure, and other measures to limit exposure of persons in this area in the event of a future release.     

Relationships between porewater nutrients and seagrasses in a subtropical carbonate environment

The feeding, diet and egg production of the copepod Acartia tonsa were dermined during ten experiments in Los Angeles Harbor, California, between November 1986 and October 1987. Copepods were incubated in situ, in quasi-natural food environments. Water temperatures ranged from 14.6 to 21.5°C. Particulate organic carbon and nitrogen (POC and PON) were high (534 to 3710 g Cl^-1, 51 to 459 Nl^-1) but dominated by small (<8 m diam) particles. Plankton (phytoplankton and microzooplankton) C-biomass composed about 10% of the total POC and was usually dominated by particles >8 m. Plankton biomass was always low. Daily ingestion rates ranged from 3 to 96% of body C; egg production ranged from 4 to 35% of body carbon. Mean ingestion and egg production rates during spring-summer were 1.9 and 1.5 times higher than average for the entire study, respectively. The average gross efficiency of egg production for the study was 80%; the spring-summer mean was 41%. Bivariate and multiple-regression analyses revealed that the ingestion rate was dependent upon both temperature and food availability, but that, below 21°C, egg production depended more upon temperature than upon food concentration. To detect dietary preferences, the composition of diet was compared with that of the food supply. Selective feeding was infrequent, but the diet was often dominated by dinoflagellates and ciliates. It would appear that within metabolic limits governed by temperature, the feeding response of A. tonsa is dependent upon food concentration, while egg production depends more on qualitative attributes of the food supply.     

Vertical profiles of bacterial abundance,productivity and growth rates in coastal sediments of the central Great Barrier Reef lagoon

Vertical patterns of bacterial densities, productivity and specific growth rates in coastal muds, quartz sands and muddy sands of the central Great Barrier Reef lagoon were examined in summer (February) and autumn (May) 1988. Variations in these parameters with station location, sediment depth and season were complex, exhibiting significant main and interaction effects in most instances. Some trends were apparent despite the large and complex variations. Bacterial densities did not vary seasonally, ranging from 2.9 to 38.1×10⁹ cells g^-1 dry wt, averaged over sediment depth (0 to 20 cm) and seasons. Trend analysis revealed that densities decreased with increasing sediment depth. Bacterial production (tritiated thymidine incorporation into DNA) was high, ranging from 0.4 to 5.7 gCm^-2 d^-1 (integrated over 10 cm depth), as were specific growth rates (grand mean, =0.25 d^-1; range=0.004 to 1.3 d^-1). Both were generally higher in summer than in autumn. Vertical profiles of productivity and specific growth rates revealed actively growing bacterial assemblages down to 20 cm depth. Factors which may account for these very abundant and productive communities are: (1) subsurface accumulations of detritus exported from adjacent mangrove forests, and (2) physical disturbance from tidal scouring and severe climate (e.g. cyclones, wet-season floods). Disturbance events occur frequently enough to inhibit the development of highly sulphidic conditions, but stimulate production of bacterial types (aerobes, fermenters) capable of incorporating labelled thymidine into their DNA.     

Selective predation on mature male Byblis japonicus (amphipoda: Gammaridea) by the barface cardinalfish,Apogon semilineatus

Ontogenetic change of habitat depths of Nautilus pompilius in the Philippines (Tañon Strait) and Fiji is considered by comparing ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios in septa and cameral fluid of live-caught specimens and ambient sea-water. ¹⁸O values of cameral liquid become heavier with decreasing volume within a chamber, which may be due to isotopic fractionation during discharge across the siphuncular wall. All of the seven Philippine and Fiji specimens analyzed show a distinct change in ¹⁸O from light values in the first seven septa to heavier values in the succeeding septa. Two different isotopic temperature scales are obtained for the Fiji and Philippine populations, suggesting a differential vital effect of metabolism between them. Sightly light ¹⁸O values in Septa 1 to 7 and hatching at relatively high temperatures in aquaria both suggest that N. pompilius hatch at the shallowest depths within their inhabitable vertical range. Depths of postembryonic animals in the Philippines and Fiji waters estimated from the isotopic temperature-depth diagrams range from 120 to 160 m and from 440 to 520 m, respectively, both of which correlate well with capture records. More than several tens of small-scale ¹⁸O cycles are detected in the sequence of nacreous layers within the single septum of a submature Philippine specimen. This can be interpreted as reflecting daily vertical migration.     

Lipid content of some Caribbean corals in relation to depth and light

Three procedures for the extraction of coral lipids were compared and a rapid and effective method for future use is suggested. This method was used to measure the lipid content of the branching coral Porites porites (Pallas) and the massive corals Montastrea annularis (Ellis and Solander) and Siderastrea siderea (Ellis and Solander) during July and August 1991. P. porites and M. annularis were sampled on two fringing reefs, each characterised by different water quality affecting light transmission, and at depths of down to 30 m on a barrier reef on the west coast of the island. m. annularis contained, on average, 29% of dry weight as lipid, and there were no significant differences in lipid levels between corals sampled on either fringing reef at 3 and 6 m, or between fringing reefs and the barrier reef at 13, 20 or 30 m depth. Five samples were also taken from a single massive colony of S. siderea at 3 m on a fringing reef and at 13, 20 and 30 m depth on the barrier reef. Values for lipid ranged from 26 to 35% of dry tissue weight. P. porites from 3 and 6 m depth on both fringing reefs contained the same amount of lipid (11% of dry tissue weight). However, at 13 m depth on the barrier reef this coral contained significantly less lipid (8.5% of dry tissue weight). This difference may be attributable to a higher nutritional intake by P. porites on the fringing reefs.     

Persistent “upwelling shadows” and their influence on zooplankton distributions

Physical (temperature and salinity) and biological (zooplankton) properties were sampled over a 15 mo period in 1988 and 1989 to monitor nearshore environmental variability in northern Monterey Bay, California, USA. During the upwelling seasons of 1988 and 1989, there were two distinct bodies of water along the sampling transect. The offshore water body was characterized by recently upwelled water (typically <12°C) while the nearshore body was significantly warmer (approaching 16°C). A sharp thermal gradient (=front) separated the two water bodies. This front persisted 6.5 km from shore throughout the upwelling season of 1988 and was present again in 1989. Zooplankton-assemblage analysis confirmed the presence of two distinct regions in northern Monterey Bay. We refer to this phenomenon as an upwelling shadow, which is the result of the advection of recently upwelled water bearing nutrients and larvae past coastal recesses which are equatorward of upwelling centers.     

Effects of high temperature on larval development and metamorphosis of Arachnoides placenta (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)

Adults of the sea urchin Arachnoides placenta (L.) were induced to spawn, and eggs were fertilized at 28°C in September 1989. After 5 min, eggs were transferred to 28, 31, 34, or 37°C and reared to metamorphosis. Embryos were observed at 20-min intervals during the first 2 h; larvae were observed daily. The cleavage was higher at higher temperatures. Embryos reared at 28°C were still at the 4th cleavage (16-cell stage) after 100 min, while those at 34°C had reached the 5th cleavage (32-cell stage). All embryos reared at 37°C died on the second day. Incidence of abnormality was 20 to 30% at 28 and 31°C, 48% at 34°C, and 77% at 37°C. The 8-arm stage was reached after 4 d at 28°C, 3 d at 31°C and 2 d at 34°C. Larvae displayed decreasing body length and arm length with increasing temperature. Larvae at 31°C have relatively long arms, as a result of a decrease in body length, not because of increased arm length. Incidence of metamorphosis was 43.9±1.7% (mean/plusmn;SD) at 28°C, 24.5±1.9% at 31°C, and 5.3% at 34°C. The size of metamorphosed juveniles was significantly larger at 28°C than at 31 and 34°C. Temperatures of 31°C negatively affect larvae and juveniles of the sand dollar.     

The evolution of sustainability

Six separate but related strains of thought have emerged prominently since 1950 in discussions of such phenomena as the interrelationships among rates of population growth, resource use, and pressure on the environment. They are the ecological/carrying capacity root, the resources/environment root, the biosphere root, the critique of technology root, the no growth/slow growth root, and the ecodevelopment root.Each of these strains of thought was fully developed before the word sustainable itself was used. Many of the roots are based on fundamentally opposing assessments of the future of mankind. Many of the roots, such as the ecology/carrying capacity root, are based on physical concepts, and they exclude normative values. Others, such as the ecodevelopment root, include such values as equity, broad participation in governance, and decentralized government.When the word sustainability was first used in 1972 in the context of man's future, in a British book,Blueprint for Survival, normative concepts were prominent. This continued to be the case when the word was first used in 1974 in the United States to justify a no growth economy.Sustainability was first used in a United Nations document in 1978. Normative concepts, encapsulated in the term ecodevelopment, were prominent in the United Nations publications.After about 1978, the term sustainability began to be used not only in technological articles and reports but also in policy documents culminating in the use of the term in the report of the summit meeting of the Group of Seven in 1989.The roots of the term sustainability are so deeply embedded in fundamentally different concepts, each of which has valid claims to validity, that a search for a single definition seems futile. The existence of multiple meaning is tolerable if each analyst describes clearly what he means by sustainability.