The phylogenetic relationships of the Dinophyceae (Alveolata) are not sufficiently resolved at present. The Thoracosphaeraceae (Peridiniales) are the only group of the Alveolata that include members with calcareous coccoid stages; this trait is considered apomorphic. Although the coccoid stage apparently is not calcareous, Bysmatrum has been assigned to the Thoracosphaeraceae based on thecal mo...

The Mishrif Formation is an important succession that was deposited during the Cenomanian–Early Turonian. More than 79 thin sections of core in addition to well log data for from 2 boreholes within E oilfield (E-1, and E- 2) were used determine different associations facies interpret depositional environment Formation. Six major microfacies diagnosed Formation, Mudstone, Wackestone, Packstone, ...

Calcareous sediments are located in temperate and tropical areas near offshore hydrocarbon industries and petrochemical reserves such as the Persian Gulf of Iran. These sediments have complicated physical properties which make them completely different from silicate soils. Carbonate sediments are mainly formed by the skeletal remains of marine organisms. Therefore, a wide variety of engineering...

Based on morphological and molecular data, calcareous dinoflagellates (Thoracosphaeraceae, Peridiniales) are a monophyletic group comprising the three major clades Ensiculifera ⁄Pentapharsodinium, Thoracosphaera ⁄Pfiesteria, and Scrippsiella sensu lato. We used stratigraphically well-documented first occurrences of particular archeopyle types to constrain relaxed Bayesian molecular clocks appli...

There are large agricultural areas in the world where wheat yields are limited by low phosphorus (P) availability. Breeding for P uptake and P utilization efficiency may reduce this problem. This study was conducted to determine the contribution of P uptake and utilization efficiency to grain yield of selected spring wheat genotypes in different environments. Thirty-eight semidwarf spring bread...

Solenopora jurassica is a fossil calcareous alga that functioned as an important reef-building organism during the Palaeozoic. It is of significant palaeobiological interest due to its distinctive but poorly understood pink and white banding. Though widely accepted as an alga there is still debate over its taxonomic affinity, with recent work arguing that it should be reclassified as a chaeteti...

Substrate cover by corals, soft corals, sand, bare rock and algae was determined by several means for seaward reef slopes of the Central Indian Ocean atolls of Peros Banhos and Salomon, Chagos Archipelago, and in the lagoon of the former. Cover of hard substrate by coelenterates averages 80 O/O between 3 and 42 m, and calcareous algae dominate above and below these depths. Alcyonarian corals co...

Coral reef benthic communities are mosaics of individual bottom-types that are distinguished by their taxonomic composition and functional roles in the ecosystem. Knowledge of community structure is essential to understanding many reef processes. To develop techniques for identification and mapping of reef bottom-types using remote sensing, we measured 13,100 in situ optical reflectance spectra...

The April 1st 2014 Iquique earthquake (MW 8.1) occurred along the northern Chile margin where the Nazca plate is subducted below the South American continent. The last great megathrust earthquake here, in 1877 of Mw ~8.8 opened a seismic gap, which was only partly closed by the 2014 earthquake. Prior to the earthquake in 2013, and shortly after it we compared data from leveled benchmarks, deplo...