Phytoplankton size and relations between phytoplankton and microzooplankton (ciliates and heterotrophic dinoflagellates) biomass are analysed in 12 globally distributed areas. In view of the results, a hypothesis is posed where blooming species are those able to escape control by microzooplankton through a combination of predation avoidance mechanisms (e.g. larger size, colonies, spines, and to...

The Serra do Mar complex in the southeastern Brazil is subject to frequent landslides especially on the Atlantic coast. The three dimensional organisation of the soil was studied in a 56 ha representative catchment. Upslope in situ soil material has developed from the parent rock, and downslope the soil has resulted from landslide processes. The soil mantle upslope is mainly characterised by sl...

We reassess the predictability of U.S. recessions at horizons from three months to two years ahead for a large number of previously proposed leading-indicator variables. We employ an efficient probit estimator for partially missing data and assess relative model performance based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. While the Treasury term spread has the highest predictive powe...

In most soils of the humid tropics, kaolinitic topsoil horizons overlie more gibbsitic horizons. This arrangement cannot be produced simply by leaching. Quantitative measurement of the turnover of chemical elements in the litterfall in an Amazonian ecosystem indicates that the forest cycles a significant amount of elements, particularly silicon. As a result, fluids that percolate through topsoi...

We investigate the possibility of having horizons inside various classical field configurations. Using the implicit function theorem, we show that models satisfying a certain set of criteria allow for (at least) small horizons within extended matter fields. Gauge and global monopoles and Skyrmions satisfy these criteria. Q-balls and Boson stars are examples which do not and can be shown not to ...

The diversity of bacteria in soil is enormous, and soil bacterial communities can vary greatly in structure. Here, we employed a pyrosequencing-based analysis of the V2-V3 16S rRNA gene region to characterize the overall and horizon-specific (A and B horizons) bacterial community compositions in nine grassland soils, which covered three different land use types. The entire data set comprised 75...

Gypsic and petrogypsic horizons occur in large areas of arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The occurrence of gypsum in soils is considered a key feature by most soil classification and mapping systems, that have coined specific names for these soils and horizons. However, the current methodology for description and definition of gypsic and petrogypsic horizons in the two most popular soil...