Description: R/V Meteor cruise M162 was conducted as a systematic continuation of ongoing work dedicated to understand if and howfluid flow through crust and sedimentscontinues along transform-type plate boundaries and fracture zones away from mid-ocean ridges and continental margins. Central target was the Gloria Fault in the central Northeast Atlantic. Previous findings along the eastern continuation of the Gloria Fault revealed fault-controlled fluid advection and mud volcanism along strike-slip faults in the Horseshoe Abyssal Plain and the Gulf of Cadiz, where fluid geochemistry revealed the admixture of fluids from deeply buried oceanic crust and oldest sediments on top of it. TheGloria Fault itselfis an old, reactivated, and seismically active oceanic fracture zone. During M162 a systematic survey along the main trace of the Gloria Fault between the Azores Plateau and the Madeira-Tore Rise was carried out, including sub-bottom profiler surveys, heat flow transects, gravity corer sampling, as well as video-guided CTD and multicorer deployments. In accordance to recently recorded seismic activity along the fault, there isevidence for tectonic motion both in sub-bottom profiler records and sediment cores. Heat flow measurements revealed values significantly elevated above the background in many places, predominantly along the main fault trace and other active faults.Ina number of placesfluid geochemistry revealed enhanced diagenetic processes in the sediments, implying the potential relation to upward-directed fluid flow. In summary, cruise M162revealed the first complementary data set on heat flow and fluid geochemistry along an oceanic fault zone, which will further our understanding on themes like the alteration of oceanic lithosphere and crust-ocean element exchange.

Description: 〈span class="paragraphSection"〉〈div class="boxTitle"〉Summary〈/div〉The oceanic crustal and uppermost lithospheric mantle structure across the Gloria Fault (GF) transcurrent plate boundary between Africa and Eurasia in the Northeast Atlantic is investigated based on seismic reflection, seismic refraction and wide-angle reflection data. This experiment used 18 ocean bottom stations along an N–S 150 km long traverse together with acquisition of a multichannel seismic reflection profile. Modeling of 〈span style="font-style:italic;"〉P〈/span〉 and 〈span style="font-style:italic;"〉S〈/span〉 seismic waves and gravimetric anomalies allowed estimation of 〈span style="font-style:italic;"〉P〈/span〉- and 〈span style="font-style:italic;"〉S〈/span〉-wave velocities, density, Poisson's ratio and discussion of a compositional model. A five-layer model is proposed in which layers 1–3 correspond to normal sediments through typical oceanic crust layers 2 and 3. Layer 5 yielded mantle velocities above 7.9 km s〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. Layer 4 with 4 km of thickness has 〈span style="font-style:italic;"〉Vp〈/span〉 velocities between 7.1 and 7.4 km s〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 and is clearly separated from typical oceanic crust and mantle layers. Comparison with natural analogues and published lab measurements suggest that layer 4 can be a mix of lithologies that comply with the estimated 〈span style="font-style:italic;"〉P〈/span〉 and 〈span style="font-style:italic;"〉S〈/span〉 velocities and computed Poisson's ratio and densities, such as, olivine cumulates, peridotite, gabbro and hydrated mantle. We favour the tectonic process that produces secondary porosity from which results serpentinization due to sea water circulation in fractures. Structural and seismic stratigraphic interpretation of the reflection profile shows that Neogene to recent tectonic deformation on this segment of the plate boundary concentrated on the southern side of the GF, that is, the Africa plate.〈/span〉

Description: [1]  The first results of a multi-sensor airborne survey conducted off the western Iberian Coast are presented (including visible, lidar, and infrared imagery), and reveal the presence of Internal Solitary Waves (ISWs) propagating into the near-shore region. For the first time, two-dimensional lidar imagery is shown to detect the presence of ISWs, and the results are interpreted in a more comprehensive framework provided by the remaining instrumentation. Sea surface roughness patterns resulting from the ISWs are found to be imaged in the lidar data, where specular reflection causes slicks to appear as areas of significantly reduced backscatter. Moreover, the lidar data reveals an unprecedented view into the ISWs surface and subsurface structure. Possible interpretations are discussed based on the accumulation of surfactants and air bubble entrainment at the leading edge of the ISWs (where maximum convergence occurs).

Description: A genome-wide association study (GWAS) could unravel the complexity of the cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to canine leishmaniasis (CanL). Therefore, we scanned 110,165 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), aiming to identify chromosomal regions associated with the leishmanin skin test (LST), lymphocyte proliferation assay (LPA), and cytokine responses to further understand the role played by CMI in the outcome of natural Leishmania infantum infection in 189 dogs. Based on LST and LPA, four CMI profiles were identified (LST – /LPA – , LST + /LPA – , LST – /LPA + , and LST + /LPA + ), which were not associated with subclinically infected or diseased dogs. LST + /LPA + dogs showed increased interferon gamma (IFN-) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels and mild parasitism in the lymph nodes, whereas LST – /LPA + dogs, in spite of increased IFN-, also showed increased interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) levels and the highest parasite load in lymph nodes. Low T cell proliferation under low parasite load suggested that L. infantum was not able to induce effective CMI in the early stage of infection. Altogether, genetic markers explained 87%, 16%, 15%, 11%, 0%, and 0% of phenotypic variance in TNF-α, TGF-β, LST, IL-10, IFN-, and LPA, respectively. GWAS showed that regions associated with TNF-α include the following genes: IL12RB1 , JAK3 , CCRL2 , CCR2 , CCR3 , and CXCR6 , involved in cytokine and chemokine signaling; regions associated with LST, including COMMD5 and SHARPIN , involved in regulation of NF-B signaling; and regions associated with IL-10, including LTBP1 and RASGRP3 , involved in T regulatory lymphocytes differentiation. These findings pinpoint chromosomic regions related to the cell-mediated response that potentially affect the clinical complexity and the parasite replication in canine L. infantum infection.