Le gisement AgHg de Zgounder (Jebel Siroua, Anti-Atlas, Maroc) : un épithermal néoprotérozoïque de type Imiter

The Zgounder ore deposit (Anti-Atlas, Morocco), is hosted in a PII–PIII Proterozoic volcanosedimentary series. Disseminated mineralization is dominated by mercuriferous native silver (2 to 30 wt.% Hg), with few silver sulfosalts (acanthite, pearceite), arsenopyrite and base-metal sulfides. Arsenic grade of arsenopyrite and homogenisation temperatures of fluid inclusions indicate initial conditions of high temperature (above 400 °C). Lead isotope compositions comfort a Late-Proterozoic age and a crustal origin for metals. Similarities are obvious with the neighbouring silver ore deposit of Imiter and lead to consider Zgounder as another example of Neoproterozoic epithermal deposit in the Anti-Atlas of Morocco, a region that appears more and more as a silver metallogenic province. To cite this article: É. Marcoux, A. Wadjinny, C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Âges KAr des roches magmatiques du fossé de Garoua (Cameroun) : leur place dans le cadre de la « Ligne du Cameroun »

KAr analyses on whole rock and minerals are reported for the Kokoumi anorogenic pluton and alkaline volcanics of the Benue valley, west of Garoua (northern Cameroon), which belong to the northern part of the ‘Cameroon Line’. The two formations yield similar ages of 39 and 37 Ma, respectively. These values likely correspond to the time of emplacement. They are in agreement with the interpretation considering the ‘Cameroon Line’ as a huge lithospheric crack tapping a hot deep asthenospheric zone. To cite this article: R. Montigny et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Contrasted tectonic styles for the Paleoproterozoic evolution of the North China Craton. Evidence for a 2.1 Ga thermal and tectonic event in the Fuping Massif

Structural analysis along with ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar and U–Pb datings in the Fuping massif provide new insight into the evolution of the eastern part of the Trans-North China Belt (North China Craton), from 2.7 Ga to 1.8 Ga. D1 is responsible for the development of a dome-and-basin structure coeval with crustal melting giving rise to migmatite and Nanying gneissic granites at 2.1 Ga. This dome-and-basin architecture resulted from the interference between a N–S compression of a weak ductile crust and gravity-driven vertical flow, in a high thermal regime. The next events involved flat lying ductile thrusting (D2) and normal faulting (D3) dated at around 1880 Ma and 1830 Ma, respectively. The D2 and D3 events belong to the Trans-North China Orogeny that results in the final amalgamation of the North China Craton. The D1 deformation is considered as evidence for an earlier orogen developed around 2.1 Ga prior to the Trans-North China Orogeny. The change in the deformation style between the 2.1 Ga and 1.8 Ga could be viewed as a consequence of the cooling of the continental crust in the North China Craton.     

Effective precipitation in southern Spain ( 266 to 46 ka) based on a speleothem stable carbon isotope record

We present the longest-duration directly dated terrestrial palaeoclimate record from the western Mediterranean region: a flowstone speleothem from Gitana Cave, southeast Spain. The main phase of growth was 274 to 58 ka, dated by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) U-series methods. Effective precipitation, which we consider primarily responsible for flowstone calcite δ¹³C variations, measured at 300 μm resolution, was higher during interglacials associated with marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS) 7 and 5, and lower during glacial MIS 6. There is a close correspondence between speleothem δ¹³C and sea surface temperature (SST) estimates from adjacent Atlantic Ocean cores during MIS 6, which implies that oceanic conditions are critical in controlling the western Mediterranean terrestrial moisture balance during glacial periods. Other features of our record, such as the sequence of termination II warming/moistening between approximately 133 and 127 ka, including a “pause” around 130–128 ka, and the lagged termination of MIS 5 warm intervals (5e, 5c and 5a) are similar to other terrestrial records within the Mediterranean basin, indicating climate synchroneity along the northern Mediterranean coast. The Gitana cave region also may have been a refugium for temperate species during short-lived cold/arid periods during MIS 5.     

Biosorption of cadmium(II), lead(II) and cobalt(II) from aqueous solution by biochar from cones of larch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Larix decidua</Emphasis> Mill. <Emphasis Type="Italic">subsp. decidua</Emphasis>) and spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea abies</Emphasis> L. H. Karst)

Because of their physicochemical properties, biochars can be used as sorption materials for removal of toxic substances. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether biochar obtained from cones of larch (Larix decidua Mill. subsp. decidua) and spruce (Picea abies L. H. Karst) could be used as a sorbent for Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Co²⁺ in aqueous solutions. So far, this feedstock had not been tested in this respect. The material was subjected to pyrolysis at 500 and 600 °C for the duration of 5, 10 and 15 min. The obtained pyrolysates were found to differ in terms of pH and the contents of the essential macroelements. The different values of these parameters were determined for varying temperature, duration of the pyrolysis process and type of feedstock. Sorption capacities of the biochars for removal of Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Co²⁺ were examined using simulated contamination of aqueous solutions with salts of these metals. The findings showed the highest, nearly complete, removal for Pb²⁺ were maximum 99.7%, and almost three times lower value for Cd²⁺ and Co²⁺ (respectively, 35.7 and 24.8%). It was demonstrated that pyrolysis of conifer cones produced optimum sorption capacities when the process was conducted at a temperature of 500 °C for the duration of 5 min. It was shown that products of spruce cone pyrolysis were characterized by better sorption capacity in comparison with products of larch cone pyrolysis. The properties of conifer cone biochar create the possibility of using it as an adsorbent in water and wastewater treatment as well as in production of filters and activated carbon.     

Reconstruction of climatic and environmental changes in NW Romania during the early part of the last deglaciation (15,000–13,600 cal yr BP)

High resolution pollen, plant macrofossil, charcoal, mineral magnetic and sedimentary analyses, combined with AMS ¹⁴C measurements, were performed on multiple sediment sequences along a transect through the former crater lake Preluca iganului in northwestern Romania in order to reconstruct the climatic and environmental changes during the early part of the Last Termination. Lake sediments started to accumulate at 14,700 cal yr BP. Initially the upland vegetation consisted of an open forest with mainly Betula and Salix and few Pinus sp., but from 14,500 cal yr BP onwards, Pinus mugo, P. sylvestris and Populus and later on also Larix became established around the lake. Between 14,150 and 13,950 cal yr BP, Pinus cembra seems to have replaced P. mugo and P. sylvestris. At 13,950 cal yr BP the tree cover increased and Picea appeared for the first time, together with Pinus cembra, P. mugo and Larix. From 13,750 cal yr BP onwards, a Picea forest developed around the site. Based on the combined proxy data the following climatic development may be inferred: 14,700–14,500 cal yr BP, cooler and wet/humid; 14,500–14,400 cal yr BP: gradually warmer temperatures, wet/humid with dry summers; 14,400–14,320 cal yr BP: warm and dry; 14,320–14,150 cal yr BP: cooler and wet/humid; 14,150–14,100 cal yr BP: warm and dry; 14,100–13,850 cal yr BP: warmer and wet/humid; <13,850 cal yr BP: warm and dry. The tentative correlation of this development with the North Atlantic region assumes that the period >14,700 cal yr could correspond to GS-2a, the time span between 14,700 and 14,320 to GI-1e, the phase between 14,320 and 14,150 cal yr BP to GI-1d and the time frame between 14,150 and 13,600 cal yr BP to the lower part of GI-1c.     

Field and geochemical characteristics of the Mesoarchean ( 3075 Ma) Ivisaartoq greenstone belt, southern West Greenland: Evidence for seafloor hydrothermal alteration in supra-subduction oceanic crust

The Mesoarchean (ca. 3075 Ma) Ivisaartoq greenstone belt in southern West Greenland includes variably deformed and metamorphosed pillow basalts, ultramafic flows (picrites), serpentinized ultramafic rocks, gabbros, sulphide-rich siliceous layers, and minor siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. Primary magmatic features such as concentric cooling-cracks and drainage cavities in pillows, volcanic breccia, ocelli interpreted as liquid immiscibility textures in pillows and gabbros, magmatic layering in gabbros, and clinopyroxene cumulates in ultramafic flows are well preserved in low-strain domains. The belt underwent at least two stages of calc-silicate metasomatic alteration and polyphase deformation between 2963 and 3075 Ma. The stage I metasomatic assemblage is composed predominantly of epidote (now mostly diopside) + quartz + plagioclase ± hornblende ± scapolite, and occurs mainly in pillow cores, pillow interstitials, and along pillow basalt-gabbro contacts. The origin of this metasomatic assemblage is attributed to seafloor hydrothermal alteration. On the basis of the common presence of epidote inclusions in diopside and the local occurrence of epidote-rich aggregates, the stage I metasomatic assemblage is interpreted as relict epidosite. The stage II metasomatic assemblage occurs as concordant discontinuous layered calc-silicate bodies to discordant calc-silicate veins commonly associated with shear zones. The stage II metasomatic assemblage consists mainly of diopside + garnet + amphibole + plagioclase + quartz ± vesuvianite ± scapolite ± epidote ± titanite ± calcite ± scheelite. Given that the second stage of metasomatism is closely associated with shear zones and replaced rocks with an early metamorphic fabric, its origin is attributed to regional dynamothermal metamorphism. The least altered pillow basalts, picrites, gabbros, and diorites are characterized by LREE-enriched, near-flat HREE, and HFSE (especially Nb)-depleted trace element patterns, indicating a subduction zone geochemical signature. Ultramafic pillows and cumulates display large positive initial ε_Nd values of + 1.3 to + 5.0, consistent with a strongly depleted mantle source. Given the geological similarities between the Ivisaartoq greenstone belt and Phanerozoic forearc ophiolites, we suggest that the Ivisaartoq greenstone belt represents Mesoarchean supra-subduction zone oceanic crust.     

Taconic Orogeny in Pennsylvania: A 15 –20 m.y. Apennine-style Ordovician event viewed from its Martic hinterland

In Pennsylvania, the Taconic Orogeny lasted from 461 to 443 Ma as Cambro-Ordovician slope deposits were deformed into mountains edging the Laurentian craton at the same time that materials from an adjacent deep-water basin were being transported 50 –70 km across a carbonate platform into foreland basins. This paper focuses on shelf-edge hinterland features, mostly the Martic Zone as a folded, stack of imbricate thrust sheets of slope materials that corresponds to Vermont's Taconic Mountains and Southern Quebec's zone of Taconic allochthons. Work of the last century is summarized, corrected, and combined with a new 450 Ma radiometric date and fluid inclusion data from the Pequea Mine within the Martic Zone. These and abundant new graptolite and conodont dates in the foreland paint a revised Pennsylvania picture differing from the northern Taconic areas. Differences are: (1) transport of very large allochthonous masses of deep-water material, the Dauphin Formation, far across the carbonate platform, and (2) deformation migrating progressively across that platform during a 15 –20 m.y. period, incorporating it and its foreland cover into alpine-scale, recumbent folds and thrusts. The scenario has many analogies to Italy's modern Apennine Mountains minus the Latian volcanics.     

Stratigraphic Evidence for the Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau between 1.1 and 0.9 myr Ago

Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau is manifest not only in widespread denudation, but also by an increased deposition rate of sediment, near or far from the exhumed regions. Our results indicate that the mass accumulation rate (MAR) of eolian dust increased between 1.1 and 0.9 myr ago. We associate this increase in MAR and median grain size with uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent regions during this period. This Middle Pleistocene uplift can also be evidenced by the age of volcanism in the marginal region, the existence of thick conglomerate deposits surrounding the uplifted plateau, and the increased sedimentation rate of lacustrine deposits in the Qaidam Basin (northeastern Tibetan Plateau) between 1.1 and 0.9 myr ago. The correlation between the loess and marine records indicates that after 0.9 myr ago, these two records correlate well. This good correlation probably suggest that the Middle Pleistocene upheaval event not only brought the plateau into the cryosphere, but also enhanced the coupling of regional-scale Chinese loess transportation and deposition to the global ice volume variations through its effects on glacial grinding, rock denudation, and east Asian monsoonal circulation.     

Evidence for low or no oxygen in the late Archean atmosphere from the ∼2.76 Ga Mt. Roe #2 paleosol, Western Australia: Part 3

This paper is a contribution to the ongoing controversy regarding the evolution of atmospheric oxygen. The history of the oxidation state of paleosols can help to resolve the controversy, because the distribution of redox-sensitive elements in soils has been strongly influenced by the oxygen content of the ambient atmosphere, particularly before the advent of the higher land plants.The distribution of the major and minor elements in a section through the 2.76 Ga Mt. Roe #2 paleosol seems to have been unaffected by the presence of oxygen, and indicates that this soil developed under an atmosphere that contained very little or no oxygen.     

Limitation and combined effects of iron and phosphorus on the growth of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Prorocentrum micans</Emphasis> Ehrenberg (Dinophyceae) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomonas</Emphasis> sp. (Cryptophyceae)

Iron and phosphorus limitation and their combined effects on the growth and development of Prorocentrum micans Ehrenberg (Dinophyceae) and Cryptomonas sp. (Cryptophyceae) have been studied. The growth status of these algae at different Fe and P levels is quantitatively analyzed through lab-culture experiments. Results show that Fe starvation can misalign chloroplast lamellas, and metamorphose and twist thylakoid, leading to a retarded growth rate. The combined effects of Fe and P can accelerate their growth, and an optimum culture condition to maintain the maximum growth rate is a combination of 0.05 μM Fe and 50 μM P. Algal uptake of Fe and P are synergistic. Their cellular concentrations bear significant correlations (r = 0.9979 for Cryptomonas sp. and 0.9938 for P. micans; P < 0.01) and correspondingly the molar P:Fe ratios are ∼160:1 and ∼356:1, respectively. These findings will provide novel insights for revealing the crucial factors controlling the occurrence of algal blooms.     

Life and death of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccocoma tenella</Emphasis> (G<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">oldfuss</Emphasis>)

The morphology of the small stalkless Saccocoma tenella is unique among crinoids. It is characterized by an extremely light skeleton with dish-like lateral wings on the proximal brachials and peculiar paired vertical processes flanking the food grooves of more distal brachials. The arms are heavily branched. The lateral wings obviously were involved in vertical movement. For the vertical processes a “baffle rail” function for arm curling and “snap swimming” has been postulated, with muscles between the processes. However, there is no evidence that the processes were connected by muscles. For food collection a “pulsating funnel” model in the water column is advocated, with the processes serving to collect plankton during upward movement of the arms. The resulting mouth-up position is supported by the biostratinomy. Saccocoma tenella is considered to have been pelagic, a benthic lifestyle is rejected on ecologic and taphonomic grounds. Adorally-curled arms are considered a reaction to hostile environment before death, not a taphonomic artefact.