Palaeomagnetic evidence for Tertiary counterclockwise rotation of Adria

With the aim of obtaining Tertiary palaeomagnetic directions for the Adriatic Foreland of the Dinaric nappe system, we carried out a palaeomagnetic study on platform carbonates from stable Istria, from the northwestern and the Central Dalmatia segment of imbricated Adria. Despite the weak to very weak natural remanences of these rocks, we obtained tectonically useful palaeomagnetic directions for 25 sites from 20 localities. All exhibit westerly declinations, both before and after tilt correction. Concerning the age of the magnetizations, we conclude that five subhorizontal and magnetite bearing Eocene localities from stable Istria are likely to carry primary remanence, whereas three tilted and hematite-bearing ones were remagnetized. In the northwestern segment of imbricated Adria the cluster of the mean directions improved after tectonic correction indicating pre-tilting magnetization. In contrast, Maastrichtian–Eocene platform carbonates from Central Dalmatian were remagnetized in connection with the late Eocene–Oligocene deformation or Miocene hydrocarbon migration. Based on the appropriate site/locality means, we calculate mean palaeomagnetic directions for the above three areas and suggest an alternative interpretation of the data of Kissel et al. [J. Geophys. Res. 100 (1995) 14999] for the flysch of Central Dalmatia. The four area mean direction define a regional palaeomagnetic direction of Dec=336°, Inc=+52°, k=107, α₉₅=9°. From these data we conclude that stable Istria, in close coordination with imbricated Adria, must have rotated by 30° counterclockwise in the Tertiary, relative to Africa and stable Europe. We suggest that the latest Miocene–early Pliocene counterclockwise rotations observed in northwestern Croatia and northeastern Slovenia were driven by that of the Adriatic Foreland, i.e. the rotation of the latter took place between 6 and 4 Ma.     

Hydrochemical and isotopic characteristics of groundwater in the Souss Upstream Basin, southwestern Morocco

Heterogeneous shallow Plio-Quaternary formations of the Souss Plain represent the most important aquifer in southern High Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The present work was conducted in the Souss Upstream Basin to identify the chemical characteristics and the origin of groundwater in an aquifer under semi-arid climate. Isotopic and hydrochemical compositions combined with geological and hydrogeological data were used for this purpose. The total dissolved solids vary from 239 to 997 mg l⁻¹, and the following groundwater types are recognized: Ca²⁺–Mg²⁺–HCO₃⁻, Ca²⁺–Mg²⁺–SO₄²⁻ and Ca²⁺–Mg²⁺–Cl⁻. The groundwater is saturated and slightly supersaturated with respect to carbonate minerals and undersaturated with respect to evaporite minerals, which means that the groundwater composition is largely controlled by the dissolution of carbonate rocks known in the basin. The isotopic contents of groundwaters ranged from −8‰ to −5.2‰ for δ¹⁸O, from −52‰ to −34‰ for δD, and from 0 to 5.5 TU for tritium. The hydrogen (δD) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotope signatures reveal a significant infiltration before evaporation takes place, indicating a major recharge directly from fractures in the crystalline and limestone formations of Atlas Mountains (above 800 m a.s.l.) and infiltration of surface water in the alluvial cones at the border of the Atlas basins. The very low tritium values suggest that the groundwater recharge follows a long flow path and a mixing between old and modern water is shown. However, a slight evaporation effect is noted in the southern part of the basin close to the Anti-Atlas Mountains.     

Palynological evidence for Jurassic strata in the Panagarh area, West Bengal, India

The Rajmahal Traps were discovered in the Panagarh area, West Bengal, during the exploration for coal resources. A Gondwana succession was found beneath the traps, consisting of the Early Cretaceous Intratrappean Rajmahal Formation, the Early Triassic Panchet Formation and the Late Permian coal-bearing Raniganj Formation. The present palynological study was aimed at confirming the age of the Panchet Formation. As a result of this study it has been found that Jurassic sediments are also included in the Panchet Formation. The study has revealed that the Panchet Formation, defined on a lithological basis, is a time-transgressive unit extending from the Early Triassic to the Late Jurassic, with a phase of non-deposition between the Middle Triassic and Middle Jurassic.     

Dinosaur coprolites from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Lameta Formation of India: isotopic and other markers suggesting a C3plant diet

A single locality of the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Lameta Formation at Pisdura in Central India has yielded a large number of coprolites attributed to titanosaurian dinosaurs. Internally the coprolites are dark grey and contain abundant plant tissues and other organic materials. The plant tissues are mostly of gymnospermous origin. In addition, remains of bacterial colonies, fungal spores and algae are seen in the macerated fraction under scanning electron microscope. The dark grey appearance is probably attributable to fine-grained organic matter within voids in tracheids or xylem. The average ¹³C/¹²C ratio of the organic matter in the coprolites is -24‰ (relative to PDB) suggesting that plants of C₃type were the main diet of their producers. A comparison of δ¹⁵N value (about 4‰ w.r.t. air) of the coprolites with that of faecal matter of modern herbivores and carnivores suggests that gut fermentation may not have been an active mechanism in the digestion process of titanosaurs.     

Boreal temperature variability inferred from maximum latewood density and tree-ring width data, Wrangell Mountain region, Alaska

Variations in both width and density of annual rings from a network of tree chronologies were used to develop high-resolution proxies to extend the climate record in the Wrangell Mountain region of Alaska. We developed a warm-season (July–September) temperature reconstruction that spans A.D. 1593–1992 based on the first eigenvector from principal component analysis of six maximum latewood density (MXD) chronologies. The climate/tree-growth model accounts for 51% of the temperature variance from 1958 to 1992 and shows cold in the late 1600s–early 1700s followed by a warmer period, cooling in the late 1700s–early 1800s, and warming in the 20th century. The 20th century is the warmest of the past four centuries. Several severely cold warm-seasons coincide with major volcanic eruptions. The first eigenvector from a ring-width (RW) network, based on nine chronologies from the Wrangell Mountain region (A.D. 1550–1970), is correlated positively with both reconstructed and recorded Northern Hemisphere temperatures. RW shows a temporal history similar to that of MXD by increased growth (warmer) and decreased growth (cooler) intervals and trends. After around 1970 the RW series show a decrease in growth, while station data show continued warming, which may be related to increasing moisture stress or other factors. Both the temperature history based on MXD and the growth trends from the RW series are consistent with well-dated glacier fluctuations in the Wrangell Mountains and some of the temperature variations also correspond to variations in solar activity.     

The Geysers - Cobb Mountain Magma System, California (Part 1): U-Pb zircon ages of volcanic rocks, conditions of zircon crystallization and magma residence times

Combined U-Pb zircon and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar sanidine data from volcanic rocks within or adjacent to the Geysers geothermal reservoir constrain the timing of episodic eruption events and the pre-eruptive magma history. Zircon U-Pb concordia intercept model ages (corrected for initial ²³⁰Th disequilibrium) decrease as predicted from stratigraphic and regional geological relationships (1σ analytical error): 2.47 ± 0.04 Ma (rhyolite of Pine Mountain), 1.38 ± 0.01 Ma (rhyolite of Alder Creek), 1.33 ± 0.04 Ma (rhyodacite of Cobb Mountain), 1.27 ± 0.03 Ma (dacite of Cobb Valley), and 0.94 ± 0.01 Ma (dacite of Tyler Valley). A significant (∼0.2-0.3 Ma) difference between these ages and sanidine ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages measured for the same samples demonstrates that zircon crystallized well before eruption. Zircons U-Pb ages from the underlying main-phase Geysers Plutonic Complex (GPC) are indistinguishable from those of the Cobb Mountain volcanics. While this is in line with compositional evidence that the GPC fed the Cobb Mountain eruptions, the volcanic units conspicuously lack older (∼1.8 Ma) zircons from the shallowest part of the GPC. Discontinuous zircon age populations and compositional relationships in the volcanic and plutonic samples are incompatible with zircon residing in a single long-lived upper crustal magma chamber. Instead we favor a model in which zircons were recycled by remelting of just-solidified rocks during episodic injection of more mafic magmas. This is consistent with thermochronologic evidence that the GPC cooled below 350° C at the time the Cobb Mountain volcanics were erupted.     

Secondary mineralization pathways induced by dissimilatory iron reduction of ferrihydrite under advective flow

Iron (hydr)oxides not only serve as potent sorbents and repositories for nutrients and contaminants but also provide a terminal electron acceptor for microbial respiration. The microbial reduction of Fe (hydr)oxides and the subsequent secondary solid-phase transformations will, therefore, have a profound influence on the biogeochemical cycling of Fe as well as associated metals. Here we elucidate the pathways and mechanisms of secondary mineralization during dissimilatory iron reduction by a common iron-reducing bacterium, Shewanella putrefaciens (strain CN32), of 2-line ferrihydrite under advective flow conditions. Secondary mineralization of ferrihydrite occurs via a coupled, biotic-abiotic pathway primarily resulting in the production of magnetite and goethite with minor amounts of green rust. Operating mineralization pathways are driven by competing abiotic reactions of bacterially generated ferrous iron with the ferrihydrite surface. Subsequent to the initial sorption of ferrous iron on ferrihydrite, goethite (via dissolution/reprecipitation) and/or magnetite (via solid-state conversion) precipitation ensues resulting in the spatial coupling of both goethite and magnetite with the ferrihydrite surface. The distribution of goethite and magnetite within the column is dictated, in large part, by flow-induced ferrous Fe profiles. While goethite precipitation occurs over a large Fe(II) concentration range, magnetite accumulation is only observed at concentrations exceeding 0.3 mmol/L (equivalent to 0.5 mmol Fe[II]/g ferrihydrite) following 16 d of reaction. Consequently, transport-regulated ferrous Fe profiles result in a progression of magnetite levels downgradient within the column. Declining microbial reduction over time results in lower Fe(II) concentrations and a subsequent shift in magnetite precipitation mechanisms from nucleation to crystal growth. While the initial precipitation rate of goethite exceeds that of magnetite, continued growth is inhibited by magnetite formation, potentially a result of lower Fe(III) activity. Conversely, the presence of lower initial Fe(II) concentrations followed by higher concentrations promotes goethite accumulation and inhibits magnetite precipitation even when Fe(II) concentrations later increase, thus revealing the importance of both the rate of Fe(II) generation and flow-induced Fe(II) profiles. As such, the operating secondary mineralization pathways following reductive dissolution of ferrihydrite at a given pH are governed principally by flow-regulated Fe(II) concentration, which drives mineral precipitation kinetics and selection of competing mineral pathways.     

A millennial-scale record of Holocene tsunamis on the Kronotskiy Bay coast, Kamchatka, Russia

Deposits from as many as 50 large tsunamis during the last 7000 years are preserved on the Pacific coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula near the mouth of the Zhupanova River, southern Kronotskiy Bay. These deposits are dated and correlated using Holocene marker tephra layers. The combined, preserved record of tsunami deposits and of numerous marker tephras on Kamchatka offers an unprecedented opportunity to study tsunami frequency. For example, from the stratigraphy along southern Kronotskiy Bay, we estimate frequency of large tsunamis (>5 m runup). In the last 3000 years, the minimum frequency is about one large tsunami per 100 years, and the maximum about one large tsunami per 30 years; the latter frequency occurred from about 0 to 1000 A.D. This time interval corresponds to a period of increased seismicity and volcanic activity that appears to be recorded in many places on the Kamchatka Peninsula.     

Determination of food web support and trophic position of the mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus, in New Jersey smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), common reed (Phragmites australis), and restored salt marshes

The invasion ofPhragmites australis into tidal marshes formerly dominated bySpartina alterniflora has resulted in considerable interest in the consequences of this invasion for the ecological functions of marsh habitat. We examined the provision of trophic support for a resident marsh fish,Fundulus heteroclitus, in marshes dominated byP. australis, byS. alterniflora, and in restored marshes, using multiple stable isotope analysis. We first evaluated our ability to distinguish among potential primary producers using the multiple stable isotope approach. Within a tidal creek system we found significant marsh and elevation effects on microalgal isotope values, and sufficient variability and overlap in primary producer isotope values to create some difficulty in identifying unique end members. The food webs supportingF. heteroclitus production were examined using dual isotope plots. At both sites, the δ¹³C values ofF. heteroclitus were clustered over values for benthic microalgae (BMI) and approximately midway between δ¹³C values ofSpartina andPhragmites. Based on comparisons of fish and primary producer δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S values, and consideration ofF. heteroclitus feeding habits, we conclude that BMI were a significant component of the food web supportingF. heteroclitus in these brackish marshes, especially recently-hatched fish occupying pools on the marsh surface. A 2‰ difference in δ¹³C betweenFundulus occupying nearly adjacentSpartina andPhragmites marshes may be indicative of relatively less reliance on BMI and greater reliance onPhragmites production inPhragmites-dominated marshes, a conclusion consistent with the reduced BMI biomass found inPhragmites marshes. The mean δ¹³C value ofF. heteroclitus from restored marshes was intermediate between values of fish from naturally occurringSpartina marshes and areas invaded byPhragmites. We also examined the isotopic evidence for ontogenetic changes in the trophic position of larval and juvenileF. heteroclitus. We found significant positive relationships betweenF. heteroclitus δ¹⁵N values and total length, reflective of an increase in trophic position as fish grow.F. heteroclitus δ¹⁵N values indicate that these fish are feeding approximately two trophic levels above primary producers.