Redefining the Age of the Cenozoic Shanwang Formation in Shanwang Basin

<正>Objective The Shanwang Basin is a small Cenozoic sedimentary basin located in Linqu county,Shandong province.The Shanwang Formation,especially the diatomaceous shale member,contains diverse and finely preserved flora and fauna fossils(Fig.1).Previous paleontological study and radiometric dating show that it was formed in the Miocene.However,on the precise age of the formation,there are such different opinions as Late Miocene,Middle     

The asteroid ephemerides program at the U.S. Naval Observatory

The U.S. Naval Observatory has begun a program of ephemeris improvement and reference frame determination from the main belt asteroids. The program is, currently, starting out with a limited set of observations of the larger asteroids to determine the equator and equinox corrections for the USNO W1J00 transit circle observations catalog, and, if possible, improve the orbits of these asteroids based on this limited set of observations. For this project, transit circle observations of the Sun and the planets Mercury through Jupiter, are also being used to determine the equator, equinox, and ephemeris corrections, the next goal is to improve the orbits of the larger asteroids in the optical reference frame using observation series that cover a much longer period of time. This will allow the exploration of the differences between the dynamical reference frame based on radar observations of main belt asteroids and its relation with the optical reference frame. Other goals include the exploration of the mass distribution in the main asteroid belt from high precision observations, and the effect of this mass on the ephemerides of the major planets.     

High Prevalence and Potential Impacts of Caligid Ectoparasites on Larval Atlantic Croaker (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Micropogonias undulatus</Emphasis>) in the Chesapeake Bay

Larvae of Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus enter Mid-Atlantic Bight estuaries annually between September and February. A high prevalence of ectoparasitic crustacean infection of ingressing larval M. undulatus was observed in Chesapeake Bay; this ectoparasite was identified as a species of Lepeophtheirus within the copepod family Caligidae from analysis of cytochrome oxidase I sequences and scanning electron microscopy. Between 2007 and 2011, seasonal differences in prevalence were observed, with higher infection rates on fall ingressing larvae (20 % mean monthly infection rate) than in larvae entering the estuary in the winter (monthly infection rate of 6 %); the head region had the highest parasite attachment rate, being observed in 78 % of the infected fish. The potential effects of this ectoparasite on larval M. undulatus could include reductions in feeding (and thus growth) and increased susceptibility to predation.     

Late Quaternary glaciation and equilibrium line altitude variations of the McKinley River region,central Alaska Range

Dortch, J. M., Owen, L. A., Caffee, M. W. & Brease, P. 2009: Late Quaternary glaciation and equilibrium line altitude variations of the McKinley River region, central Alaska Range. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00121.x. ISSN 0300‐9483 Glacial deposits and landforms produced by the Muldrow and Peters glaciers in the McKinley River region of Alaska were examined using geomorphic and ¹⁰Be terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) surface exposure dating (SED) methods to assess the timing and nature of late Quaternary glaciation and moraine stabilization. In addition to the oldest glacial deposits (McLeod Creek Drift), a group of four late Pleistocene moraines (MP‐I, II, III and IV) and three late Holocene till deposits (‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ drifts) are present in the region, representing at least eight glacial advances. The ¹⁰Be TCN ages for the MP‐I moraine ranged from 2.5 kyr to 146 kyr, which highlights the problems of defining the ages of late Quaternary moraines using SED methods in central Alaska. The Muldrow ‘X’ drift has a ¹⁰Be TCN age of ～0.54 kyr, which is ～1.3 kyr younger than the independent minimum lichen age of ～1.8 kyr. This age difference probably represents the minimum time between formation and early stabilization of the moraine. Contemporary and former equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) were determined. The ELA depressions for the Muldrow glacial system were 560, 400, 350 and 190 m and for the Peters glacial system 560, 360, 150 and 10 m, based on MP‐I through MP‐IV moraines, respectively. The difference between ELA depressions for the Muldrow and Peters glaciers likely reflects differences in supraglacial debris‐cover, glacier hypsometry and topographic controls on glacier mass balance.     

Apparent decoupling of the He and Ne isotope systematics of the Icelandic mantle: The role of He depletion, melt mixing, degassing fractionation and air interaction

We present new He-Ne data for geothermal fluids and He-Ne-Ar data for basalts from throughout the Icelandic neovolcanic zones and older parts of the Icelandic crust. Geothermal fluids, subglacial glasses, and mafic phenocrysts are characterized by a wide range in helium isotope ratios (³He/⁴He) encompassing typical MORB-like ratios through values as high as 36.8 R_A (where R_A = air ³He/⁴He). Although neon in geothermal fluids is dominated by an atmospheric component, samples from the northwest peninsula show a small excess of nucleogenic ²¹Ne, likely produced in-situ and released to circulating fluids. In contrast, geothermal fluids from the neovolcanic zones show evidence of a contribution of mantle-derived neon, as indicated by ²⁰Ne enrichments up to 3% compared to air. The neon isotope composition of subglacial glasses reveals that mantle neon is derived from both depleted MORB-mantle and a primordial, ‘solar’ mantle component. However, binary mixing between these two endmembers can account for the He-Ne isotope characteristics of the basalts only if the ³He/²²Ne ratio of the primordial mantle endmember is lower than in the MORB component. Indeed, the helium to neon elemental ratios (⁴He/²¹Ne∗ and ³He/²²Ne_s where ²¹Ne∗ = nucleogenic ²¹Ne and ²²Ne_s = ‘solar’-derived ²²Ne) of the majority of Icelandic subglacial glasses are lower than theoretical values for Earth’s mantle, as observed previously for other OIB samples. Helium may be depleted relative to neon in high-³He/⁴He ratio parental melts due to either more compatible behavior during low-degree partial melting or more extensive diffusive loss relative to the heavier noble gases. However, Icelandic glasses show higher ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar∗ (⁴⁰Ar∗ = radiogenic Ar) values for a given ⁴He/²¹Ne∗ value compared to the majority of other OIB samples: this observation is consistent with extensive open-system equilibrium degassing, likely promoted by lower confining pressures during subglacial eruptions of Icelandic lavas. Taken together, the He-Ne-Ar systematics of Icelandic subglacial glasses are imprinted with the overlapping effects of helium depletion in the high-³He/⁴He ratio parental melt, binary mixing of two distinct mantle components, degassing fractionation and interaction with atmospheric noble gases. However, it is still possible to discern differences in the noble gas characteristics of the Icelandic mantle source beneath the neovolcanic zones, with MORB-like He-Ne isotope features prevalent in the Northern Rift Zone and a sharp transition to more primitive ‘solar-like’ characteristics in central and southern Iceland.     

Helium isotope characteristics of Andean geothermal fluids and lavas

The first comprehensive helium isotope survey of the Andes is reported here. We have sampled geothermal fluids and phyric lava flows from the Southern (svz) and Central (cvz) Volcanic Zones, the volcanically active Pun˜a region and the Precordillera, Salta Basin, Longitudinal Valley and the aseismic region between the two volcanic zones. Although the active areas are characterised by significant differences in crustal age and thickness, the svz, cvz and Pun˜a are characterised by a wide and overlapping range in ³He/⁴He ratios (for fluids and phenocrysts) from predominantly radiogenic values to close to the MORB ratio. The measured ranges in ³He/⁴He ratios (R) (reported normalised to the air ³He/⁴He—R_A) are: svz (0.18 < R/R_A< 6.9); cvz (0.82 < R/R_A< 6.0); and Pun˜a (1.8 < R/R_A< 5.4). Modification of magmatic ³He/⁴He ratios by water/rock interactions (fluids) or post-eruptive grow-in of radiogenic ⁴He or preferential diffusive loss of ³He (phenocrysts) is considered unlikely; this means that the wide range reflects the helium isotope characteristics of magma bodies in the Andean crust. The mechanism controlling the ³He/⁴He ratios appears to be a mixing between mantle (MORB-like) helium and a radiogenic helium component derived from radioactive decay within the magma (magma aging) and/or interaction with ⁴He-rich country rock: a process expected to be influenced by pre-eruptive degassing of the mantle component. Assimilation of lower crust is also capable of modifying ³He/⁴He ratios, albeit to a much lesser extent. However, it is possible that the highest measured values in each zone were established by the addition of lower crustal radiogenic helium to MORB helium. In this case, the higher ‘base level’ ratios of the svz would reflect the younger crustal structure of this region. In contrast to helium, there is no overlap in the Sr or Pb isotope characteristics of lavas from the active zones: in all areas, therefore, ³He/⁴He ratios appear to vary independently of Sr and Pb isotope variations. This decoupling between the lithophile tracers and helium reflects the different processes controlling their isotopic characteristics: crust-mantle interactions, alone, for Sr and Pb but for helium the effects of pre-eruptive degassing and possibly magma aging are possibly superimposed. The presence of mantle helium in the Pun˜a region, and to a lesser extent in the Salta Basin, gives an across-arc perspective to the helium isotope distribution and shows mantle melting to occur significantly to the east of the active arc: this is most probably a consequence of lithospheric delamination. The Precordillera hot spring water has the only pure radiogenic helium signal of the entire sample suite and thus marks the western limit of asthenospheric mantle under the Andes.     

The occurrence of selected human pharmaceutical compounds in UK estuaries

This report describes a scoping study conducted in order to establish whether pharmaceutical compounds may be present in UK estuaries. Surface water samples collected from five UK estuaries were analysed for the presence of 14 pharmaceutical compounds selected from the priority lists of the UK Environment Agency and the Oslo and Paris Commission (OSPAR). The pharmaceutical compounds/metabolites clofibric acid, clotrimazole, dextropropoxyphene, diclofenac, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid, propranolol, tamoxifen and trimethoprim were detected at measurable concentrations in the samples collected. The concentrations of erythromycin, lofepramine, paracetamol, sulfamethoxazole and acetyl-sulfamethoxazole were all below the limits of detection of the methods used (between 4 and 20 ng l(-1)). The anti-fungal agent clotrimazole was the most frequently detected at a maximal concentration of 22 ng l(-1) and a median concentration of 7 ng l(-1). The analgesic compound ibuprofen was detected at a maximal concentration of approximately 930 ng l(-1) and a median concentration of 48 ng l(-1), whilst the other pharmaceutical compounds were detected between the limits of detection of the method used and 570 ng l(-1).     

Viscous Energy Dissipation and Strain Partitioning in Partially Molten Rocks

We develop a steady-state fluid-mechanical analysis describingthe effect of strain partitioning on viscous energy dissipation.As observed in experimental studies of shear deformation ofpartially molten rocks, strain partitions when melt segregatesbecause viscosity is reduced in regions of elevated melt fraction.The equations derived here are based on parameters measuredin experiments, describing the evolution of melt distributionand rheological properties. We find that the dissipation dependsstrongly on the configuration of the melt-rich network of shearzones, including the average angle, volume fraction of meltand amplification of strain rate in the melt-rich bands. Minimain energy dissipation as a function of band angle develop, correspondingto configurations of melt networks that minimize the differencein mean stress between the band and the non-band regions. Wepropose that the organization of band networks occurs by theinterplay between strain localization and viscosity variationsassociated with melt segregation. The band networks maintaina steady-state angle during shear by continuously pumping meltthrough the network. The development of strain partitioningin melt-rich networks will modify the energetics of meltingand melt transport by efficiently extracting melt and reducingeffective viscosity. KEY WORDS: melt transport; rheology; self-organization; strain localization; strain partitioning