Plant assemblage from Opole,southern Poland: New data on Late Cretaceous vegetation of the northern part of the European Province

This paper presents the results of studies on plant macroremains found in the upper Turonian of the Folwark Quarry, Opole, Poland, associated with palynological studies of the host rocks. In addition to a few macrofossils (gymnosperm wood, conifer Geinitzia reichenbachii and fern ?Didymosorus) rich sporomorphs (bryophyte, lycopod and fern spores, conifer and angiosperm pollen grains) and marine palynomorphs (mainly dinoflagellate cysts) were recorded. The palynological analysis revealed that the vegetation on the neighbouring land (the East Sudetic Island) in the late Turonian was much more diverse than could be reconstructed based on only macrofossil remains. The latter are taxonomically restricted and dominated by one gymnosperm species (Geinitzia reichenbachii), which make them similar to most neighbouring, coeval Central European assemblages. Its over representation is, thus, a result of taphonomy.     

Approaches in research on flood risk perception and their importance in flood risk management: a review

Natural Hazards - The study of flood risk perception factors can be considered by using different paradigms. In an attempt to understand risk perception, two basic paradigms can be distinguished:...     

Flood vulnerability and buildings’ flood exposure assessment in a densely urbanised city: comparative analysis of three scenarios using a neural network approach

Natural Hazards - Advances in the availability of multi-sensor, remote sensing-derived datasets, and machine learning algorithms can now provide an unprecedented possibility to predict flood events...     

Inter‐laboratory Characterisation of Apatite Reference Materials for Chlorine Isotope Analysis

Here we report on a set of six apatite reference materials (chlorapatites MGMH#133648, TUBAF#38 and fluorapatites MGMH#128441A, TUBAF#37, 40, 50) which we have characterised for their chlorine isotope ratios; these RMs span a range of Cl mass fractions within the apatite Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(F,Cl,OH)₂ solid solution series. Numerous apatite specimens, obtained from mineralogical collections, were initially screened for ³⁷Cl/³⁵Cl homogeneity using SIMS followed by δ³⁷Cl characterisation by gas source mass spectrometry using both dual‐inlet and continuous‐flow modes. We also report major and key trace element compositions as determined by EPMA. The repeatability of our SIMS results was better than ± 0.10‰ (1s) for the five samples with > 0.5 % m/m Cl and ± 0.19‰ (1s) for the low Cl abundance material (0.27% m/m). We also observed a small, but significant crystal orientation effect of 0.38‰ between the mean ³⁷Cl/³⁵Cl ratios measured on three oriented apatite fragments. Furthermore, the results of GS‐IRMS analyses show small but systematic offset of δ³⁷Cl_SMOC values between the three laboratories. Nonetheless, all studied samples have comparable chlorine isotope compositions, with mean 10³δ³⁷Cl_SMOC values between +0.09 and +0.42 and in all cases with 1s ≤ ± 0.25.     

How do granitoid magmas mix with each other? Insights from textures,trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic composition of apatite and titanite from the Matok pluton (South Africa)

In plutonic systems, magma mixing is often modelled by mass balance based on whole-rock geochemistry. However, magma mixing is a chaotic process and chemical equilibration is controlled by non-linear diffusive–advective processes unresolved by the study of bulk samples. Here we present textural observations, LA-(MC-)ICP-MS trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic data of accessory apatites and titanites from a hybrid granodiorite of the Neoarchean Matok pluton (South Africa), collected in a zone of conspicuous mixing between mafic and felsic magmas. Apatite grains mostly show a pronounced zoning in CL images, corresponding to abrupt changes in REE and HFSE concentrations recording their transfer through compositionally different melt domains during mixing. These grains crystallized early, at temperatures of 950–1000 °C. Titanite grains crystallized at temperatures of 820–900 °C (Zr-in-sphene thermometry). They show limited intra-grain chemical variations but huge inter-grain compositional scatter in REE and HFSE, pinpointing crystallization within a crystal mush, from isolated melt pockets having different composition from one another owing to incomplete chemical homogenization and variable Rayleigh fractionation. These chemical–textural characteristics, in combination with partitioning models and Polytopic Vector Analysis, point to “self-mixing” between co-genetic dioritic and granodioritic/granitic magmas. Both resulted from differentiation of mantle-derived mafic melts, showing that mixing does not necessarily involve magmas from contrasted (crust vs. mantle) sources. Systematic variations in εNd _t (?4.5 to ?2.5) and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_(i) (0.703–0.707) of titanite and apatite grains/domains crystallized from the two magmas point to an isotopically inhomogeneous mantle source, which is not resolved by bulk-rock isotopic data. Interaction between the two magmas must have occurred at relatively high temperatures (ca. 900°C) so that their viscosity contrast remained low, allowing efficient mechanical mixing. Despite this, chemical homogenization was incomplete, as recorded by diffusive fractionation between REE–HFSE and Sr. Modelling thereof reveals that chemical exchange between the liquid phases of the two mixed magmas did not last more than a few tens to hundreds of years. The chemical equilibration between mixed magmas thus strongly depends on the considered elements and observational length scales.     

TraceeElements in Leccinum scabrum mushrooms and topsoils from Kłodzka Dale in Sudety Mountains, Poland

In the current study, we determined concentrations and transfer rates of Ag, Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, P, Rb, Sr and Zn to Brown Birch Scaber Stalks (Leccinum scabrum) mushrooms emerged in the area of Sudety Mountains (Sudetes) in Poland. Fruiting bodies and topsoil samples beneath L. scabrum were collected form the K odzka Dale. The trace elements were determined using validated method and inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) for final measurement. Mushrooms contained Ag, Cr, Hg, Co, Ni and Sr at < 1.0 μg/g dry weight; Ba and Pb at ~1.0 μg/g dw; Cd at < 5 μg/g dw; Cu and Mn at > 10 μg/g dw; Al and Ca at ~100 μg/g dw; Fe, Na, Rb and Zn at 100 to 500 μg/g dw, Mg at ~1,000 μg/g dw; P at ~5,000 μg/g dw and K at ~30,000 μg/g dw. Ca, Mn and Ni were nearly equally distributed between stipes and caps; stipes compared to caps were enriched in Ba, Na and Sr, while caps were enriched in Ag, Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, P, Pb, Rb and Zn. The values of bioconcentration factor (BCF) varied highly depending on chemical element and were >1 for Ag, Cd, Cu, K, Mg, Na, P, Rb and Zn, while <1 for Al, Ba, Ca, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Sr. Topsoil showed elevated content of lead and mean concentration was 99 ± 32 μg/g dw, while cadmium was at 0.41 ± 0.15 and those two highly toxic to human elements occurred in edible caps of L. scabrum at 4.5 ± 2.2 and 2.9 ± 2.0 μg/g dw, respectively.