A multi‐method approach to dating the burial and skeleton of Kiacatoo Man,New South Wales,Australia

Kiacatoo Man, a large, rugged Aboriginal adult buried in the Lachlan riverine plains of southeastern Australia, was discovered in 2011. Laser‐ablation uranium series analysis on bone yielded a minimum age for the burial of 27.4 ± 0.4 ka (2σ). Single‐grain, optically stimulated luminescence ages on quartz sediment in which the grave had been dug gave a weighted mean age of 26.4 ± 1.5 ka (1σ). Luminescence samples from the grave infill and from sediment beneath the grave exhibit overdispersed dose distributions consistent with bioturbation or other disturbance, which has obscured the burial signal. The overlap between the minimum (U‐series) and maximum (luminescence) ages places the burial between 27.0 and 29.4 ka (2σ). Luminescence ages obtained from the channel belt of between 28 ± 2 and 25 ± 3 ka indicate that fluvial sedimentation was occurring before the Last Glacial Maximum, which is consistent with the broader geomorphic setting. Together, these results are internally and regionally consistent, and indicate that Kiacatoo Man was one of the more ancient individuals so far identified in Australia. His remains are important to our understanding of patterns of biological variation and other processes that have shaped people in the Murray‐Darling Basin through time. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Skaergaard Layered Series. Part VI. Excluded Trace Elements

In contrast to the smooth trends of major elements and mineralcompositions, the excluded trace elements in the SkaergaardLayered Series have an irregular distribution that does notconform to the normal trends of Rayleigh-type fractionation.Their concentrations are about constant or even decline throughthe Lower and Middle Zones before increasing sharply to reachmaximum concentrations 100–200 m above the Sandwich Horizon.As in the case of included elements, the relative concentrationsof excluded elements in coexisting phases deviate widely fromthose predicted by experimentally determined partition coefficientsunder presumed magmatic conditions. This is seen most clearlyin the immiscible melanogranophyres and conjugate ferrogabbros.Although the major elements conform to the experimentally determinedrelations for immiscible liquids, the trace elements do not;they follow a totally independent trend. The abrupt increasein the concentrations of excluded elements in the upper partof the intrusion could plausibly be attributed to an additionof new magma or to a density inversion that resulted in upwardmigration of a late liquid or fluid, but these possibilitiesare inconsistent with the compositional and spatial relationsof the upper parts of the intrusion. Although a late residualliquid certainly migrated upward, the most likely explanationfor the observed distribution of excluded elements is that thepartition coefficients were altered by volatile components,which gradually increased during the early stages of crystallizationthen began to exsolve near the top of the Middle Zone. KEY WORDS: igneous differentiation; Skaergaard intrusion     

Viruses as potential regulators of regional brown tide blooms caused by the alga,Aureococcus anophagefferens

Blooms of the brown tide organismAureccoccus anophagefferens have recurred in the coastal bays in New Jersey since 1995 and in the coastal bays of Long Island since 1985. Intracellular viral-like particles (VLPs) were documented during 1999–2000 brown tide blooms in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, but it was not determined whether cells were infected during the termination of the bloom. The objective of this study was to determine if VLPs infected and lysed natural populations ofA. anophagefferens in coastal bays of New Jersey and New York in 2002 with the same frequency as in 1999–2000 and especially at the termination of the bloom. Our results confirmed that the highest percentage (37.5%) of VLP-infected cells occurred at the termination of the brown tide bloom in New Jersey in 2002. Intracellular VLPs were present throughout the bloom event. The percentage of visibly infected cells was higher at the beginning of the bloom than during the peak of the bloom. The intracellular VLPs in natural populations ofA. anophagefferens were consistent in size and shape (approximately 140 nm in diameter) and comparable to those in previous studies. Concentrated viral isolates, prepared from waters during brown tide blooms in New York and New Jersey in 2002, infected healthy laboratoryA. anophagefferens cultures in vitro. The viral isolates associated with the highest laboratory viral activity (lysis positive) were concentrated from water samples having the highest viral and bacteria concentrations. The intracellular viruses in these virally infected laboratory cultures ofA. anophagefferens were similar in size and shape to those found in natural populations. The successful isolation of a virus specific toA. anophagefferens from a brown tide bloom in the field, the similarity of ultrastructure of VLPs infecting both natural populations and laboratory infected cultures, and the pattern of VLP infection during bloom activity in combination with the observed high percentage of VLP-infected cells during bloom termination, supports, the hypothesis that viruses may be a major source of mortality for brown tide blooms in regional coastal bays of New Jersey and New York.     

Notes on the ecology and physiology of the Antarctic oribatid mite Maudheimia wilsoni

The oribatid mite Maudheimia wilsoni Dalenius was found to be numerous on the underside of stones at Jutulsessen (72°S, 3'E) in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Daily temperature fluctuations of the microhabitat from as high as 19°C and to as low as – 17°C were observed during the austral summer. Optimal activity of the mites occurred at 10°C. Even in January the mean supercooling point of adult mites was as low as -30.8±4.7°C. Haemolymph osmolality ranged from 500 to 800mOsmol and thermal hystersis freezing points from −4.7 to −6.1°C. Adult mites had a mean water content of 43.6% and a water loss rate of 0.12 μgh⁻¹ at 15°C and 10% relative humidity.     

Carbonates in fractures of Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001: Petrologic evidence for impact origin

Abstract— Carbonates in Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001 occur as grains on pyroxene grain boundaries, in crushed zones, and as disks, veins, and irregularly shaped grains in healed pyroxene fractures. Some carbonate disks have tapered Mg-rich edges and are accompanied by smaller, thinner and relatively homogeneous, magnesite microdisks. Except for the microdisks, all types of carbonate grains show the same unique chemical zoning pattern on MgCO₃-FeCO₃-CaCO₃ plots. This chemical characteristic and the close spatial association of diverse carbonate types show that all carbonates formed by a similar process. The heterogeneous distribution of carbonates in fractures, tapered shapes of some disks, and the localized occurrence of Mg-rich microdisks appear to be incompatible with growth from an externally derived CO₂-rich fluid that changed in composition over time. These features suggest instead that the fractures were closed as carbonates grew from an internally derived fluid and that the microdisks formed from a residual Mg-rich fluid that was squeezed along fractures. Carbonate in pyroxene fractures is most abundant near grains of plagioclase glass that are located on pyroxene grain boundaries and commonly contain major or minor amounts of carbonate. We infer that carbonates in fractures formed from grain boundary carbonates associated with plagioclase that were melted by impact and dispersed into the surrounding fractured pyroxene. Carbonates in fractures, which include those studied by McKay et al. (1996), could not have formed at low temperatures and preserved mineralogical evidence for Martian organisms.     

Environmental Politics in New Zealand/ Aotearoa: Clashes and Commonality Between Māoridom and Environmentalists

It has long been assumed that Māori¹, like many other indigenous peoples, have utilised ecologically sustainable practices. However, over recent years a chasm has developed between many conservationists and various Māori groupings as environmental objectives and philosophies have come into conflict. This article seeks to examine this chasm, and then move towards an understanding about what may really be the basis of the claim for sustainable practices in this area.     

Indigenous amino acids in primitive CR meteorites

Abstract— –CR chondrites are among the most primitive meteorites. In this paper, we report the first measurements of amino acids in Antarctic CR meteorites. Three CRs, Elephant Moraine (EET) 92042, Graves Nunataks (GRA) 95229, and Grosvenor Mountains (GRO) 95577, were analyzed for their amino acid content using high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV fluorescence detection (HPLC‐FD) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). Our data show that EET 92042 and GRA 95229 are the most amino acid–rich chondrites ever analyzed, with total amino acid concentrations ranging from 180 ppm to 249 ppm. The most abundant amino acids present in the EET 92042 and GRA 95229 meteorites are the α‐amino acids glycine, isovaline, α‐aminoisobutyric acid (α‐AIB), and alanine, with δ¹³C values ranging from +31.6‰ to +50.5‰. The carbon isotope results together with racemic enantiomeric ratios determined for most amino acids strongly indicate an extraterrestrial origin for these compounds. Compared to Elephant Moraine (EET) 92042 and GRA 95229, the more aqueously altered GRO 95577 is depleted in amino acids. In both CRs and CMs, the absolute amino acid abundances appear to be related to the degree of aqueous alteration in their parent bodies. In addition, the relative abundances of α‐AIB and β‐alanine in the Antarctic CRs also appear to depend on the degree of aqueous alteration.