On the Neogene-Quaternary debate

A proposed resolution to the current Neogene-Quaternary debate involves independent, non-overlapping status for the two units and harks back to Lyell＇s original denotation of the terms Older and Newer Pliocene.     

Semi‐Micro Reflux Procedure for Minimization of Chloride Interference by COD Determination

In this study, a semi‐micro procedure for the COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) was undertaken to allow the measurement of effluent samples with a high chloride content. It was found that the COD values for standard and effluent samples, corresponded closely to those obtained using the standard method of Burns and Marshall. When the method was applied to samples of industrial wastewater, with a very high chloride content, the recommended procedure proved to be accurate and precise, with RSDs of 6% and 4.3% for the standard and effluent solutions, respectively. The required amount of hazardous reagents was similar to that found in the standard closed reflux method. It was also possible to determine the total amount of oxidized halides. The use of this low‐cost, laboratory‐made system made it unnecessary to acquire an expensive, imported analytical system, while maintaining a high level of accuracy in the determinations.     

Coupled rainfall and water vapour stable isotope time series reveal tropical atmospheric processes on multiple timescales

High-frequency stable isotope data are useful for validating atmospheric moisture circulation models and provide improved understanding of the mechanisms controlling isotopic compositions in tropical rainfall. Here, we present a near-continuous 6-month record of O- and H-isotope compositions in both water vapour and daily rainfall from Northeast Australia measured by laser spectroscopy. The data set spans both wet and dry seasons to help address a significant data and knowledge gap in the southern hemisphere tropics. We interpret the isotopic records for water vapour and rainfall in the context of contemporaneous meteorological observations. Surface air moisture provided near-continuous tracking of the links between isotopic variations and meteorological events on local to regional spatial scales. Power spectrum analysis of the isotopic variation showed a range of significant periodicities, from hourly to monthly scales, and cross-wavelet analysis identified significant regions of common power for hourly averaged water vapour isotopic composition and relative humidity, wind direction, and solar radiation. Relative humidity had the greatest subdiurnal influence on isotopic composition. On longer timescales (weeks to months), isotope variability was strongly correlated with both wind direction and relative humidity. The high-frequency records showed diurnal isotopic variations in O- and H-isotope compositions due to local dew formation and, for deuterium excess, as a result of evapotranspiration. Several significant negative isotope anomalies on a daily scale were associated with the activity of regional mesoscale convective systems and the occurrence of two tropical cyclones. Calculated air parcel back trajectories identified the predominant moisture transport paths from the Southwest Pacific Ocean, whereas moisture transport from northerly directions occurred mainly during the wet season monsoonal airflow. Water vapour isotope compositions reflected the same meteorological events as recorded in rainfall isotopes but provided much more detailed and continuous information on atmospheric moisture cycling than the intermittent isotopic record provided by rainfall. Improved global coverage of stable isotope data for atmospheric water vapour is likely to improve simulations of future changes to climate drivers of the hydrological cycle.     

Spatialities of ageing: The co-construction and co-evolution of old age and space

This editorial introduction to the themed issue is divided into four parts. We begin with outlining five reasons for more sustained attention to ageing and old age in human geography and go onto discuss two major challenges for geographical inquiry into ageing and later life. One of these is examining embodiment in ways that keep both its social/cultural aspects and its biological/physiological dimensions in sharp focus; the other concerns the challenge of considering time, or rather spatiotemporality, in all its facets. With regard to the latter we argue that the life-course concept can be helpful in this regard, especially if attention is paid to transitions as well as to slow, difficult-to-identify forms of change and if life-courses are understood in terms of folds. Thinking in these terms opens up a perspective according to which ageing and space can be analysed as entwined becomings. We conclude by positioning the contributions in this issue vis-à-vis the perspective developed in this piece.     

Risk of injury and death from lightning in Northern Malawi

Rates of lightning mortality in communities on the western shore of Lake Malawi are higher than any other reported rate in the world: 419 strike victims per million people per annum and 84 deaths per million per annum. To document the background to this phenomenon, we conducted comprehensive household interviews with surviving victims and witnesses of every case of lightning strike in seven administrative areas around Nkhata Bay, Malawi. We find that the consequential lightning strikes are significantly more common in the rainy season and during the morning. Among those victims struck by lightning, there is an average ratio of approximately one death to four injuries, which is substantially higher than the commonly accepted ratio of 1:10. Children and adults are at equal risk of being struck. If struck, the probability of death is greater when the victim is outside in the open or outside under cover than indoors under a tin or thatched roof, but is unaffected by different kinds of footwear or whether it is raining. Reported explanations for strikes often center on witchcraft or other forms of social conflict. Our findings extend the study of consequential lightning strikes in the developing world and highlight cultural factors associated with this hazard. We end with recommendations for reducing the risk of lightning for rural populations.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114000887

The increasing number of fossil pterosaur eggs sheds light on nesting environments and breeding be- haviors of these extinct flying reptiles. Here we report the first partial three-dimensional egg of the pterosaur, Pteroduustro guinazui, from central Argentina. The specimen was discovered from the same Albian deposits as the exceptional R guinazui embryo described in 2004. Microscopic characterizations indicate a pristine preservation of the 50 Bm thick calcium carbonate, which differs significantly from the soft shell of Chinese pterosaur eggs. Estimate of the eggshell conductance implies that the nest had a minimum moisture content of 75%. This moisture estimate, combined with geological and taphonomical data, suggests that P. guinazui may have adopted a nesting strategy similar to those of grebes and flamingos rather than being buried on land, as previously hypothesized. Moreover, our results demon- strate that the nesting paleoenvironment of this pterosaur species was closely linked to a mesohaline lacustrine ecosystem in a basin governed by regional tectonic subsidence, a setting characteristic for the feeding and reproduction of modern flamingos.     

Geochemical tracing and hydrogeochemical modelling of water–rock interactions during salinization of alluvial groundwater (Upper Rhine Valley,France)

In the southern Upper Rhine Valley, groundwater has undergone intensive saline pollution caused by the infiltration of mining brines, a consequence of potash extraction carried out during the 20th century. Major and trace elements along with Sr and U isotopic ratios show that groundwater geochemical characteristics along the saline plumes cannot reflect conservative mixing between saline waters resulting from the dissolution of waste heaps and one or more unpolluted end-members. The results imply the occurrence of interactions between host rocks and polluted waters, and they suggest that cationic exchange mechanisms are the primary controlling process. A coupled hydrogeochemical model has been developed with the numerical code KIRMAT, which demonstrates that cationic exchange between alkalis from polluted waters and alkaline-earth elements from montmorillonite present in the host rock of the aquifer is the primary process controlling the geochemical evolution of the groundwater. The model requires only a small amount of montmorillonite (between 0.75% and 2.25%), which is in agreement with the observed mineralogical composition of the aquifer. The model also proves that a small contribution of calcite precipitation/dissolution takes places whereas other secondary mineral precipitation or host rock mineral dissolution do not play a significant role in the geochemical signature of the studied groundwater samples. Application of the model demonstrates that it is necessary to consider the pollution history to explain the important Cl, Na and Ca concentration modifications in groundwater samples taken over 2 km downstream of waste heaps. Additionally, the model shows that the rapidity of the cationic exchange reactions insures a reversibility of the cation fixation on clays in the aquifer.     

Non-chondritic Sm/Nd ratio in the terrestrial planets: Consequences for the geochemical evolution of the mantle-crust system

Super-chondritic ¹⁴²Nd signatures are ubiquitous in terrestrial, Martian and lunar samples, and indicate that the terrestrial planets may have accreted from material with Sm/Nd ratio higher than chondritic. This contradicts the long-held view that chondrites represent a reference composition for the ¹⁴⁷Sm-¹⁴³Nd system. Using coupled ¹⁴⁶Sm-¹⁴²Nd and ¹⁴⁷Sm-¹⁴³Nd systematics in planetary samples, we have proposed a new set of values for the ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios of the bulk silicate Earth (Caro et al., 2008). Here, we revise the Bulk Silicate Earth estimates for the ⁸⁷Rb-⁸⁷Sr and ¹⁷⁶Lu-¹⁷⁶Hf systems using coupled Sr-Nd-Hf systematics in terrestrial rocks. These estimates are consistent with Hf-Nd systematics in lunar samples. The implications of a slightly non-chondritic silicate Earth with respect to the geochemical evolution of the mantle-crust system are then examined. We show that the Archean mantle has evolved with a composition indistinguishable from that of the primitive mantle until about 2 Gyr. Positive ε¹⁴³Nd and ε¹⁷⁶Hf values ubiquitous in the Archean mantle are thus accounted for by the non-chondritic Sm/Nd and Lu/Hf composition of the primitive mantle rather than by massive early crustal formation, which solves the paradox that early Archean domains only have a limited extension in the present-day continents. The Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf evolution of the depleted mantle for the past 3.5 Gyr can be entirely explained by continuous extraction of the continents from a well-mixed mantle. Thus, in contrast to the chondritic Earth model, Sm-Nd mass balance relationships can be satisfied without the need to call upon hidden reservoirs or layered mantle convection. This new Sm-Nd mass balance yields a scenario of mantle evolution consistent with trace element and noble gas systematics. The high ³He/⁴He mantle component is associated with ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd compositions indistinguishable from the bulk silicate Earth, suggesting that the less degassed mantle sources did not experience significant fractionation for moderately incompatible elements.     

Linear Analysis of Axial Sheared Flow in Astrophysical Jets

A linear analysis of axial sheared flow in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) jets with helical magnetic fields is presented. A linearized set of ideal MHD equations allows the investigation of plasmas with both magnetic shear and flow shear included in the equilibrium profile. These equations are integrated numerically by following the linear development in time of an initial seed perturbation. Global instability growth rates are obtained after the numerical solution converges to the fastest growing mode. It is shown that axial sheared flow reduces the growth of current-driven instabilities in plasma jets with constant magnetic pitch P = rB _z /B _θ.