Sampling, Sample Preparation and ICP-MS Chemical Analysis of Lake Baikal Sponges

Procedures for sampling, sample preparation and ICP-MS analysis of endemic sponges from Lake Baikal have been developed. Sample decomposition was carried out using an open acid decomposition with ultrasound treatment. The distribution of nineteen elements (Mg, Al, P, Ca, Ti, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Rb, Sr, Y, Cd, Ba, La, Ce, Pb, Th and U) in different parts of a sponge's body (outer and inner layers and layers adjacent to the substratum) was studied. Detection limits were determined; these ranged from 0.013 to 4.12 μg g^-1 for trace elements and from 23 to 130 μg g^-1 for biogenic elements. The degree of elemental uptake by living substances is discussed with regard to the environment.     

Seismic evidence for preservation of the Archean Uchi granite–greenstone belt by crustal-scale extension

In the westernmost Superior Province of Canada, the east–west alignment of granite–greenstone belts and the adjacent, highly deformed gneiss belts led to the first proposals that plate tectonics existed before 2.5 Ga ago, with the belts thrust against one another by east–west-oriented subduction zones. Here, we present seismic reflection data, which demonstrate that in this region the present juxtaposition of the Uchi granite–greenstone belt and the North Caribou gneiss terrane occurred along a late southeast-dipping extensional shear zone that extends from the surface into the lower crust. The preservation of the Uchi belt and probably the English River metasedimentary belt is directly related to their dropping along extensional shear zones, which limited subsequent erosion. The relative lateral transport of these greenstone rocks implies that they were neither derived from the immediately underlying crust, nor preserved by vertical crustal movements as might occur in the absence of plate tectonics. Extension may have been associated with the emplacement of mantle-derived magmas at 2700 Ma, which has been linked to slab break-off or lithospheric delamination, making the extension approximately coeval with local gold mineralisation. Since crustal-scale faults can facilitate the circulation of gold-bearing fluids, we suggest that greenstone rocks preserved in the hanging walls of syn- to post-accretion extensional shear zones may preferentially host Archean lode-gold deposits. In the westernmost Superior Province, our seismic observations imply that some of the late structures in the well-developed belts defined by surface mapping arose through the collapse of a collage of laterally accreted terranes.     

Minute members of Baissinae (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Gasteruptiidae) from the upper Mesozoic of China and limits of the genus Manlaya Rasnitsyn, 1980

A brief review and discussion of baissine wasps of Gasteruptiidae, Hymenoptera is given. Eight fossil specimens of wasps from the Laiyang Formation in Laiyang, Shandong, China are described. One new genus, Mesepipolaea, and four new species, M. nanligezhuangica, Humiryssus specialis, H. cancellatus and H. vulgatus are established, and two new combinations are proposed: Humiryssus laiyangensis (Hong and Wang, 1990) (originally Aulocopsis laiyangensis Hong and Wang , 1990), H. oculatissimus (Rasnitsyn and Jarzembowski, 1998) (originally Manlaya oculatissima Rasnitsyn and Jarzembowski, 1998). Sinowestratia communicata Zhang and Zhang, 2000 is a junior synonym of Manlaya flexuosa (Ren et al.,1995) (originally Manlaya flexuosus Ren et al.,1995). Stratigraphic inferences from these finds are briefly discussed.     

Sub-basalt decoupled walkaway VSP imaging

Walkaway vertical seismic profile (VSP) data acquired in basalt‐covered areas can be used to improve knowledge of the sub‐basalt structure. A synthetic example and a case study from the North Atlantic (UK) show that elastic two‐way downward‐continuation migration combined with the stationary‐phase principle is well suited to the processing of VSP data. Vector data are processed using decoupled elastic migration algorithms in both isotropic and anisotropic media. To illustrate the value of decoupled imaging equations, conventional PP imaging is carried out on the enhanced VSP data and compared with the decoupled scheme. Decoupled vector migration operates directly on the displacement vector, and uses various wave modes. Downgoing waves are migrated to image basalt lava flows and measure their anisotropy. Upgoing waves are used for high‐resolution sub‐basalt imaging.     

Middle Miocene peralkaline ignimbrites in the Hermosillo region (Sonora, Mexico): Geodynamic implications

Scattered ignimbritic mesas crop out in the Hermosillo region (Sonora, Mexico). These rocks that have been dated at 12.5 Ma (Middle Miocene) have the petrography and chemical characteristics of comendites. Such a flare-up of peralkaline acidic volcanism, after a long period of subduction-related arc volcanism, emphasises an important change in the source of volcanism. It corresponds to the latest stage of continental extension prior to the marine invasion and the development of spreading centres in the Gulf of California. To cite this article: J. Vidal Solano et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Karst database implementation in Minnesota: analysis of sinkhole distribution

This paper presents the overall sinkhole distributions and conducts hypothesis tests of sinkhole distributions and sinkhole formation using data stored in the Karst Feature Database (KFD) of Minnesota. Nearest neighbor analysis (NNA) was extended to include different orders of NNA, different scales of concentrated zones of sinkholes, and directions to the nearest sinkholes. The statistical results, along with the sinkhole density distribution, indicate that sinkholes tend to form in highly concentrated zones instead of scattered individuals. The pattern changes from clustered to random to regular as the scale of the analysis decreases from 10–100 km² to 5–30 km² to 2–10 km². Hypotheses that may explain this phenomenon are: (1) areas in the highly concentrated zones of sinkholes have similar geologic and topographical settings that favor sinkhole formation; (2) existing sinkholes change the hydraulic gradient in the surrounding area and increase the solution and erosional processes that eventually form more new sinkholes.     

Experimental calibration of lake-sediment spectral reflectance to chlorophyll a concentrations: methodology and paleolimnological validation

Chlorophyll a preserved in lake sediments reflects, in part, past primary production. This study assesses the spectral properties of sedimentary chlorophyll a using visible-near infrared reflectance (VNIR) spectroscopy, with the objective of establishing a new, non-destructive paleolimnological proxy. Reflectance spectra were determined from a dilution series (n = 10) involving incremental additions of pulverized modern algae to a lake sediment matrix of low organic content. This enabled an assessment of the development of sediment reflectance spectra in relation to different sediment chlorophyll a concentrations, and subsequent regression of spectral features against measured concentrations of chlorophyll a and derivatives obtained by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The experiment demonstrates that ubiquitous troughs in sediment reflectance near 675 nm are attributable to chlorophyll a and derivative compounds. A significant correlation (r ² = 0.98, P < 0.01) was obtained between the area of the reflectance trough in the 650–700 nm interval and summed concentrations of chlorophyll a, all derivative isomers, and degradational pheopigments. A simple linear inference model derived from this experiment was applied to a down-core sequence of VNIR spectra from a productive prairie lake (Alberta, Canada), where it produced inferred sediment chlorophyll a concentrations in concordance with HPLC measurements. Although a larger training set is desirable to further refine the inference model, the analyses reported here demonstrate that reflectance spectroscopy provides a rapid, semi-quantitative method for assessing the chlorophyll a content of lake sediments.     

Extremely large rockslides and rock avalanches in the Tien Shan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan

Most systematic research on large rock-slope failures is geographically biased towards reports from Europe, the Americas, the Himalayas and China. Although reports exist on large rockslides and rock avalanches in the territory of the former Soviet Union, they are not readily available, and few translations have been made. To begin closing this gap, we describe here preliminary data from field reconnaissance, remote sensing and geomorphometry of nine extremely large rock-slope failures in the Tien Shan Mountains of central Kyrgyzstan. Each of these catastrophic and prehistoric failures exceeds an estimated 1 km³ in volume, and two of them involve about 10 km³. Failure of rock slopes in wide valleys favoured the emplacement of hummocky long-runout deposits, often spreading out over >10 km², blocking major rivers. Most of these gigantic slope failures are located on or near active faults. Their spatial clustering and the high seismic activity in the Tien Shan support the hypothesis that strong seismic shaking caused or triggered most of these large-scale rock-slope failures. Nevertheless detailed field studies and laboratory analyses will be necessary to exclude hydroclimatic trigger mechanisms (precipitation, fluvial undercutting, permafrost degradation), and to determine their absolute ages, frequency and the large-landslide hazard of central Kyrgyzstan.     

The Aguablanca Ni–(Cu) sulfide deposit, SW Spain: geologic and geochemical controls and the relationship with a midcrustal layered mafic complex

The Aguablanca Ni–(Cu) sulfide deposit is hosted by a breccia pipe within a gabbro–diorite pluton. The deposit probably formed due to the disruption of a partially crystallized layered mafic complex at about 12–19 km depth and the subsequent emplacement of melts and breccias at shallow levels (<2 km). The ore-hosting breccias are interpreted as fragments of an ultramafic cumulate, which were transported to the near surface along with a molten sulfide melt. Phlogopite Ar–Ar ages are 341–332 Ma in the breccia pipe, and 338–334 Ma in the layered mafic complex, and are similar to recently reported U–Pb ages of the host Aguablanca Stock and other nearby calc-alkaline metaluminous intrusions (ca. 350–330 Ma). Ore deposition resulted from the combination of two critical factors, the emplacement of a layered mafic complex deep in the continental crust and the development of small dilational structures along transcrustal strike-slip faults that triggered the forceful intrusion of magmas to shallow levels. The emplacement of basaltic magmas in the lower middle crust was accompanied by major interaction with the host rocks, immiscibility of a sulfide melt, and the formation of a magma chamber with ultramafic cumulates and sulfide melt at the bottom and a vertically zoned mafic to intermediate magmas above. Dismembered bodies of mafic/ultramafic rocks thought to be parts of the complex crop out about 50 km southwest of the deposit in a tectonically uplifted block (Cortegana Igneous Complex, Aracena Massif). Reactivation of Variscan structures that merged at the depth of the mafic complex led to sequential extraction of melts, cumulates, and sulfide magma. Lithogeochemistry and Sr and Nd isotope data of the Aguablanca Stock reflect the mixing from two distinct reservoirs, i.e., an evolved siliciclastic middle-upper continental crust and a primitive tholeiitic melt. Crustal contamination in the deep magma chamber was so intense that orthopyroxene replaced olivine as the main mineral phase controlling the early fractional crystallization of the melt. Geochemical evidence includes enrichment in SiO₂ and incompatible elements, and Sr and Nd isotope compositions (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i 0.708–0.710; ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd_i 0.512–0.513). However, rocks of the Cortegana Igneous Complex have low initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and high initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values suggesting contamination by lower crustal rocks. Comparison of the geochemical and geological features of igneous rocks in the Aguablanca deposit and the Cortegana Igneous Complex indicates that, although probably part of the same magmatic system, they are rather different and the rocks of the Cortegana Igneous Complex were not the direct source of the Aguablanca deposit. Crust–magma interaction was a complex process, and the generation of orebodies was controlled by local but highly variable factors. The model for the formation of the Aguablanca deposit presented in this study implies that dense sulfide melts can effectively travel long distances through the continental crust and that dilational zones within compressional belts can effectively focus such melt transport into shallow environments.Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.