Ruthenium in komatiitic chromite

The distinction between Ru in solid solution and Ru-bearing inclusions is essential for the predictive modeling of platinum-group element (PGE) geochemistry in applications such as the lithogeochemical exploration for magmatic sulfide deposits in komatiites. This study investigates the role of chromite in the fractionation of Ru in ultramafic melts by analyzing chromite grains from sulfide-undersaturated komatiites and a komatiitic basalt from the Yilgarn Craton in Western Australia. In situ analysis using laser ablation ICP-MS yields uniform Ru concentrations in chromites both within-grain and on a sample scale, with concentrations between 220 and 540 ppb. All other platinum-group elements are below the detection limit of the laser ablation ICP-MS analysis. Carius tube digestion isotope dilution ICP-MS analysis of chromite concentrates confirms the accuracy of the in-situ method. Time resolved laser ablation ICP-MS analyses have identified the presence of sub-micron Ir-bearing inclusions in some chromite grains from the komatiitic basalt. However, Ru-bearing inclusions have not been recognized in the analyzed chromites and this combined with the in situ data suggests that Ru exists in solid solution in the crystal lattice of chromite. These results show that chromite can control the fractionation and concentration of Ru in ultramafic systems.     

Geodynamic evolution of ophiolites from Albania and Greece (Dinaric-Hellenic belt): one, two, or more oceanic basins?

All the geological constraints for an exhaustive reconstruction of the Triassic to Tertiary tectonic history of the southern Dinaric-Hellenic belt can be found in Albania and Greece. This article aims to schematically reconstruct this long tectonic evolution primarily based on a detailed analysis of the tectonic setting, the stratigraphy, the geochemistry, and the age of the ophiolites. In contrast to what was previously reported in the literature, we propose a new subdivision on a regional scale of the ophiolite complexes cropping out in Albania and Greece. This new subdivision includes six types of ophiolite occurrences, each corresponding to different tectonic units derived from a single obducted sheet. These units are represented by: (1) sub-ophiolite mélange, (2) Triassic ocean-floor ophiolites, (3) metamorphic soles, (4) Jurassic fore-arc ophiolites, (5) Jurassic intra-oceanic-arc ophiolites, and (6) Jurassic back-arc basin ophiolites. The overall features of these ophiolites are coherent with the existence of a single, though composite, oceanic basin located east of the Adria/Pelagonian continental margin. This oceanic basin was originated during the Middle Triassic and was subsequently (Early Jurassic) affected by an east-dipping intra-oceanic subduction. This subduction was responsible for the birth of intra-oceanic-arc and back-arc oceanic basins separated by a continental volcanic arc during the Early to Middle Jurassic. From the uppermost Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, an obduction developed, during which the ophiolites were thrust westwards firstly onto the neighboring oceanic lithosphere and then onto the Adria margin.     

Structural setting and tectonic evolution of the Apennine Units of northern Calabria

A new structural–stratigraphic synthesis of the Apennine units of northern Calabria is presented. The Meso-Cenozoic successions are grouped into two tectonic units, named Pollino–Ciagola Unit (PCU) and Lungro–Verbicaro Unit (LVU), comprising terrains formerly attributed to five different tectonic units. FeMg carpholite and blue amphibole record HP–LT metamorphism in the LVU, followed by progressive decompression leading to final greenschist facies re-equilibration during dominantly extensional deformation. Final tectonic emplacement of the LVU over the PCU post-dated the metamorphism of the LVU and was accompanied by intense ductile deformation along zones of strain localisation in footwall rocks. All of the units were later affected by folding and minor thrusting during subsequent Apennine tectonics. To cite this article: A. Iannace et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Application of a GIS-aided method for the assessment of volcaniclastic soil sliding susceptibility to sample areas of Campania (Southern Italy)

A significant part of Campania is extensively covered by volcaniclastic soils, deriving from the alteration of airfall-sedimented formations of layered ashes and pumices that were ejected by Campi Flegrei and Mt. Somma–Vesuvius during explosive eruptions. Where such soils cover steep slopes cut in carbonate bedrock, landforms depend essentially on the morpho-evolution of such slopes prior to the deposition of the volcaniclastic soils, because these are generally present only as thin veneers, up to a few meters of total thickness. Historical records and local literature testify that, in this part of Campania, landslides that originate on carbonate slopes covered by such soils and terminate at their foot or at gully outlets are frequent, following critical rainfall events. Such landslides can be classified as complex, occurring initially as debris slides, but rapidly evolving into debris avalanches and/or debris flows. The localization of the initial sliding areas (i.e. “sources”) on the slopes depends on both the spatial distribution of characters of the soil cover and the spatial distribution of the triggering rainfall events. It therefore appears reasonable to separate the two aspects of the problem and focus on the former one, in order to attempt an assessment of soil sliding susceptibility in the event of landslide-triggering rainfall. In this paper, some results of the application of a method aimed at such an assessment are presented. The method, called SLIDE (from SLiding Initiation areas DEtection), is based on the concept that, for a spatially homogeneous soil cover and a spatially homogeneous landslide-triggering rainfall sequence, different values of threshold slope gradient for limit equilibrium conditions exist, depending on morphological characters of the soil cover, such as its continuity and planform curvature. The method is based on the assessment of (1) soil cover presence, (2) discontinuities within soil cover, (3) slope gradients and curvature, by means of good resolution DEMs. It has been applied to sample carbonate slopes of Campania, where landslides originated either repeatedly or recently. Results are encouraging, and a soil sliding susceptibility map of a large area, based on a simplified version of method, is also presented.     

Seismic activity along the central america volcanic arc: is it related to subduction of the Cocos plate?

We determine seismic strain rate of tectonic earthquakes along the Central America Volcanic Arc. We then compare this result to those obtained from earthquakes related to the convergence of the Cocos and Caribbean plates and to earthquakes in the back-arc region of northern Central America.

The seismic strain-rate tensor for shallow-focus earthquakes along the Central America volcanic arc since 1700, has a compressive eigenvector with a magnitude of 0.7 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹, and oriented in a 357° azimuth. The extensive eigenvector is oriented in a 86° azimuth, with a magnitude of 0.82 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹. When only Centroid Moment-tensor solutions (CMT) are considered, the respective eigenvectors are 1.2 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹ and 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹.

The compressive eigenvector from the seismic strain-rate tensor for earthquakes along the Cocos-Caribbean convergent margin is 2.0 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹, plunging at 25°, and oriented in a 29° azimuth. Its magnitude and direction are similar to those of the compressive eigenvector for earthquakes along the volcanic arc. The extensive eigenvector along the convergent margin, on the other hand, has a large vertical component. The compressive and extensive eigevenvectors are 4.9 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹ and 4.6 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹, using only CMTs as the database.

Earthquakes along the grabens of northern Central America yield a seismic strain-rate tensor whose extensive eigenvector has a magnitude of 2.4 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹, oriented in a 109° azimuth. Magnitude and direction are similar to those of the extensive eigenvector for earthquakes along the volcanic arc. The compressive eigenvector along the grabens is practically vertical.

Similarities in magnitudes and directions for compressive and extensive eigenvectors suggest to us that the strain field along the Central America volcanic arc is the result of compression along the convergent Cocos-Caribbean margin, and extension in the back-arc region, along the grabens of northern Central America. This field is resolved as strike-slip faulting along the arc.     

Marbles and carbonate rocks from central Morocco: a petrographic,mineralogical and geochemical study

Petrographic, mineralogical, and stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O values) compositions were used to characterise marbles and sedimentary carbonate rocks from central Morocco, which are considered to be a likely source of ornamental and building material from Roman time to the present day. This new data set was used in the frame of an archaeometric provenance study on Roman artefacts from the town of Thamusida (Kenitra, north Morocco), to assess the potential employment of these rocks for the manufacture of the archaeological materials. A representative set of samples from marbles and other carbonate rocks (limestone, dolostone) were collected in several quarries and outcrops in the Moroccan Meseta, in a region extending from the Meknes–Khenifra alignment to the Atlantic Ocean. All the samples were studied using a petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical methods. The petrographic and minerological investigations (optical microscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction) allowed to group the carbonate rocks in limestones, foliated limestone, diagenetic breccias and dolostone. The limestones could be further grouped as mudstones, wackestones–packstones, crinoid grainstones, oolitic grainstone and floatstones. Textural differences allowed to define marbles varieties. The stable carbon and oxygen isotope composition proved to be quite useful in the discrimination of marble sources, with apparently less discriminatory potential for carbonate rocks.     

Drones as tools for monitoring beach topography changes in the Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean)

The aim of this study was to evaluate topographic changes along a stretch of coastline in the Municipality of Borghetto Santo Spirito (Region of Liguria, Italy, north-western Mediterranean) by means of a remotely piloted aircraft system coupled with structure from motion and multi-view stereo techniques. This sector was surveyed three times over 5 months in the fall–winter of 2013–2014 (1 November 2013, 4 December 2013, 17 March 2014) to obtain digital elevation models and orthophotos of the beach. Changes in beach topography associated with storm action and human activities were assessed in terms of gain/loss of sediments and shifting of the wet–dry boundary defining the shoreline. Between the first and second surveys, the study area was hit by two storms (10–11 November 2013 and 21–22 November 2013) with waves approaching from the E–NNE, causing a shoreline retreat which, in some sectors, reached 7 m. Between the second and third surveys, by contrast, four storms (25–27 December 2013, 5–6 January 2014, 17–18 January 2014 and 6–10 February 2014) with waves propagating from the SE produced a general advancement of the shoreline (up to ~5 m) by deposition of sediments along some parts of the beach. The data also reflect changes in beach topography due to human activity during the 2013 fall season, when private beach managers quarried ~178 m³ of sediments on the emerged beach near the shoreline to accumulate them landwards. The results show that drones can be used for regular beach monitoring activities, and that they can provide new insights into the processes related to natural and/or human-related topographic beach changes.     

Trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in feathers of Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys attending the Patagonian Shelf

We investigated the concentrations of cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, nickel, lead and zinc among feather tissues in sexes of Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys killed in longliners off Argentina in 2005. We found no different metal concentration with sex for cadmium, copper, iron, lead and zinc in feathers of adult birds, though there were significant body-size differences between sexes. However, the concentrations of trace metals differed significantly among the type of feather within individual bird. The mean concentrations of copper, iron, and zinc in breast feathers of T.?melanophrys were lower than those reported for the species from Georgias del Sur/South Georgia, the southern Indian Ocean and for other seabirds' worldwide. While cadmium fall within the known range of concentrations for bird feathers lead were not. Our results may be indicating that level of pollution in Patagonia may not be as negligible as previously thought at least for some trace metals.     

Dissolved and particulate heavy metals distribution in coastal lagoons. A case study from Mar Chiquita Lagoon,Argentina

Mar Chiquita Coastal Lagoon is located on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, and it has been declared a Biosphere Reserve under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB). This coastal lagoon constitutes an estuarine environment with a very particular behaviour and it is ecologically important due to its biological diversity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the distribution and geochemical behaviour of several heavy metals in this coastal system, focusing on their distribution in both the dissolved phase (<0.45 μm) and the suspended particulate matter. Therefore, the general hydrochemical parameters (salinity, temperature, turbidity, pH and dissolved oxygen) and concentration of total particulate and dissolved metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, Zn, Fe, Pb, Cr and Mn) were measured along 2 years (2004–2006) at two different sites. As regards their distribution, hydrological parameters did not present any evidence of deviation with respect to historical values. Suspended particulate matter showed no seasonal variation or any relationship with the tide, thus indicating that in this shallow coastal lagoon neither tides nor freshwater sources regulate the particulate matter input. Heavy metals behaviour, both in dissolved and particulate phases did not reveal any relationship with tide or seasons. Mar Chiquita Coastal Lagoon showed a large input of dissolved and particulate metals, which is probably due to intensive agriculture within the drainage basin of this system.