Analyzing biases of nitrogen contents and δ~(15)N values arising from acidified marine sediments with different CaCO_3 concentrations

In some studies, the researchers pretreated and measured organic carbon, nitrogen and their isotopes(δ~(13)C and δ~(15)N) of marine sediment together, to save costs and resources of analysis. However, the procedure of acidification to remove inorganic carbon for analysing δ~(13)C can affect the values of nitrogen and δ~(15)N, and the biases vary a lot depending on the CaCO_3 contents of sediments. In this study, the biases of total nitrogen(TN)and δ~(15)N values arising from acidified sediments were compared between the CaCO_3-poor(1%–16%) and CaCO_3-rich(20%–40%) samples. TN and δ~(15)N values were altered during acid treatment(without centrifugation) that possibly led to N-containing compounds volatilization. For CaCO_3-poor samples, acidification led to a range of 0%–40% TN losses and 0‰–2‰ shift in δ~(15)N values; and 10%–60% TN losses and 1‰–14‰ shift in δ~(15)N values for CaCO_3-rich samples. The biases from most samples exceeded the precision of the instrument(0.002% for TN and 0.08‰ for δ~(15)N), and high biases could mislead our judgment for the environmental implication of the data. Thus,avoiding co-analysis of organic carbon, nitrogen and their isotopes(δ~(13)C and δ~(15)N) in sediments, even for CaCO_3-poor marine sediments, is necessary.     

Oxygen isotopic record of silicate alteration in the Shergotty—Nakhla—Chassigny meteorite Lafayette

Abstract— Samples from a suite of Shergotty—Nakhla—Chassigny (SNC) meteorites were analyzed for their O isotopic ratios by a modified version of the laser fluorination technique. Measured isotopic ratios (¹⁷O/¹⁶O and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O) from bulk samples of the Shergottites, EETA79001, Shergotty and Zagami; the Nakhlite Lafayette; and Chassigny are similar to those reported in the literature, as are those from olivine and pyroxene mineral separates from Lafayette. Iddingsite, a preterrestrial alteration product of Lafayette, was measured for the first time as a separate phase. Oxygen isotopic ratios increase with the percentage of iddingsite in a sample to a maximum δ¹⁸O of 14.4% for a ～90% separate. Based on these measurements, end-member iddingsite has a δ¹⁸O of 15.6%, which places it among other ¹⁸O-enriched secondary phases (carbonate and silica) observed in SNC meteorites. The relatively large difference in δ¹⁸O between iddingsite and the olivine and pyroxene it replaces (～11%) is typical of low-temperature alteration products. A range of crustal fluid δ¹⁸O values can be interpreted from the δ¹⁸O for end-member iddingsite, assuming isotopic equilibrium was achieved during low-temperature hydrous alteration (<100 °C; Treiman et al., 1993). The calculated range of values, ?15 to 5%, depends on many factors including: (1) the modal mineralogy of iddingsite, (2) potential isotopic exchange among other O-bearing phases such as host silicate and carbonate, and (3) exchange with evolved or exotic O reservoirs on Mars. Despite the lack of constraints, the calculated range is consistent with isotopic exchange, and possibly equilibria, among components of the CO₂-carbonate-iddingsite-H₂O system at low temperature. The SNC meteorite samples in this study have Δ¹⁷O values that are indistinguishable from bulk Mars (0.30%), except for a single, small sample of iddingsite that has an anomalous Δ¹⁷O of ～1.4%. While analytical difficulties make isotopic measurements for this sample problematic, the Δ¹⁷O is similar in direction to Δ¹⁷O reported for waters extracted from bulk samples of Lafayette (Karlsson et al., 1992). If the Δ¹⁷O for iddingsite is confirmed, it can be concluded that evolved or exotic fluids on Mars have contributed volatiles to the O reservoir from which iddingsite formed 130 to 700 Ma ago.     

Calcareous crust (caliche) profiles and early subaerial exposure of Carboniferous carbonates, northeastern Kentucky

Sequences of laminated limestones found within thin Carboniferous carbonate strata of northeastern Kentucky were studied to determine their origin and palaeo-environmental significance. These laminated zones are strikingly similar to Holocene and Pleistocene surficial calcareous crusts (caliche) profiles that occur in various parts of the world. Carboniferous laminated carbonates are associated with shallow marine carbonate units, palaeokarst, and overlying palaeosol zones. A typical laminated profile ranges in thickness from 1 to 2 m and contains brecciated, light olive-grey to brown micrite that lacks distinctive bedding. Structures and textures common in most profiles include: (1) calcareous and silicious laminae (laminae form diffuse, alternating light and dark bands that generally parallel bedding but often fill fractures and vugs within the rocks); (2) particles (allochems, and micrite and microspar fragments) coated by brown microcrystalline calcite; (3) brecciated texture; (4) circular to elliptical fossil moulds (occur in sinuous patterns and fill fractures within the rocks); (5) large and small scale fracture patterns. Subaerial weathering and vadose diagenesis of carbonate mud banks or islands is suggested as a mechanism for the formation of these Carboniferous calcareous crust profiles. These ‘crusts’ formed by a combination of solution (karsting), brecciation, and soil development that transformed an exposed marine biomicrite (‘host’ rock) into a porous subsoil rubble. Laminated ‘crusts’ and coated particles developed as the result of dissolution and reprecipitation of CaCO₃ and SiO₃ from the soil and carbonate bedrock. Carboniferous laminated carbonates in northeastern Kentucky are often referred to as ‘algal limestones’ because of their superficial similarity to some modern and ancient algal structures. This study, however, reveals numerous characteristics that can only be explained by diagenesis in a subaerial environment.     

Interannual variability of annual streamflow and the Southern Oscillation in Costa Rica

Abstract

This study illustrates the association between annual and seasonal streamflow characteristics on six Costa Rican rivers and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). Annual discharge from rivers within the Pacific watershed are clearly positively associated with contemporary values of the SOI and experience significant reductions in both mean and variance in El Ninõ years. The considerable practical implications of this finding to a country in which over 60% of national electrical power comes from hydroelectric schemes is illustrated using quantile estimates from various models. Rivers draining towards the Caribbean show less clear and coherent patterns of associations. The observed associations with seasonal flows on some rivers appear to be the opposite of those on the Pacific, and may even vary during the course of a year at a site. The exact nature of the response seems to be closely related to the elevation of the gauge site. The larger the proportion of the basin at elevations above about 500–1000 m the greater the similarity to the Pacific pattern, suggesting that the marked topographic divide between the two coastal watersheds does not correspond to the divide in associations between streamflow and the SOI.     

Testate amoebae as a proxy for reconstructing Holocene water table dynamics in southern Patagonian peat bogs

Testate amoebae are abundant and diverse in Sphagnum peat bogs and have been used extensively as indicators of past water table depths. Although these unicellular protists are widely dispersed with globally similar hydrological preferences, regional variations in communities demand region‐specific transfer functions. Here we present the first transfer function for southern Patagonian bogs, based on 154 surface samples obtained from transects in five bogs sampled in 2012 and 2013. Significant variance was explained by pH, electrical conductivity and, in particular, water table depth. Transfer functions for water table were constructed using weighted averaging and evaluated by cross‐validation and independent test sets. The optimal transfer function has predictive ability, but relatively high prediction errors given the wide range in sampled water tables. The use of independent test sets, as well as cross‐validation, allows a more rigorous assessment of model performance than most previous studies. For a subset of locations we compare surface and subsurface samples to demonstrate significant differences in community composition, possibly due to vertical zonation. Our results provide the first quantification of hydrological optima and tolerances for several rare species, which may include Southern Hemisphere endemics and pave the way for palaeohydrological reconstructions in southern Patagonian bogs.     

THE TORONTO STAR FRESH AIR FUND: TRANSCENDENTAL RESCUE IN A MODERN CITY, 1900–1915

ABSTRACT. The Toronto Star newspaper began rescuing poor children from the city's hottest, smokiest, and smelliest neighborhoods in 1901. The Fresh Air Fund, like park and playground planning, assumed that proximity to nature modified both health and behavior. Evoking transcendentalism—the idea that providential nature could move humanity into higher forms of existence—the Star sent children to the countryside near Toronto, albeit temporarily, assured of producing tangible health benefits. It also expected “nature” to convert the antibourgeois immorality of poor children into something more tolerable.     

Phonolitic Diatremes within the Dunedin Volcano, South Island, New Zealand

The Port Chalmers Breccia is a vent-filling, clastic volcanicunit exposed within the Miocene Dunedin Volcano of South Island,New Zealand. Clasts (up to in excess of 1 m but generally <20cm) are supported in ash and fine lapilli of phonolitic (ne-benmoreiteor tephro-phonolite) composition and the dominant clast type(55 to almost 100%) is also phonolitic. Less abundant lithologiesinclude ne-normative basalt (basanite), hawaiite, mugeariteand trachyandesite, syenites and microsyenites, coarse-grainedmafic (gabbros) and ultramafic rocks (pyroxenites, hornblendites),schists and sediments. The breccias were emplaced as diatremesassociated with localized, but highly explosive, eruptive eventsin which mantle-derived CO₂ was an important component. Thesyenitic and ultramafic clasts could represent intrusive suitesproduced by crystal fractionation acting on parental ne-benmoreitemagmas that may themselves have been derived by crystal fractionationfrom basanitic precursors. An alternative variation on thismodel is that the parental ne-benmoreites were generated throughpartial melting of an alkalic igneous underplate. Sr, Nd andPb isotopic compositions are strikingly similar to those ofintraplate igneous rocks, ranging in age from 100 to less than10 Ma, from elsewhere in the South Island, and New Zealand'ssub-Antarctic islands, the south Tasman Sea and the Ross Searegion. This regional, HIMU-influenced, isotopic signature isbelieved to be derived from within the lithospheric mantle. KEY WORDS: phonolite; diatreme; nepheline syenite; Dunedin Volcano; alkalic rocks; fractional crystallization     

Rank exposure index on a Silurian carbonate tidal flat

Adequate discrimination between ancient intertidal and supratidal limestones and dolomites is often difficult because of vagueness of terms, problems of resolution, and the fact that most ‘diagnostic’sedimentary features are not restricted to narrow environmental zones. Furthermore, the rise and fall of sea-level in restricted, epeiric seas is usually due more to storm surges than to true tides, and hence the occurrence and extent of tidal-flat inundations are quite irregular. ‘Rank exposure index’is a concept introduced (1) to quantify the relative percentage of time that sediments are subaerially exposed and (2) to produce a more refined subdivision of shoreline carbonate rocks. The scheme employed to determine this index is a combination of numerical methods: cluster analysis separates 46 Tonoloway Limestone samples (Silurian of Maryland) into groups based on 16 sedimentary, mineralogic, and organic features, and minimum spanning tree produces a connected series of the five resultant groups. These groups are then ranked in sequence from 1 (greatest subaerial exposure) to 5 (least). Rocks of rank 1 are thought to have been deposited at the highest position within the tidal zone, as on a beach ridge. Rocks of decreasing rank reflect greater frequency of flooding. Those of rank 5 represent sediments deposited closest to low-water level, as in a tidal pond. Rock type, mineralogy, fossil content, algal stromatolites, and sedimentary structures are closely related to exposure rank as interpreted for the Tonoloway carbonates. Rank exposure index, therefore, is a semi-quantitative measure to aid in the detailed reconstruction of ancient shoreline environments.     

The Role of Open-System Processes in the Development of Silicic Magma Chambers: a Chemical and Isotopic Investigation of the Fogo A Trachyte Deposit, Sao Miguel, Azores

The processes operating in the development of chemical zonationin silicic magma chambers have been addressed with a Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf–Thisotope study of the chemically zoned trachyte pumice depositof the Fogo A eruption, Fogo volcano, Azores. Sr isotopic variationis observed in whole rocks, glass separates and sanidine phenocrysts(whole-rock ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr: 0·7049–0·7061; glass⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr: 0·7048–0·7052; sanidine ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr:0·7048–0·7062). Thorium isotopic variationis observed in glass separates, with (²³⁰Th/²³²Th)_o rangingfrom 0·8737 to 0·8841, and exhibiting a negativecorrelation with Sr isotopes. The Nd, Pb and Hf isotopic compositionsof the whole-rock trachytic pumices are invariant and indistinguishablefrom basalts flanking the volcano. The Sr isotope variationsin the whole rocks are proposed to be the result of three distinctprocesses: contamination of the Fogo A magma by assimilationof radiogenic seawater-altered syenite wall rock, to explainthe Sr and Th isotopic compositions of the glass separates;incorporation of xenocrysts into the trachytic magma, requiredto explain the range in feldspar Sr isotopic compositions; andpost-eruptive surface alteration. This study emphasizes theimportance of determining the isotopic composition of glassand mineral separates rather than whole rocks when pre-eruptivemagmatic processes are being investigated. KEY WORDS: Azores; open-system processes; Sr isotopes; trachytic pumices; zoned magma chambers