The structure of the Precambrian and Lower Paleozoic basement of the Central Andes between 22° and 32°S. Lat.

Three major diastrophic cycles, defined by their structural style and their spatial distribution are recognized in the Andean Basement of this region. The oldest structures are related to the Panamerican Orogeny (500 to 700 m. a.) which produced in the Central Craton multiply deformed complexes of schists, gneisses and granites, that are covered discordantly by unmetamorphosed Cambrian and Ordovician beds. West of the Central Craton Ordovician sedimentary beds are folded with a simple structural style and intruded by granites. Both the sedimentry beds and the granites are covered discordantly by undeformed Devonian sequences. The folding of the Ordovician is attributed to the ocloyic phase of the Caledonian movements. West of the ocloyic belt is another foldbelt consisting of strongly folded Devonian beds attributed to the chanic phase (hercynian). The chanic belt is intruded by carboniferous and permian granites and covered discordantly by Carboniferous and Permian sequences.The features observed in the eastern slope of the Andes suggest that the Paleozoic foldbelts are intracratonic. Whether there are accreted terrains in the Pacific Coastal Cordillera is matter of controversy.

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Zusammenfassung Im Andenbasement dieser Region lassen sich drei diastrophische Hauptzyklen, die durch ihren strukturellen Baustil und ihre geographische Verbreitung definiert sind, unterscheiden. Die ältesten Strukturen sind verknüpft mit den Bewegungen der Panamerikanischen Orogenese (500–700 m. a.), welche im Zentralkraton einen polydeformierten Komplex von Schiefern, Gneissen und Graniten erzeugte. Diesem lagern diskordant kambrische und ordovizische Sequenzen ohne Metamorphose und präandiner Deformation auf. Nach Westen zu gibt es einen Gürtel stark deformierter ordovizischer Sedimente, die einen einfacheren Baustil als das präkambrische Basement aufweisen, und diskordant von undeformierten devonischen Abfolgen bedeckt sind. Die Faltung des Ordoviziums wird der Ocloyischen Phase der Kaledonischen Bewegung zugerechnet.Weiter westwärts tritt ein jüngerer Faltengürtel aus devonischen Sedimenten auf, die während der Chanischen Phase der Herzynischen Bewegung intensiv deformiert wurden, und von karbonischen und permischen Sequenzen diskordant überlagert sind.Der Ocloyische Gürtel ist von postordovizischen Graniten die von devonischen Schichten überlagert sind, und der Chanische Gürtel von karbonischen und permischen Graniten intrudiert. Im präkambrischen Basement des Zentralkratons treten einerseits präkambrische Granite auf, denen diskordant kambrische Schichten auflagern. Andererseits findet man Granite mit paläozoischen Isotopenaltern, letztere aber in Gebieten, wo wegen des Fehlens von Deckschichten eine stratigraphische Kontrolle unmöglich ist.Die gemachten Beobachtungen scheinen darauf hinzudeuten, daß die paläozoischen Faltengürtel intrakratonisch sind. Ob es allochtone »terrains« in der pazifischen Küstenkordillere gibt, ist Gegenstand der Kontroverse.

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Resumen En el basamento de los Andes de esta región se distinguen tres ciclos diastróficos mayores definidos por sus estilos estructurales y su distributión espacial. Las estructuras mas antiguas responden a movimientos que culminaron con la Orogénesis Panamericana (500–700 m. a.) que produjo en el Cratógeno Central un complejo de esquistos, gneises y granitos polideformados, al que se le superponen discordantemente secuencias cámbricas y ordovicicas sin metamorfismo ni déformatión preandina. Hacia el oeste hay un cinturón de sedimentos ordovícicos intensamente deformados con un estilo de plegamiento mas simple que el del basamento precámbrico y cubierto discordantemente por secuencias marinas devónicas sin deformatión. Los movimientos responsables de este plegamiento se atribuyen a la fase oclóyica de los movimientos caledónicos. Más hacia el oeste se manifiesta una franja de deformatión mas jóven atribuída a la Fase chánica de los movimientos hercínicos, en ella se encuentran sedimentitas devónicas intensamente plegadas cubiertas discordantemente por secuencias carbónicas y pérmicas.El cinturón oclóyico esta acompanãdo por granitos postordovícicos cubiertos por Devónico. Asimismo, el cinturón chánico (hercínico) esta intruido por granitos probablemente carbónicos. Con respecta a los granitos intruidos en el zócalo antiguo, hay algunos indudablemente precámbricos por estar cubiertos discordantemente por secuencias cámbricas sin metamorfismo, además hay granitos de edad dudosa que han dado valores isotópicos paleozoicos pero en lugares donde el control estratigráfico no es posible por ausencia de la cobertura paleozoica. De acuerdo a los hechos observados en la ladera oriental de los Andes surge la idea de que los cinturones de plegamiento paleozoicos son intracratónicos, aun es materia de controversia si en la Cordillera de la Costa junto al Pacifico hay terrenos alóctonos acrecionados.

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Isotopic composition of precipitation during strong El Niño–Southern Oscillation events in the Southeast Region of Brazil

Equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature variations interact with processes of atmospheric circulation, creating conditions for the occurrence of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). ENSO events represent the most important interannual phenomena affecting climate patterns worldwide and causing significant socio‐economic impacts. In the Brazilian territory, ENSO leads to an increase in drought episodes in the north‐eastern region and an increase in precipitation in the southern region, whereas the effects over the south‐east region are yet not well understood. The main goal of this study is to compare variations of isotopic composition in precipitation across the south‐east portion of the Brazilian territory during two very strong ENSO events: 1997–1998 (ENSO 1) and 2014–2016 (ENSO 2). Daily isotopic records, available from the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation database for ENSO 1, and samples collected during ENSO 2 were used to compare the influence of both events on the isotopic composition of precipitation. Seasonal variations indicated more depleted precipitation during the wet seasons (δ¹⁸O = ?5.4 ± 4.0‰) and enriched precipitation during the dry seasons (δ¹⁸O = ?2.8 ± 2.3‰). Observed rainfall variations were associated with atmospheric large‐scale processes and moisture transport from the Amazon region, whereas extreme values (enriched or depleted) appear to be associated with particular convective and stratiform precipitation events. Overall, more depleted isotopic composition of precipitation (δ¹⁸O = ?4.60‰) and higher d‐excess (up to +15‰) were observed during the dry season of ENSO 1 when compared with ENSO 2 dry season (δ¹⁸O‰ = ?2.80‰, d‐excess lower than +14‰). The latter is explained by greater atmospheric moisture content, particularly associated with recycling of transpiration fluxes from the Amazon region, during dry season of ENSO 1. No significant differences for δ¹⁸O and δ²H were observed during the wet season; however, d‐excess from ENSO 2 was greater than ENSO 1, due to the slightly greater atmospheric moisture content and very strong upward motion observed. Our findings highlight the opportunity that environmental isotopes offer towards understanding hydrometeorological processes, particularly, the evolution of extreme climatic events of global resonance such as ENSO.     

Shallow-level differentiation of phonolitic lavas from Sumaco Volcano,Ecuador

Sumaco Volcano is located in the rear-arc of Ecuador and produces phonolitic alkaline lavas hosting a unique assemblage of minerals including haüyne and titanaugite. The most mafic lavas are picrobasalts that contain titanaugite as the primary mineral phase; the most evolved tephri-phonolite lavas contain titanaugite?+?anorthoclase?+?haüyne. Titanaugite forms at middle to deep crustal pressures, whereas haüyne is only stable at shallow depths in highly oxidizing conditions. The Sumaco mineral assemblages and geochemistry indicate that fractionation of the titanaugite- and haüyne-bearing assemblage took place over a range of pressures from 5 to 25 kbar (14–75 km), with at least 50% of differentiation taking place at shallow crustal levels. Minerals record multiple cycles of recharge and mixing accompanied by an increase in fO₂ and sulfur concentration during differentiation. Mantle-like Sr and Nd isotope values (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70406–0.70423; ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.512880–0.512913) indicate minimal crustal assimilation. Sumaco’s unique geochemical composition is not observed in the nearby volcanoes Antisana, Pan de Azucar or El Reventador suggesting that its unique magma source is confined to this volcano. The high temperature and sulfate-saturated conditions at shallow depths suggest that magma ascends rapidly to a shallow reservoir where the majority of crystallization and recharge takes place prior to eruption. An important conclusion of this research is that Sumaco does not represent typical rear-arc subduction processes, and caution should be used when using Sumaco as an end-member to evaluate across-arc processes in the Northern Volcanic Zone.     

Metal concentrations, fluxes, inventories and chronologies in sediments from Sepetiba and Ribeira Bays: A comparative study

Three sediment cores were sampled at Sepetiba Bay and four cores at Ribeira Bay, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Sediment accumulation rates and chronologies were obtained from ²¹⁰Pb activity-depth profiles. Sediment accumulation rates in Ribera Bay ranged from 1.2 mm y⁻¹ in the inner bay to 2.6 mm y⁻¹ close to its entrance. In Sepetiba Bay two sediment accumulation rates were observed: a lower rate of 0.35 cm y⁻¹ before the 1960s and 0.76 cm y⁻¹ since then. The cause of this change is due to the construction of the Santa Cecília impoundment (1955) that brings water from the Paraíba do Sul Basin into the Guandu River, which increased its flow from the original 20 m³ s⁻¹ to 160 m³ s⁻¹. Concentration of 44 elements was obtained by ICP-MS after total dissolution of samples from two selected cores. The relative differences between the concentrations of crustal elements, such as Al, Fe and Ti are only about 20% (p < 0.05). Cd and Zn are 15 and four times larger in Sepetiba Bay than in Ribeira Bay, respectively. Other major and minor elements show lower statistically significant differences. The enrichment factors and metal inventories show that Sepetiba Bay can be considered polluted with Bi, Cd, Cr, Cu, Sb and Zn. Particularly, Cd and Zn present concentrations three and four times higher than the Brazilian existing limits.     

Population biology of Excirolana armata (Dana, 1853) (Isopoda,Cirolanidae) on an exposed sandy beach in Southeastern Brazil

The reproductive biology and population dynamics of the cirolanid isopod Excirolana armata (Dana, 1853) were analysed through monthly samples from December 2003 to November 2005 on Una beach, São Paulo state (24° S), in Southeastern Brazil. Sampling was performed along three transects established from the base of foredunes to the waterline. On Una beach, E. armata showed continuous reproduction with higher abundances of ovigerous females in winter and spring (July–November) with a higher peak of juveniles in spring (November 2004). The fecundity ranged from 2 to 18 eggs/embryos per female, depending on the female length. The incubation period was estimated as 2 months. The life span of males and females was nearly 1 year. The short life span and the high energetic expenditure inherent to reproduction with maternal care, probably kept females from producing more than one brood in their lifetime. When comparing the population of E. armata on Una beach (24° S) with populations in Southern Brazil (32° S), Uruguay (34° S) and Argentina (36° S), it was verified that several biological population traits (length of the smallest juvenile, length of the largest individual, length of the smallest and largest ovigerous females, range of fecundity and life span) tended to increase at higher latitudes, whereas other traits (instantaneous rate of mortality and the curvature parameter of von Bertalanffy growth function) tended to decrease. However, comparing E. armata on Una beach (24° S) with a population situated at a close latitude (25° S), unexpected differences in relation to population structure and to growth demonstrated and reinforced the importance of density‐dependent factors over life history traits of E. armata on dissipative beaches.     

Thermochemistry of strontium incorporation in aragonite from atomistic simulations

We have investigated the thermodynamics of mixing between aragonite (orthorhombic CaCO₃) and strontianite (SrCO₃). In agreement with experiment, our simulations predict that there is a miscibility gap between the two solids at ambient conditions. All Sr_xCa_1−xCO₃ solids with compositions 0.12 < x < 0.87 are metastable with respect to separation into a Ca-rich and a Sr-rich phase. The concentration of Sr in coral aragonites (x ∼ 0.01) lies in the miscibility region of the phase diagram, and therefore formation of separated Sr-rich phases in coral aragonites is not thermodynamically favorable. The miscibility gap disappears at around 380 K. The enthalpy of mixing, which is positive and nearly symmetric with respect to x = 0.5, is the dominant contribution to the excess free energy, while the vibrational and configurational entropic contributions are small and of opposite sign. We provide a detailed comparison of our simulation results with available experimental data.     

MPA as management tools for small-scale fisheries: The case study of Arrábida Marine Protected Area (Portugal)

Marine protected areas (MPA) have been widely suggested as a tool for both fisheries management and conservation goals. These multiple objectives are hard to achieve simultaneously as sustainable development implies the balance between the specific interests of conservation and economical activities. MPA success, namely for fisheries management, entails the implementation of restrictive measures that in a short-time frame may have negative effects on local fishermen communities. It is extremely important to evaluate their performance and effectiveness aiming at a quasi-optimal management, minimizing potential impacts on the social domain. In this study, a methodology for assessing the effectiveness of MPA as a small-scale fisheries management tool was developed, based on a set of indicators grouped in four dimensions (ecological, economic, social and management and governance). The indicators were scored individually according to an original score scale of five values and a median score was calculated for every dimension. Finally, the median overall score was calculated including the scores of the four dimensions. The scores were attributed for two distinct periods: before and after MPA implementation, in order to evaluate the performance of MPA. This methodology can be applied even with few scientific data available and taking into account experts and stakeholders’ judgements. The Arrábida MPA (Portugal) was used as a case study and it was found that with the implementation of the MPA social and economical aspects were impaired (median scores decreased near one value for the period after MPA implementation), while the other two dimensions showed an improvement trend. Thus, the overall score was the same before and after MPA implementation, an intermediate scale score. Results from the application of this method can give important indications about the state of an MPA and evaluate if the initial goals are being achieved through the implemented measures. The method is of easy communication and can be a useful tool for decision making and fisheries management processes.