Using detrital zircon U‐Pb ages to calculate Late Cretaceous sedimentation rates in the Magallanes‐Austral basin,Patagonia

Determining both short‐ and long‐term sedimentation rates is becoming increasingly important in geomorphic (exhumation and sediment flux), structural (subsidence/flexure) and natural resource (predictive modelling) studies. Determining sedimentation rates for ancient sedimentary sequences is often hampered by poor understanding of stratigraphic architecture, long‐term variability in large‐scale sediment dispersal patterns and inconsistent availability of absolute age data. Uranium–Lead (U‐Pb) detrital zircon (DZ) geochronology is not only a popular method to determine the provenance of siliciclastic sedimentary rocks but also helps delimit the age of sedimentary sequences, especially in basins associated with protracted volcanism. This study assesses the reliability of U‐Pb DZ ages as proxies for depositional ages of Upper Cretaceous strata in the Magallanes‐Austral retroarc foreland basin of Patagonia. Progressive younging of maximum depositional ages (MDAs) calculated from young zircon populations in the Upper Cretaceous Dorotea Formation suggests that the MDAs are potential proxies for absolute age, and constrain the age of the Dorotea Formation to be ca. 82–69 Ma. Even if the MDAs do not truly represent ages of contemporaneous volcanic eruptions in the arc, they may still indicate progressive‐but‐lagged delivery of increasingly younger volcanogenic zircon to the basin. In this case, MDAs may still be a means to determine long‐term (≥1–2 Myr) average sedimentation rates. Burial history models built using the MDAs reveal high aggradation rates during an initial, deep‐marine phase of the basin. As the basin shoaled to shelfal depths, aggradation rates decreased significantly and were outpaced by progradation of the deposystem. This transition is likely linked to eastward propagation of the Magallanes fold‐thrust belt during Campanian‐Maastrichtian time, and demonstrates the influence of predecessor basin history on foreland basin dynamics.     

Characterisation and diachronous initiation of coarse clastic deposition in the Magallanes–Austral foreland basin,Patagonian Andes

Magallanes–Austral Basin (MAB) fill is preserved along a >1000 km north–south trending outcrop belt in the southern Patagonia region of Argentina and Chile. Although the stratigraphic evolution of the MAB has been well documented in the Chilean sector (referred to as the Magallanes Basin), its northern terminus in southern Argentina (Austral Basin) is poorly constrained. We present new stratigraphic and geochronologic analyses of the early basin fill (Aptian–Turonian) from the Argentine sector (49–51°S) of the MAB to document spatial variability in stratigraphy and timing of deposition during the initial stages of basin evolution. The initiation of the retroarc foreland basin fill is marked by the transition from mudstone to coarse‐clastic deposition, which is characterised by the consistent presence of sandstone beds > ca. 20 cm thick interpreted to represent sediment gravity flows deposited in a submarine fan system. Depositional environments within the early fill of the basin range from lower to upper deep‐water fan settings as well as previously undocumented slope deposits. These facies are present as far north as El Chalten, Argentina (ca. 49°S), indicating that facies‐equivalent rocks can be traced along‐strike for at least 5 degrees of latitude, based on correlation with strata as far south as the Cordillera Darwin (ca. 54°S). Eight new U‐Pb zircon ages from ash beds reveal an overall southward younging trend in the initiation of coarse clastic deposition. Inferred depositional ages range from ca. 115 ± 1.9 Ma in the northernmost study area to not older than 92 ± 1 Ma and 89 ± 1.5 Ma in the central and southern sectors respectively. The apparent diachronous delivery of coarse detritus into the basin may reflect (1) gradual southward progradation of a deep‐water fan system from a northerly point source and/or (2) orogen‐parallel variations in the timing and magnitude of thrust‐belt deformation and erosion that provided more local sources for sediment delivery.     

Basin and petroleum system modelling of the East Coast Basin,New Zealand: a test of overpressure scenarios in a convergent margin

In the East Coast Basin (ECB), an active convergent margin of the North Island, New Zealand, the smectite‐rich Eocene Wanstead Formation forms an effective regional seal, creating high overpressure in the underlying Cretaceous through Palaeocene units due to disequilibrium compaction. This study examines the evolution of pore pressure and porosity in Hawke Bay of the ECB based on stepwise structural reconstruction of a stratigraphic and structural framework derived from interpretation of a regional two‐dimensional seismic line. This framework is incorporated into a basin and petroleum system model to predict the generation, distribution, and dissipation of overpressure, and examine the influence of faults, erosion, structural thickening, and seal effectiveness of the Wanstead Formation on pore pressure evolution. We find that natural hydraulic fracturing is likely occurring in sub‐Wanstead source rocks, which makes it a favourable setting for potential shale gas plays. We use poroelastic modelling to investigate the impact of horizontal bulk shortening due to tectonic compression on pore pressure and the relative order of principal stresses. We find that shortening modestly increases pore pressure. When 5% or greater shortening occurs, the horizontal stress may approach and exceed vertical stress in the last 4 Myr of the basin's history. Shortening impacts both the magnitude and relative order of principal stresses through geological time. Due to the overpressured nature of the basin, we suggest that subtle changes in stress regime are responsible for the significant changes in structural deformational styles observed, enabling compressional, extensional, and strike‐slip fault regimes to all occur during the tectonic history and, at times, simultaneously.     

A Comparison Of Aerosol-Layer And Convective Boundary-Layer Structure Over A Mountain Range During Staaarte '97

The temporal evolution and spatial structure of the aerosol layer (AL) height as observed with an airborne downlooking lidar over the Swiss Alps were investigated with a three-dimensional mesoscale numerical model and a particle dispersion model. Convective boundary-layer (CBL) heights were derived from the mesoscale model output, and the behaviour of surface-released particles was investigated with the particle dispersion model. While a previous investigation, using data from the same field study, equated the observed AL height with the CBL height, the results of the current investigation indicate that there is a considerable difference between AL and CBL heights caused by mixing and transport processes between the CBL and the free atmosphere. CBL heights show a more terrain-following behaviour and are lower than AL heights. We argue that processes causing the difference between AL and CBL heights are common over mountainous terrain and that the AL height is a length scale that needs to be considered in air pollution studies in mountainous terrain.     

Mapping vulnerability to multiple stressors: climate change and globalization in India

There is growing recognition in the human dimensions research community that climate change impact studies must take into account the effects of other ongoing global changes. Yet there has been no systematic methodology to study climate change vulnerability in the context of multiple stressors. Using the example of Indian agriculture, this paper presents a methodology for investigating regional vulnerability to climate change in combination with other global stressors. This method, which relies on both vulnerability mapping and local-level case studies, may be used to assess differential vulnerability for any particular sector within a nation or region, and it can serve as a basis for targeting policy interventions.     

The Role of Higher Trophic Levels in a Sublittoral Benthic Community

Abstract. The ingestion of carnivores and omnivores was determined during the investigation of higher trophic levels in a North Adriatic benthic community. The ingestion rate was calculated from respiration data using a respiration-production equation and an assumed assimilation efficiency. In the case of the starfish Astropecten aranciacus the ingestion rate obtained by this indirect method was in good agreement with the ingestion rate calculated directly from gut contents, taking the retaining period of food items in the gut into consideration. These results are compared to previously published ingestion rates. The influence of A aranciacus on the community is briefly discussed.     

Effect of siderophores on the light-induced dissolution of colloidal iron(III) (hydr)oxides

Siderophores play an important role in biological iron acquisition in iron-limited aquatic systems. While it is widely accepted that the solubilization of iron-bearing mineral phases is a key function of siderophores, the mechanism of siderophore-promoted mineral dissolution in aquatic systems is largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the effect of siderophores (desferrioxamine B (DFOB) and aerobactin) on light-induced dissolution of goethite and lepidocrocite in the presence or absence of oxalate in aerated and deaerated suspensions at pH 6. For the irradiated two-ligand system (oxalate/siderophore), the experimental results suggest that oxalate acts as the electron donor for the formation of surface Fe(II), and the siderophore acts as an efficient shuttle for the transfer of surface Fe(II) into solution. Furthermore, even in the absence of an electron donor such as oxalate, both DFOB and aerobactin accelerated the light-induced dissolution of lepidocrocite as compared to the thermal dissolution. Experiments with dissolved Fe(III)–DFOB and Fe(III)–aerobactin complexes suggest that this enhancing effect is not due to photolysis of corresponding surface complexes but to efficient transfer of reduced surface Fe(II) into solution, where surface Fe(II) may be formed, e.g., through photolysis of surface Fe(III)–hydroxo groups. Based on this study, we conclude that the interplay of light and siderophores may play a key role in the dissolution of colloidal iron(III) (hydr)oxides in marine systems, particularly in the presence of efficient electron donors.