Phytolith indices as proxies of grass subfamilies on East African tropical mountains

The main objective of this paper is to provide researchers that investigate fossil phytolith assemblages and model/data comparisons a new tool for estimating C₃/C₄ grass composition over time. We tested the reliability of modern soil phytolith assemblages and phytolith indices for tracing the dominance of different grass subfamilies and tree cover density. We analyzed modern soil phytolith assemblages from sites over elevation gradients on Mount Kenya (Kenya), Mount Rungwe and around Lake Masoko (southern Tanzania). These data were compared with available botanical data. A phytolith index named Ic, proved to be an effective proxy of the proportions of Pooideae, Arundinoideae and Bambusoideae grasses (mainly C₃ grasses) versus Panicoideae grasses (mainly C₄ grasses), increasing with elevation in East-Africa. When tropical mountains are covered by open habitats (e.g. grasses and shrublands), Ic should be a reliable proxy of the C₃/C₄ grass composition. These results highlight the value of the phytolith index Ic, when interpreting paleo-environmental records from tropical mountains, to: 1) better understand past local and regional C₃/C₄ grass distributions and associated climatic changes and 2) increase the set of C₃/C₄ data available for model/data comparisons.     

The regional setting of the Woodlawn deposit

The Woodlawn zinc‐lead‐copper deposit is one of a number of stratabound volcanogenic base‐metal deposits in the eastern part of the Lachlan Fold Belt. These deposits are commonly bandned and chemically zoned. They are copper‐rich at the base and lead‐zinc‐(barium)‐rich at the top. Alternatively, discrete copper‐rich, lead‐zinc‐rich and barium‐rich bodies may be developed. Oxide facies variants have been recognised at a number of localities. The deposits were formed in or adjacent to volcanic rifts during the Late Silurian. The Woodlawn deposit is located within the Captains Flat‐Goulburn Synclinorial Zone within a sequence of quartz‐feldspar porphyry, agglomerate, tuff, tuffaceous shale and black shale.     

Effect of ramp size and sample spinning speed on CPMAS C NMR spectra of soil organic matter

Cross polarization (CP) magic angle spinning (MAS) ¹³C NMR spectroscopy is a solid state NMR technique widely applied to study the chemical composition of natural organic matter. In high magnetic fields (>7 T), fast sample spinning is required in order to reduce the influence of spinning sidebands underlying other chemical shift regions. As the spinning speed increases, the Hartmann-Hahn matching profiles break down into a series of narrow matching bands. In order to account for this instability variable amplitude cross polarization techniques (e.g. VACP, ramp-CP) have been developed. In the present study, we experimentally verified the stability of the Hartmann-Hahn condition under two MAS speeds for different samples with known structure and two different humic acids. For a complete restoration of flat matching profiles, large ramp sizes were needed. The matching profiles of the humic acids showed that both samples needed different ramp sizes to restore flat profiles. A set up based on the matching profiles of the commonly used glycine would have led to an insufficient ramp size for one of the humic acids. For the characterization of natural organic matter, we hence recommend to roughly set the matching conditions with a standard and subsequently optimize the matching conditions on a more complex, preferably representative, sample such as a humic acid. We would suggest to either run an array of different ramp sizes until maximum signal intensity is reached for all chemical shift regions or, in the case of unavailable measurement time, to use a ramp size twice the spinning speed.     

Marine evidence for the last glacial advance across eastern Hudson Strait,eastern Canadian Arctic

Data from accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon dated sediment cores and Huntec high-resolution seismic profiles were used to investigate the age and origin of the sediments in the Eastern Basin of Hudson Strait. The data indicate that the ice-contact and glacial-marine sediments on the basin flanks and much of the upper sequence in the deep floor of the basin were produced during the Noble Inlet advance (8.9 to 8.4 ka), the last northward expansion of the Labrador Dome on to southeastern Baffin Island. On the northern flank of Eastern Basin one sequence of ice-contact sediments and glacial-marine deposits overlies bedrock; the glacial-marine sediments are transitional upslope to ice-contact sediments, and form at least two successive ice-sheet grounding zones. The earliest abundance peaks of benthic Foramininfera in glacial-marine sediments date ca. 8.6 and 8.4 ka, and correlate to sediments near the base of the 58-m-thick glacial-marine section in the deepest part of Eastern Basin. This correlation suggests that Noble Inlet ice was grounded throughout Eastern Basin during the early part of its advance. In later stages the thinning ice produced grounding zones on the basin flanks while glacial-marine sediments were deposited in the deep basin. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimating historical in-lake alkalinity generation from sulfate reduction and its relationship to lake chemistry as inferred from algal microfossils

Sediment cores were used to estimate in-lake alkalinity generation resulting from sulfate reduction relative to inferred changes in lakewater pH and trophic status over the last century in three Connecticut lakes. Despite being situated in geological settings with crystalline bedrock and thin, poorly buffered soils, and being impacted with high rates of acidic precipitation, none of the study lakes have declined in inferred pH based on scaled chrysophyte and diatom remains. In fact, the pH of one of the lakes, Coventry Lake, has significantly increased over the last century. Over the last 44 to 69 years the amount of sulfur stored in the sediments from each lake increased from ~two to three times resulting in mean rates of alkalinity generation ranging from 78 to 145 meq m^–2 yr^–1, significantly higher than the 45 to 48 meq m^–2 yr^–1 of hydrogen ions falling directly on the lake surfaces. In-lake alkalinity generation resulting from sulfate reduction has been sufficient to neutralize all of the acid falling directly onto the lake surfaces, as well as between 9% and 25% of the acid deposited onto the surrounding watersheds. Despite the increased importance of in-lake alkalinity generation, our findings support the hypothesis that significant amounts of alkalinity are also being generated in the catchments of the study lakes. The bulk of the increases in stored sulfur in all three lakes were as Fe sulfides and not in the form of organic sulfur, suggesting that the increases were the result of dissimilatory bacterial reduction of sulfate. As a result of the large increases in storage of Fe sulfides the ratio of total iron to chromium reducible sulfur (Fe:CRS) has declined in all cores over time. Despite the overall decline in Fe:CRS in recent sediments, values are still largely above 3 in more recent sediments of two of the lakes. However, values of Fe:CRS have dropped below 1 in surface sediments of Uncas Lake, suggesting that in-lake loading of phosphorus may be responsible for a recent shift in the algal flora towards a slightly more eutrophic condition.     

The CartACom model: transforming cartographic features into communicating agents for cartographic generalisation

Our research is concerned with automated generalisation of topographic vector databases in order to produce maps. This article presents a new, agent-based generalisation model called CartACom (Cartographic generalisation with Communicating Agents), dedicated to the treatment of areas of low density but where rubber sheeting techniques are not sufficient because some eliminations or aggregations are needed. In CartACom, the objects of the initial database are modelled as agents, that is, autonomous entities, that choose and apply generalisation algorithms to themselves in order to increase the satisfaction of their constraints as much as possible. The CartACom model focuses on modelling and treating the relational constraints, defined as constraints that concern a relation between two objects. In order to detect and assess their relational constraints, the CartACom agents are able to perceive their spatial surroundings. Moreover, to make the good generalisation decisions to satisfy their relational constraints, they are able to communicate with their neighbours using predefined dialogue protocols. Finally, a hook to another agent-based generalisation model – AGENT – is provided, so that the CartACom agents can handle not only their relational constraints but also their internal constraints. The CartACom model has been applied to the generalisation of low-density, heterogeneous areas like rural areas, where the space is not hierarchically organised. Examples of results obtained on real data show that it is well adapted for this application.     

Cambro-Ordovician palaeomagnetic and geochronologic data from southern Victoria Land, Antarctica: revision of the Gondwana apparent polar wander path

We present new palaeomagnetic and isotopic data from the southern Victoria Land region of the Transantarctic Mountains in East Antarctica that constrain the palaeogeographic position of this region during the Late Cambrian and Early Ordovician. A new pole has been determined from a dioritic intrusion at Killer Ridge (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar biotite age of 499 ± 3 Ma) and hornblende diorite dykes at Mt. Loke (21°E, 7°S, A 95 = 8°, N = 6 VGPs). The new Killer Ridge/Mt. Loke pole is indistinguishable from Gondwana Late Cambrian and Early Ordovician poles. Previously reported palaeomagnetic poles from southern Victoria Land have new isotopic age constraints that place them in the Late Cambrian rather than the Early Ordovician. Based upon the new palaeomagnetic and isotopic data, new Gondwana Late Cambrian and Early Ordovician mean poles have been calculated.