Recharge and sustainability of a coastal aquifer in northern Albania

The River Mati in Albania has formed a coastal plain with Holocene and Pleistocene sediments. The outer portion of the plain is clay, with three underlying aquifers that are connected to an alluvial fan at the entry of the river into the plain. The aquifers supply water for 240,000 people. Close to the sea the aquifers are brackish. The brackish water is often artesian and found to be thousands of years old. Furthermore, the salinity, supported by δ¹⁸O results, does not seem to be due to mixing with old seawater but due to diffusion from intercalated clay layers. Heavy metals from mines in the upstream section of River Mati are not an immediate threat, as the pH buffering of the river water is good. Moreover, the heavy metals are predominantly found in suspended and colloidal phases. Two sulphur isotope signatures, one mirroring seawater sulphate in the brackish groundwater (δ³⁴S >21 ‰) and one showing the influence of sulphide in the river and the fresh groundwater (δ³⁴S <10 ‰), indicate that the groundwater in the largest well field is recharged from the river. The most serious threat is gravel extraction in the alluvial fan, decreasing the hydraulic head necessary for recharge and causing clogging of sediments.     

Element signatures of subduction-zone fluids. An experimental study of the element partitioning (Dfluid/rock) of natural partly altered igneous rocks from the ODP drilling site 1,256

The trace element signatures of fluids were investigated by leaching experiments on natural samples of partly altered mafic igneous rocks recovered from the drilling site 1,256 of ODP Leg 206 on the Cocos plate (Central America). Experiments with ultrapure water were performed at 400 °C/0.4 GPa and 500 °C/0.7 GPa. Both fluids and residual solids were examined to obtain the partition coefficients (D^fluid/rock) of various trace elements. Element partition coefficients (D^fluid/rock) obtained at 500 °C/0.7 GPa are significantly lower compared to results obtained at 400 °C/0.4 GPa, which is in contrast to observations at higher pressures (2.2–6 GPa) and temperatures between 700 and 1,400 °C (Kessel et al. in Earth Planet Sci Lett 237: 873–892, 2005a; Spandler et al. in Chem Geol 239: 228–249, 2007). This finding may indicate a considerable pressure effect on the leaching processes and strongly divergent fluid–rock interactions in the upper part of a subduction zone at 0.4–0.7 GPa compared to deeper subduction areas with higher pressures. Furthermore, this may be interpreted as one of the earliest fractionation processes during the subduction of crustal material.     

Anthropogenic influence of trace metals in sediments of the Al-Qilt catchment,West Bank,Palestine: 1. Contamination factor and bonding forms

Al-Qilt catchment, located east of both the Ramallah and Jerusalem districts is strongly influenced by waste waters discharged from Israeli settlements and Palestinian urban centers. In this research, our aim was to verify the chemical status of the surface sediments from the Al-Qilt catchment during 2008/2009. For this purpose, 36 surface sediment samples were collected and analyzed with ICP/MS within the fraction of below 63 μm. The extent of contamination of trace metals from Al-Qilt sediments sites were measured by evaluating the contamination factors (CF) from digestion by aqua regia and additionally by sequential extraction steps using the BCR-method. On the basis of the calculated CF, sediments appear particularly contaminated with Zn, Cu, Ag, Sn, Cd, Hg, Bi, and B. Three regions, Wadi Sweanit, Ras Al-Qilt, and Qalandiah have been identified as critical points of contamination. Trace metal inputs to the Al-Qilt catchment need to be kept under strict control in the future since Ras Al-Qilt is considered as one of the important springs in the area and is used for domestic purposes. Moreover, it will be susceptible to pollution if no action is taken to decrease the pollution at the upstream of Al-Qilt.     

Microthermometric and stable isotopic (O and H) characteristics of fluid inclusions in the porphyry related Çöpler (İliç - Erzincan) gold deposit,central eastern Turkey

The Çöpler gold deposit occurs within the stockwork of quartz hosted by the Çöpler granitoid (Eosen) and by surrounding metasediments of Keban metamorphic (Late Paleozoic - Early Mesozoic) and the Munzur limestones (Late Carboniferous - Early Cretaceous). Native gold accompanied by small amounts of chalcopyrite, pyrite, magnetite, maghemite, hematite, fahlerz, marcasite, bornite, galena, sphalerite, specular hematite, goethite, lepidochrosite and bravoitic pyrite within the stockwork ore veinlets. In addition, epidote (pistazite - zoisite), garnet, scapolite, chlorite, tremolite/actinolite, muscovite and opaque minerals were determined within the veinlets occurred in skarn zones. The study of fluid inclusions in quartz veinlets showed that the hydrothermal fluids contain CaCl₂, MgCl₂ and NaCl and the salinities of the two phases (L+V) inclusions range from 1.7 to 20.6% NaCl equivalent. Salinity values up to 44% were determined within the halite bearing three phases inclusions. Their homogenization temperature values have a wide range from 145.0 to 380.0°C, indicative of catathermal/hypothermal to epithermal conditions. The δ ¹⁸O and δD values of the fluid inclusion waters from the Çöpler granitoid correspond to those assigned to Primary Magmatic Water, those from the metasediments of Keban metamorphics fall outside of the Primary Magmatic and are within the Metamorphic Water field. A sample from a quartz vein within the skarn zone hosted by the Munzur limestones has a particularly low δD value. The results suggest that fluids derived from the granitoids were mixed with those derived from the metasediments of Keban metamorphics and the the Munzur limestones and resulting in quartz veinlets in these lithologies and the formation of stockwork ores. In view of the occurrence, the features described and processes envisaged for this study area may be applicable in similar settings.     

Evidence for climatic variability and its impact on human development during the Neolithic from Loughmeenaghan,County Sligo,Ireland

High‐resolution pollen and geochemical analyses conducted on a sediment profile from a small lake in County Sligo, Ireland, revealed that human development during the Neolithic was influenced by pronounced climatic oscillations. The primeval woodland around the lake experienced a considerable transformation coinciding with the elm decline at 3810 BC. The subsequent increase in summer temperatures and decrease in precipitation favoured wheat cultivation in the lake's catchment area, which was practised for approximately 140 years. A shift towards pastoral farming took place with the establishment of exceptionally dry conditions between 3650 and 3560 BC, when lake level and influx of allochthonous material were notably low. The onset of cool and wet conditions at the transition from the Early to Middle Neolithic possibly caused the initial decline of human activity in the area. Periods of particularly high precipitation during the Middle and early Late Neolithic contributed to the abandonment of the area by the first farmers. Comparison of the proxy record from the study site with other palynological and archaeological records from Ireland suggests that climatic variability on the decadal to centennial scale represented a primary control on the nature and duration of farming practices during the Neolithic. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pliocene and late Pleistocene (MIS 5e) decapod crustaceans from Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago: Central Atlantic): systematics,palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography

The presence of decapod crustaceans in the Pliocene and Pleistocene (MIS 5e) fossil record of Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago) is herein reviewed. Our study raises the number of fossil decapods from this island from one species to 10 taxa (three for the Pliocene and seven for the Last Interglacial). Four of these 10 taxa are reported for the first time in the fossil record, worldwide. A new species of a mud shrimp is also described (Upogebia azorensis n. sp.). Our study suggests that the Plio–Pleistocene decapod assemblages of the Azores did not differ significantly from modern ones, being dominated by species that are today widespread across the Webbnesia ecoregion, the Mediterranean Sea, and the eastern Atlantic shores, including the Azores. As far as can be judged from the limited fossil record, apparently no tropical crab species with a Cabo Verdean/Senegalese provenance reached the Azores during windows of opportunity associated with Glacial Termination 2 or with the initial setting of the Last Interglacial period. This contribution increases the total number of marine taxa reported for the Pliocene and Pleistocene outcrops of Santa Maria Island to 218 and 155, respectively, highlighting the scientific relevance of its palaeontological heritage.     

New 1982 — 1990 photometry of λ Andromedae and its 11-year cycle

We present photoelectric photometry of λ And never before published, obtained between February 1982 and December 1990 at 29 different observatories. Then we combine it with all other photometry available to us (previously published, contained in the I.A.U. Commission 27 Archives, and obtained with the Vanderbilt 16-inch automatic telescope but not yet published), to yield a 14.8-year data base. Analysis reveals a long-term cycle in mean brightness, with a full range of 0^m.15 and a period of 11.4 ± 0.4 years. Because most of our new photometry was concentrated in the 1983-84 observing season, we analyze that one well-defined light curve with a two-spot model. Spot A keeps a 0^m.04 amplitude throughout four rotation cycles whereas the amplitude of spot B diminishes from 0^m.09 down almost to 0^m.03. The spot rotation periods were 55^d.9 ± 0^d.6 and 520^d.8 ± 1^d.0, respectively.