Rates, patterns, and impacts ofPhragmites australis expansion and effects of experimentalPhragmites control on vegetation, macroinvertebrates, and fish within tidelands of the lower Connecticut River

Phragmites expansion rates (linear at 1–3% yr⁻¹) and impacts of this expansion on high marsh macroinvertebrates, aboveground production, and litter decomposition fromPhragmites and other marsh graminoids were studied along a polyhaline to oligohaline gradient. These parameters, and fish use of creeks and high marsh, were also studied inPhragmites control sites (herbicide, mowing, and combined herbicide/mow treatments).Phragmites clones established without obvious site preferences on oligohaline marshes, expanding radially. At higher salinities,Phragmites preferentially colonized creekbank levees and disturbed upland borders, then expanded into the central marsh. Hydroperiods, but not salinities or water table, distinguishedPhragmites-dominated transects. Pooled samples ofPhragmites leaves, stems, and flowers decompose more slowly than other marsh angiosperms;Phragmites leaves alone decompose as or more rapidly than those of cattail. AbovegroundPhragmites production was 1,300 to 2,400 g m⁻² (about 23% of this as leaves), versus 600–800 g m⁻² for polyhaline to mesohaline meadow and 1,300 g m⁻² for oligohaline cattail-sedge marsh. Macroinvertebrates appear largely unaffected byPhragmites expansion or control efforts; distribution and densities are unrelated to elevation or hydroperiod, but densities are positively related to litter cover. Dominant fish captured leaving flooded marsh wereFundulus heteroclitus andAnguilla rostrata; both preyed heavily on marsh macroinvertebrates.A. rostrata andMorone americana tended to be more common inPhragmites, but otherwise there were no major differences in use patterns betweenPhragmites and brackish meadow vegetation. SAV and macroalgal cover were markedly lower within aPhragmites-dominated creek versus one withSpartina-dominated banks. The same fish species assemblage was trapped in both plus a third within the herbicide/mow treatment. Fish biomass was greatest from theSpartina creek and lowest from thePhragmites creek, reflecting abundances ofF. heteroclitus. Mowing depressedPhragmites aboveground production and increased stem density, but was ineffective for control.Phragmites, Spartina patens, andJuncus gerardii frequencies after herbicide-only treatment were 0.53-0.21; total live cover was <8% with a heavy litter and dense standing dead stems. After two growing seasonsAgrostis stolonifera/S. patens/J. gerardii brackish meadow characterized most of the herbicide/mow treatment area;Phragmites frequency here was 0.53, contributing 3% cover. Both values more than doubled after four years; a single treatment is ineffective for long-termPhragmites control.     

Comparison of Two Integrated Methods for the Collection and Analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds in Ground Water

The principal difficulties with determinations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ground water are the reliability of sampling procedures and analytical methods. Two integrated methods have been developed for routine sampling, processing, and analysis of VOCs in ground water. These methods involve in situ collection of ground water using a modified syringe sampler from PVC piezometers or using dedicated glass syringes from stainless steel multilevel bores. The samples are processed in the syringe using purge and trap or microsolvent extraction and analyzed by GC/MSD.
The modified purge-and-trap method is time-consuming and limited to volatile organic compounds. However, it is extremely sensitive and flexible: the volume of sample used can be varied by the use of different-size glass syringes (sample volumes from 1 to 100 mL).
In cases where extremely low sensitivity (<10 mg 1⁻¹) is not critical, the microextraction technique is a more cost-effective method, allowing twice as many samples to be analyzed in the same time as the purge-and-trap method. It enables less volatile compounds such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, phenol, and cresols to be analyzed in the same GC run. Also, the microextraction method can be used in the field to avoid delays associated with transportation of ground water samples to the laboratory.     

Chemical stratigraphy of the Paraná lavas (South America): classification of magma types and their spatial distribution

A new classification scheme has been developed to assign the lava flows of the Paraná continental flood basalt province (South America) into geochemically distinct magma types, with six basaltic major and trace element abundances and/or ratios. By mapping out the spatial distribution of these magma types within the lava sequences, it has been possible to determine the internal stratigraphy of the lava pile on a regional scale. Previous studies on road profiles traversing the well-exposed coastal Serra Geral escarpment of southern Brazil are summarised together with results from some new sampled sections. More widespread stratigraphical investigations of the Paraná lavas have been hampered by the lack of sufficient topographic relief and the cover of sedimentary rocks. However, access to drill-core chippings from nine boreholes in the central Paraná region has provided a unique opportunity to investigate the stratigraphy of the otherwise inaccessible deeper levels of the lava pile and to map out stratigraphic variations in three dimensions. The borehole samples have indicated cated a stacking of units of different magma types all overlapping towards the north, which suggests that the main locus of magmatism moved northwards with time within the Paraná basin. This migration could be related to the northward propagation of rifting during the initiation of the South Atlantic Ocean. Maps of the surface distribution of samples of each magma type show a pattern consistent with the stratigraphy inferred from the boreholes, although suggesting that the shift in magmatism may have been towards the northwest. On the basis of geochemical similarities between magma types and their inferred stratigraphical relationships, it is proposed that the Paraná can be divided into two principal magmatic centres: (1) an older one in the south, comprising the Gramado, Esmeralda and Urubici magma types; and (2) a younger one, developed about 750 km to the north, formed by the Pitanga, Paranapanema and Ribeira magma types.     

Continent — Island arc collision in the Banda Arc

Acoustical structure of seismic profiles, and morphology of the Timor—Tanimbar—Ceram troughs and adjacent slopes of the outer Banda Arc, show remarkable similarities to equivalent parameters of many arcs subducting oceanic lithosphere and sediments, despite the fact that the outer Banda Arc is underlain by continental crust continuous with that of the colliding Australian craton. Such similarities include diffractions and anticlinal folds at the toe of the inner slope of the Timor—Tanimbar—Ceram troughs, which could be interpreted as thrust slices and thrust folds. Slope basins comprising sediments obviously dammed behind acoustic basement highs are also common on the trough inner slope, with some basins containing strata adjacent to the highs dipping away from the trough. Ridges and basins occur on the trough inner slope oriented parallel to the trough trend, and a slab continuous with down-bowed continental margin can often be detected a considerable distance in from the trough below the inner slope. On face value these observations are compatible with a mechanism of underthrusting by Australian and New Guinea crust with consequent imbrication and accretion of packages of off-scraped sediments. However, they may also be explained as possible outward-directed gravity slides of nappes displaced from uplifted inner portions of the arc, similar to the published structural interpretation of at least the eastern portion of the neighbouring, closely related New Guinea Fold Belt. It is shown that the weight of marine geological and geophysical evidence, including the alignment with the oceanic Indonesian Arc, the gravity anomalies, and the persistence of the various morphological and structural entities around the arc, favours subduction in the Timor—Tanimbar—Ceram troughs rather than massive gravity sliding towards the troughs. By this working model the outer Banda Arc would be the accretionary prism of a subduction zone which was formerly in an ocean-crust setting but since Pliocene has been interacting with continental lithosphere. If its structural evolution is analogous to that of the New Guinea orogenic belt, then the Banda Arc has not yet reached the stage of major, foreland-directed gravity slides. The proposed structural model for the Banda Arc is at variance with some but not all structural interpretations of the island of Timor, which is an emergent portion of the outer arc. Further critical studies are obviously required, both in marine and terrestrial areas, to resolve this impasse.     

Geochronologic and isotopic study of the La Désirade island basement complex: Jurassic oceanic crust in the Lesser Antilles?

La Désirade, a small island east of Guadeloupe, is underlain by the only exposed pre-Tertiary basement rocks in the Lesser Antilles. The basement complex comprises spilitic and keratophyric flows and pillow lavas (with interbedded and overlying radiolarian cherts), swarms of mafic to silicic dikes, and subjacent plagiogranite. These features, and the absence of carbonates, terrigenous clastic sediments, or tuffaceous sediments from the complex indicate that it developed in a deep marine environment beyond the reach of terrigenous sedimentation or emergent island arc pyroclastic deposition. Previous workers have suggested that the Désirade basement complex originated either as oceanic crust or during an early (tholeiitic) stage of island arc growth. The isotopic compositions of Sr and Pb from the complex, and previously reported rare earth data (Johnston and Schilling, 1974) do not provide a clear distinction between these two possibilities. Nor does the presence of siliceous keratophyre in the complex rule out an oceanic crustal origin-such rocks are common in well studied ophiolites that originated as oceanic crust. Hence we turn to the age relationships of the complex, the surrounding ocean floor, and adjacent island arcs in an attempt to resolve this problem. The age of the complex strongly supports an oceanic crustal (ophiolitic) origin. The ages of zircons and a previously reported K-Ar age indicate that the complex is 145±5 m.y. old. The complex predates the next oldest volcanic rocks of the Lesser Antilles arc by ca. 110 m.y., and the oldest known rocks of the Aves Ridge, a possible Mesozoic precursor of the Lesser Antilles arc, by 50–60 m.y. This makes it unlikely that the Désirade complex is related to an early phase of either of these arcs. Instead, the age of the complex falls in the range of ages expected for oceanic crust in the vicinity of the Lesser Antilles prior to the development of any subduction zone and resulting arc. Thus we interpret the Désirade complex to be an uplifted segment of oceanic crust that represents the basement on which the later island arcs grew: first the Aves Ridge, an arc that was active in middle to late Cretaceous time (but whose exact mode of origin is enigmatic, and is considered in four alternate tectonic models), then the Eocene to Recent Lesser Antilles arc.     

Deprivation,resources and planning: Some implications for applied rural geography

Recent concern over social deprivation in rural areas of the U.K. has provided a new focus for applied rural geographers. However, the concept of deprivation may be broadened to include many other aspects of the rural environment, and therefore it offers a framework for more integrated approaches to planning in the countryside. A more dynamic strategy of rural research, involving greater cooperation between academic geographers and practising planners, and focussing upon problems of rural deprivation, is advocated in this paper.     

Crustal accretion in the Pan African: Nd and Sr isotope evidence from the Arabian Shield

Nd and Sr isotope determinations on late Precambrian to early Palaeozoic igneous and sedimentary rocks from the Arabian Shield are used to investigate the proportion of reworked “older” crust, and the rate at which new crust was generated during the Pan African event. Eight Rb/Sr whole rock isochrons on igneous suites yield ages in the range 770?590 Ma and initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of 0.7038?0.7023. These data confirm that magmatism in this area was largely restricted to the period 850-550 Ma, and the initial ratios are sufficiently low to preclude significant contributions from a long-lived upper crustal source. The initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios of a variety of lithologies, including several samples of possible “basement”, are all higher than the contemporaneous values for CHUR (ε_Nd = +1.6 to +6.9), suggesting that many were derived directly from the upper mantle, and that any inferred crustal source regions for the remainder could not have separated from likely LREE-depleted mantle reservoirs before 1200 Ma. The Arabian Shield therefore provides an example of rapid crustal growth during the Late Proterozoic, and contrasts with the Damara intracratonic belt of Namibia where Nd and Sr isotopes provide strong evidence for extensive reworking of older continental crust during the same period.