Primary dolomite in the Late Triassic Travenanzes Formation,Dolomites, Northern Italy: Facies control and possible bacterial influence

In the late Carnian (Late Triassic), a carbonate‐clastic depositional system including a distal alluvial plain, flood basin and sabkha, tidal flat and shallow carbonate lagoon was established in the Dolomites (Northern Italy). The flood basin was a muddy supratidal environment where marine carbonates and continental siliciclastics interfingered. A dolomite phase made of sub‐micrometre euhedral crystals with a mosaic microstructure of nanometre‐scale domains was identified in stromatolitic laminae of the flood basin embedded in clay. This dolomite is interpreted here as primary and has a nearly stoichiometric composition, as opposed to younger early diagenetic (not primary) dolomite phases, which are commonly calcian. This primary dolomite was shielded from later diagenetic transformation by the clay. The stable isotopic composition of dolomite was analyzed along a depositional transect. The δ¹³C values range between ca ?6‰ and +4‰, with the most ¹³C‐depleted values in dolomites of the distal alluvial plain and flood basin, and the most ¹³C‐enriched in dolomites of the tidal flat and lagoon. Uniform δ¹⁸O values ranging between 0‰ and +3‰ were found in all sedimentary facies. It is hypothesized that the primary dolomite with mosaic microstructure nucleated on extracellular polymeric substances secreted by sulphate reducing bacteria. A multi‐step process involving sabkha and reflux dolomitization led to partial replacement and overgrowth of the primary dolomite, but replacement and overgrowth were facies‐dependent. Dolomites of the landward, clay‐rich portion of the sedimentary system were only moderately overgrown during late dolomitization steps, and partly retain an isotopic signature consistent with bacterial sulphate reduction with δ¹³C as low as ?6‰. In contrast, dolomites of the marine, clay‐free part of the system were probably transformed through sabkha and reflux diagenetic processes into calcian varieties, and exhibit δ¹³C values of ca +3‰. Major shifts of δ¹³C values strictly follow the lateral migration of facies and thus mark transgressions and regressions.     

Reconstructing palaeoprecipitation from an active cave flowstone

Several drill cores were obtained from a laminated, actively forming flowstone from a shallow cave in Austria. Highly resolved petrographic and geochemical analyses combined with multi‐annual cave monitoring reveal a distinct sensitivity of flowstone growth and composition to late Holocene meteoric precipitation. The regular sub‐millimetre‐scale lamination consists of thicker, translucent laminae and thinner (organic) inclusion‐rich laminae. There is also a macroscopic millimetre‐scale banding of darker and lighter bands comprising several laminae. Stable isotope analyses of drill cores and modern calcite precipitates show a pronounced positive covariation of δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values indicative of kinetic isotope effects. Comparing the isotope values with petrography shows gradual changes across several of the annual laminae, i.e. changes of several per mille on a multi‐annual to decadal timescale. The stable isotope and trace‐element composition, as well as the flowstone petrography, are mainly controlled by the variable drip‐water discharge controlling the water‐film thickness and water residence time on the flowstone surface and consequently the intensity of CO₂‐degassing, kinetic isotope enrichment and concomitant calcite precipitation. Drill core PFU6 provides an isotope record of the last ca. 3000 years at near‐annual resolution. A distinct phase of low C and O isotope values – interpreted as increased discharge and hence higher meteoric precipitation – occurred from ca. 300 to 140 a b2k (second half of the Little Ice Age) and another wet interval occurred around 700 a, corresponding to reported Medieval glacier advances. The Roman Warm Period was also dominated by relatively wet conditions, although significant decadal variability prevailed. Increased precipitation further characterized the intervals from ca. 2480 to 2430 and 2950 to 2770 a. Dry conditions persisted during the Medieval Climate Anomaly, although this trend towards reduced precipitation started earlier. The highest C isotope values of the last 2 ka are recorded around 750 a and another dry phase is centred at 1480 a. This new record shows that inter‐annual to decadal oscillations are a dominant mode of variation during the last 3 ka in the Alps. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于16S rDNA和看家基因序列分析技术的鲍鱼养殖水体弧菌种类的鉴定

采用TCBS选择性培养基从厦门某鲍鱼养殖场的养殖水体中分离到19株细菌.经16S rDNA序列分析,所有菌株均属于弧菌属（Vibrio）,且与最近似的弧菌模式种的同源性都在98.99%以上.由于弧菌种间16S rDNA序列相似度极高,无法仅靠16S rDNA序列比对来鉴定这些菌株到种的水平.16S rDNA序列的系统发育分析也显示,大多数菌株与弧菌模式种无法归为一簇,表明16S rDNA基因在弧菌种的分类鉴定上分辨率不高.进一步采用基于4种看家基因（rpo A、pyr H、gap A和top A）的多位点序列分析技术（MLSA）对分离到的弧菌菌株进行分类鉴定,结果显示19株海洋弧菌归于溶藻弧菌（Vibrio alginalyticus）与魔鬼弧菌（Vibrio diabolicus）2个种,表明这两种弧菌是该鲍鱼养殖场水体环境中的优势弧菌种,在鲍鱼养殖弧菌病害防治方面需要重点关注.此外,看家基因与16S rDNA基因的多态性分析表明,4种看家基因的多态位点比率均高于16S rDNA.4种看家基因串联后的多态位点比率高达41.1%,远高于16S r DNA基因的13.4%,表明看家基因相较于16S rDNA基因有着更高的分辨率,更适合于海洋弧菌的分类鉴定.     

How global is U.S. Major League Baseball? A historical and geographic perspective

This article explores the globalization of U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB), measured by the participation of foreign-born players in the sport from 1876 to 2005. Data show that the number of non-native athletes has been increasing since the end of World War II, suggesting that MLB is becoming a more globalized organization. An investigation at regional and country levels reveals that most foreign participants in the 1990s and early 21st century are from Latin America, especially the Dominican Republic. In contrast, most African, European, and Asian countries have shown little sign of participation. This implies that the global reach of MLB is limited. An empirical study of 2005 data suggests that prosperous countries, neighboring countries, or countries having a close political relationship with the U.S. tend to provide more athletes to MLB. In other words, the globalization of MLB is reliant on America’s economic, cultural, and geographic proximity to the rest of the world.     

Studies on the contribution of some geological factors to seismic hazard

The present study is primarily meant to make a separation of the amplification effects in the intensity distribution within the macroseismic field function of their different causes, i.e. the activation of some regional tectonic lines during the seismic motion and local seismogeological conditions.With this end in view, the methodology used consists of filtering the direct macroseismic observations by means of the weighted mean-values method and outlining the regional and local field anomalies.The regional anomaly map of the macroseismic field of the 4 March 1977 Vrancea earthquake, including the southern and south-eastern part of the Outer Carpathian Zone, has been analyzed. Some dislocations, located in the platform basement, which functioned as seismic energy amplifiers during the event, have been identified.The results obtained can be used in seismotectonic and microzoning studies.Paper presented at the 21st General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission, Sofia, 1988.     

Fine-scale isotopic variation in Mariana Trough basalts: evidence for heterogeneity and a recycled component in backarc basin mantle

Fine-scale sampling with alvin and by dredging of the axial ridge in the Mariana Trough between 17°40′N and 18°30°N recovered basalts with isotopic compositions that span the range between N-type MORB and Mariana island arc basalts. There is a local tectonic-morphological control on basalt compositions; MORB-like basalts are found on the deeper ridge segment bounded by the Pagan transform and the ridge offset at 17°56′N, while basalts from the shallower ridge to the north are typical Mariana Trough basalts (MTB) having compositions intermediate between the two endmember rock types. Arc-like basalts were recovered from one site on the axial ridge.The discovery of basalts with such diverse isotopic characteristics from a short (100 km) section of this backarc spreading center constrains the chemical characteristics and distribution of mantle source variability in the Mariana Trough. SrNdPb isotopic variability suggests that the MTB source is heterogeneous on the scale of individual melt batches. The principal component in the MTB mantle source region is depleted peridotite similar to the source of MORB. The enriched component, most evident in the arc-like basalts and intimately mixed in MTB, has isotopic characteristics similar to those observed in the Mariana arc basalts. The isotopic data suggest that source variability for Mariana axial ridge basalts can be explained by mixed arc-like and MORB-like mantle. We hypothesize that there are fragments of old oceanic lithosphere in the backarc source region. This lithospheric component may reflect remnants of subducted seafloor or forearc-volcanic arc mantle that predate rifting in the backarc basin.     

The geochemistry of Jurassic dolerites from Portal Peak,Antarctica

Geochemical and isotopic analyses have been performed on a suite of samples from a Jurassic quartz tholeiite sill of the Ferrar Group at Portal Peak, Queen Alexandra Range, near the Beardmore Glacier in Antarctica. The data include major and trace element (XRF and INAA) concentrations, as well as Sr and Nd isotopic compositions, and are combined with the results of other studies on samples from Antarctica. It is demonstrated that despite differences in the pre-intrusion (or eruption) evolution of the Ferrar Group magmas, the similarity in isotopic and chemical compositions for these rocks supports the existence of a remarkably uniform mantle source with unusual signature over a distance of thousands of kilometres. The favoured origin of this source involves the subduction of terrestrial sedimentary material into a depleted mantle reservoir.