Reactive monazite and robust zircon growth in diatexites and leucogranites from a hot,slowly cooled orogen: implications for the Palaeoproterozoic tectonic evolution of the central Fennoscandian Shield,Sweden

Monazite in melt-producing, poly-metamorphic terranes can grow, dissolve or reprecipitate at different stages during orogenic evolution particularly in hot, slowly cooling orogens such as the Svecofennian. Owing to the high heat flow in such orogens, small variations in pressure, temperature or deformation intensity may promote a mineral reaction. Monazite in diatexites and leucogranites from two Svecofennian domains yields older, coeval and younger U–Pb SIMS and EMP ages than zircon from the same rock. As zircon precipitated during the melt-bearing stage, its U–Pb ages reflect the timing of peak metamorphism, which is associated with partial melting and leucogranite formation. In one of the domains, the Granite and Diatexite Belt, zircon ages range between 1.87 and 1.86 Ga, whereas monazite yields two distinct double peaks at 1.87–1.86 and 1.82–1.80 Ga. The younger double peak is related to monazite growth or reprecipitation during subsolidus conditions associated with deformation along late-orogenic shear zones. Magmatic monazite in leucogranite records systematic variations in composition and age during growth that can be directly linked to Th/U ratios and preferential growth sites of zircon, reflecting the transition from melt to melt crystallisation of the magma. In the adjacent Ljusdal Domain, peak metamorphism in amphibolite facies occurred at 1.83–1.82 Ga as given by both zircon and monazite chronology. Pre-partial melting, 1.85 Ga contact metamorphic monazite is preserved, in spite of the high-grade overprint. By combining structural analysis, petrography and monazite and zircon geochronology, a metamorphic terrane boundary has been identified. It is concluded that the boundary formed by crustal shortening accommodated by major thrusting.     

Modeling the morphodynamic response of tidal embayments to sea-level rise

Sea-level rise has a strong influence on tidal systems, and a major focus of climate change effect studies is to predict the future state of these environmental systems. Here, we used a model to simulate the morphological evolution of tidal embayments and to explore their response to a rising sea level. The model was first used to reproduce the formation of channels and intertidal flats under a stable mean water level in an idealised and initially unchannelled tidal basin. A gradual rise in sea level was imposed once a well-developed channel network had formed. Simulations were conducted with different sea-level rise rates and tidal ranges. Sea-level rise forced headward erosion of the tidal channels, driving a landward expansion of the channel network and channel development in the previously non-inundated part of the basin. Simultaneously, an increase in channel drainage width in the lower part of the basin occurred and a decrease in the overall fraction of the basin occupied by channels could be observed. Sea-level rise thus altered important characteristics of the tidal channel network. Some intertidal areas were maintained despite a rising sea level. However, the size, shape, and location of the intertidal areas changed. In addition, sea-level rise affected the exchange of sediment between the different morphological elements. A shift from exporting to importing sediment as well as a reinforcement of the existing sediment export was observed for the simulations performed here. Sediment erosion in the inlet and the offshore transport of sediment was enhanced, resulting in the expansion of the ebb-tidal delta. Our model results further emphasise that tidal embayments can exhibit contrasting responses to sea-level rise.

     

Combining geographical information and traditional plots: the checkerplot

The checkerplot is a new type of graphical display that combines geographical information and statistical plots. Hereby, the traditional plots like barplots or polygon lines are visualized in geographical order on a grid. The checkerplots can be seen as a mixture between thematic maps and the grid representation in trellis plots.

In a checkerplot, any complex statistical graphics that are produced for geographical areas are placed in a grid. An interpretable checkerplot requires an arrangement of areas on the grid that reflects the underlying geography. A loss function is proposed that represents the distortion of the underlying geography needed in order to place the areas onto a grid. It is demonstrated that the minimization of the loss function does indeed produce interpretable checkerplots. Moreover, the optimization problem can be formulated as a linear programming problem that can be solved using standard linear programming solvers.

The proposed checkerplot is applied to US health insurance data to analyze the development of the coverage rate in the health system per state with respect to the different health care programs. Moreover, an example related to the EU-member states is also given. Additional information like the national flags of countries are placed in each grid to allow better visibility and recognition of the countries.

The checkerplot is implemented in the R-package sparkTable (Kowarik, Meindl, and Templ, 2012 Kowarik, A., Meindl, B., and Templ, M., 2012. sparkTable: sparklines and graphical tables for tex and html. R package version 0.9.3 http://cran.r-project.org/package=sparkTable (http://cran.r-project.org/package=sparkTable) (Accessed: 17 February 2012).  [Google Scholar]. sparkTable: sparklines and graphical tables for tex and html [online]. R package version 0.9.3 [Accessed 7 February 2012]) and can be freely downloaded from the CRAN repository. It is implemented in a flexible manner and not restricted to the examples given in this contribution.     

Structure,morphology and water flux of a subglacial drainage system,Midtdalsbreen, Norway

Digital elevation models of the surface and bed of Midtdalsbreen, Norway are used to calculate subglacial hydraulic potential and infer drainage system structure for a series of subglacial water pressure assumptions ranging from atmospheric to ice overburden. A distributed degree‐day model is used to calculate the spatial distribution of melt on the glacier surface throughout a typical summer, which is accumulated along the various drainage system structures to calculate water fluxes beneath the glacier and exiting the portals for the different water pressure assumptions. In addition, 78 dye‐tracing tests were performed from 33 injection sites and numerous measurements of water discharge were made on the main proglacial streams over several summer melt seasons. Comparison of the calculated drainage system structures and water fluxes with dye tracing results and measured proglacial stream discharges suggests that the temporally and spatially averaged steady‐state water pressures beneath the glacier are ~70% of ice overburden. Analysis of the dye return curves, together with the calculated subglacial water fluxes shows that the main drainage network on the eastern half of the glacier consists of a hydraulically efficient system of broad, low channels (average width/height ratio ≈ 75). The smaller drainage network on the west consists of a hydraulically inefficient distributed system, dominated by channels that are exceptionally broad and very low (average width/height ratio ≈ 350). The even smaller central drainage network also consists of a hydraulically inefficient distributed system, dominated by channels that are very broad and exceptionally low (average width/height ratio ≈ 450). The channels beneath the western and central glacier must be so broad and low that they can essentially be thought of as a linked cavity system. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

U–Pb,Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd isotopic constraints on provenance and depositional timing of metasedimentary rocks in the western Gawler Craton: Implications for Proterozoic reconstruction models

The Gawler Craton forms the bulk of the South Australian Craton and occupies a pivotal location that links rock systems in Antarctica to those in northern Australia. The western Gawler Craton is a virtually unexposed region where the timing of basin development and metamorphism is largely unknown, making the region ambiguous in the context of models seeking to reconstruct the Australian Proterozoic.Detrital zircon data from metasedimentary rocks in the central Fowler Domain in the western Gawler Craton provide maximum depositional ages between 1760 and 1700 Ma, with rare older detrital components ranging in age up to 3130 Ma. In the bulk of samples, ?_Nd(1700 Ma) values range between ?4.3 and ?3.8. The combination of these data suggest on average, comparatively evolved but age-restricted source regions. Lu–Hf isotopic data from the ca 1700 Ma aged zircons provide a wide range of values (?_Hf(1700 Ma) +6 to ?6). Monazite U–Pb data from granulite-grade metasedimentary rocks yield metamorphic ages of 1690–1670 Ma. This range overlaps with and extends the timing of the widespread Kimban Orogeny in the Gawler Craton, and provides minimum depositional age constraints, indicating that basin development immediately preceded medium to high grade metamorphism.The timing of Paleoproterozoic basin development and metamorphism in the western Gawler Craton coincides with that in the northern and eastern Gawler Craton, and also in the adjacent Curnamona Province, suggesting protoliths to the rocks within the Fowler Domain may have originally formed part of a large ca 1760–1700 Ma basin system in the southern Australian Proterozoic. Provenance characteristics between these basins are remarkably similar and point to the Arunta Region in the North Australian Craton as a potential source. In this context there is little support for tectonic reconstruction models that: (1) suggest components of the Gawler Craton accreted together at different stages in the interval ca 1760–1680 Ma; and (2) that the North Australian Craton and the southern Australian Proterozoic were separate continental fragments between 1760 and 1700 Ma.     

Commercial fisheries closures in marine protected areas on Canada’s Pacific coast: The exception,not the rule

No-take marine protected areas (MPAs), where all fishing is prohibited, have been shown to provide benefits that include greater productivity of fish stocks due to increased densities, average sizes, and reproductive output. A critical component of this success is the effective management of MPAs to ensure that only those activities deemed permissible, are allowed to occur. As of 2008, 161 MPAs had been designated on the Pacific coast of Canada by federal, provincial or municipal authorities. The objective of this study was to discover how many of these MPAs are intended to provide full protection to habitats and species from commercial fishing and whether management measures were put in place to actualize this conservation intent. The comprehensive spatial dataset was built illustrating commercial fisheries closures and this was overlaid with MPA locations in a GIS. The majority of MPAs were designated as IUCN Strict Nature Reserve (Type Ia), Wilderness Area (Type Ib), and National Park (Type II) marine reserves, which are intended to be free from exploitation. It was found that 160 of the 161 MPAs are open to some commercial harvesting within their bounds. One small municipal MPA and portions of three other MPAs are not open to commercial harvesting. The incongruence between management intent and fisheries permitted suggests a management failure between designation of MPAs and implementation of fisheries management regulations.     

Speleothem evidence for late Holocene climate variability and floods in Southern Greece

We present stable isotope data (δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C) from a detrital rich stalagmite from Kapsia Cave, the Peloponnese, Greece. The cave is rich in archeological remains and there are reasons to believe that flooding of the cave has directly affected humans using the cave. Using a combination of U–Th and ¹⁴C dating to constrain a site-specific correction factor for (²³²Th/²³⁸U) detrital molar ratio, a linear age model was constructed. The age model shows that the stalagmite grew during the period from ca. 950 BC to ca. AD 830. The stable oxygen record from Kapsia indicates cyclical changes of close to 500 yr in precipitation amount, with rapid shifts towards wetter conditions followed by slowly developing aridity. Superimposed on this signal, wetter conditions are inferred around 850, 700, 500 and 400–100 BC, and around AD 160–300 and AD 770; and driest conditions are inferred to have occurred around 450 BC, AD 100–150 and AD 650. Detrital horizons in the stalagmite indicate that three major floods took place in the cave at 500 BC, 70 BC and AD 450. The stable carbon isotope record reflects changes in biological activity being a result of both climate and human activities.     

Dynamics of initial ecosystem development at the artificial catchment Chicken Creek, Lusatia, Germany

In autumn 2005, the artificial catchment Chicken Creek was completed in an open-cast lignite mine in Lusatia, Germany. The 6 ha area has been constructed as a two-layer system consisting of a clay aquiclude and a sandy aquifer at the top. After construction, the site was left to an unrestricted and unmanaged succession. A comprehensive environmental monitoring program started immediately after the site was completed. Time series of essential environmental parameters were recorded with high temporal and spatial resolution. This paper presents selected time series of the past 6-year ecosystem development. Important changes registered in this period allow for the definition of distinctive phases of the still ongoing initial ecosystem evolution. A primary, short, but pronounced geo-phase—characterized by surface runoff, excessive erosion and sedimentation as well as very rapid immigration of biota—was followed by a hydrological dominated phase with processes, such as groundwater recharge. At the end of the study period, biotic processes became more evident. It can be concluded that the artificial catchment offers unique opportunities for interdisciplinary research on the establishment of an ecological system with rapidly growing complexity. The highly dynamic development of the Chicken Creek catchment provides the possibility to observe manifold changes within short time and to detect feedbacks and their modifications between different ecosystem compartments.     

Scattering of radiation by a large particle with a random rough surface

Intensity and polarization of scattered light by an absorbing spherical particle with a random rough surface and with a radius larger than the wavelength of radiation are investigated. Multiple reflections of incident light on the rough surface are treated based on the multiple scattering theory.Within the limits of our approximation the model gives good agreement with typical scattering features by irregular shaped particles derived by microwave analogue experiments and laser measurements, namely a backward enhancement of the intensity, and a reduction of magnitude of polarization.Our treatment will be provide a powerful tool for studying scattering problems of interstellar and/or interplanetary grains as well as those of asteroids and the Moon.