Long-lasting Cadomian magmatic activity along an active northern Gondwana margin: U–Pb zircon and Sr–Nd isotopic evidence from the Brunovistulian Domain,eastern Bohemian Massif

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Cadomian magmatic complexes of the Brunovistulian Domain crop out at the eastern termination of the Bohemian Massif. However, the age, nature and...     

Palaeoenvironmental implications of ferruginous deposits related to a Middle–Upper Jurassic discontinuity (Prebetic Zone,Betic Cordillera,Southern Spain)

The Middle–Upper Jurassic boundary in the westernmost Tethyan basins is marked by a discontinuity. A thin iron crust with ferruginous ooids and pisoids and an overlying ferruginous oolitic limestone lithofacies occur in a genetic relationship to this discontinuity with a reduced thickness (< 50 cm) and very local distribution in the Prebetic Zone (Betic Cordillera).The ferruginous coated grains are subdivided into two types. Type A ooids are characterised by thin, regular lamination in concentric layers enclosing a nucleus; they are dominant in the top of the iron crust (100% of the ferruginous ooids) and in the ferruginous oolitic limestone (82%). Type B ooids typically have thick, irregular lamination in a few discontinuous concentric layers enclosing a variable nucleus including bioclasts and foraminifera; they are exclusive to the ferruginous oolitic limestone (18% of the ferruginous ooids). The bulk chemical composition varies between 80% Fe₂O₃ by weight in the iron crust and 67% by weight in the coated grains. In the ferruginous ooids, the contents in SiO₂ (5.4%), Al₂O₃ (6.5%), P₂O₅ (3.6%), and CaO (4.7%) are higher than in the crust. Trace elements (V, Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, Y, Mo, and Pb) in both the crust and ooids show enriched values compared with the bulk composition of the upper continental crust. The mineral composition of the iron crust and ooids is primarily goethite, with small amounts of Al-hydroxide (bohemite) and apatite, whereas hematite is identified only in the iron crust.The Type A ooids are interpreted as having an origin related to the iron crust. Since there is no evidence to support a marine genesis for the iron crust, the possibility of a subaerial origin is presented here. The crust has characteristics (chemical and mineralogical composition) similar to those of ferruginous pisolitic plinthite (highly weathered redoximorphic soil), and goethite shows an Al-substitution range (5–10 mol%) that indicates pedogenic conditions. Soil processes under periodic hydrous conditions are suggested; groundwater soils with hydrous conditions are congruent with the formation of the Type A ferruginous ooids and pisoids. In this situation, a coastal plain with periodically flooded soils would be the likeliest scenario. Callovian shallow carbonate shelf was possibly emerged and weathered, followed by marine sedimentation during the Middle Oxfordian, associated with major flooding of the Prebetic shelf and the erosion of ferruginous pisolitic plinthite. The first marine deposit was ferruginous oolitic limestones. Fragments of iron crust and Type A ferruginous ooids were reworked and incorporated into the marine sediments. A second phase of ferruginous ooids (Type B) with clear marine features developed, benefiting from iron-rich microenvironments due to the redistribution from iron crust fragments and Type A ferruginous ooids.     

Late Cenozoic brittle deformation in the Southern Patagonian Andes: Record of plate coupling/decoupling during variable subduction?

The Andes of southern Patagonia experienced a Miocene shift towards faster and higher angle subduction followed by the approach and collision of the Chile oceanic ridge. We present a kinematic study characterizing palaeostress fields computed from brittle tectonics to better constrain upper crustal deformation during this complex scenario. Although previous studies already suggested variable kinematics, it is striking that in a long‐lasting subduction environment, the computed palaeostress tensors are mostly strike‐slip (55%), while 35% are extensional, and only 10% compressive which are concentrated along a main frontal thrust. Cross‐cutting relationships and synsedimentary deformation indicate that a long‐lived strike‐slip regime was punctuated by a lower Miocene extensional event in the foreland before the main compressional event. The results are discussed in contrasting geodynamic models of plate coupling/decoupling versus direction and rate of convergence of the subducting plate, to explain the main mechanisms that control back‐arc deformation.     

Low pH affects survival,growth, size distribution,and carapace quality of the postlarvae and early juveniles of the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii de Man

Acidification of rain water caused by air pollutants is now recognized as a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems. We examined the effects of low pH (control pH 7.5, pH 6, pH 5, pH 4) on the survival, growth, and shell quality of Macrobrachium rosenbergii postlarvae and early juveniles in the laboratory. Hatcheryproduced postlarvae (PL 5) were stocked at 250 PL per aquarium, acclimated over 7 d to experimental pH adjusted with hydrochloric acid, and reared for 30 d. Dead specimens were removed and counted twice a day. After 27 d rearing, all specimens were measured for total length and body weight. Carapace quality was assessed by spectrophotometry. Survival of juveniles was highest at pH 6 (binomial 95% confidence interval 79 - 89%) followed by control pH 7.5 (56 - 68%) and pH 5 (50 - 60%) and was lowest for unmetamorphosed postlarvae and juveniles at pH 4 (43 - 49%). The final median total length and body weight of juveniles were similar at control pH 7.5 (18.2 TL, 50.2 mg BW) and pH 6 (17.7 mm TL, 45.0 mg BW) but significantly less at pH 5 (16.7 mm TL, 38.2 mg BW); at pH 4, the postlarvae did not metamorphose and measured only 9.8 mm TL, 29.3 mg BW. Length frequency distribution showed homogeneous growth at pH 6, positive skew at control pH 7.5 and pH 5, and extreme heterogeneity at pH 4. The carapace showed different transmittance spectra and lower total transmittance (i.e. thicker carapace) in juveniles at pH 7.5, pH 6, and pH 5 than in unmetamorphosed postlarvae and juveniles with thinner carapace at pH 4. Thus, survival, growth, size distribution, and carapace quality of M. rosenbergii postlarvae and early juveniles were negatively affected by pH 5 and especially pH 4. The thinner carapace of the survivors at pH 4 was mostly due to their small size and failure to metamorphose. Natural waters affected by acid rain could decimate M. rosenbergii populations in the wild.

     

Petrological,geochemical, isotopic,and geochronological constraints for the Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous magmatism in SW Gondwana (27–32°LS): an example of geodynamic switching

International Journal of Earth Sciences - We report a study integrating 13 new U–Pb LA-MC-ICP-MS zircon ages and Hf-isotope data from dated magmatic zircons together with complete...     

Total 3D‐viewshed Map: Quantifying the Visible Volume in Digital Elevation Models

The 3D perception of the human eye is more impressive in irregular land surfaces than in flat land surfaces. The quantification of this perception would be very useful in many applications. This article presents the first approach to determining the visible volume, which we call the 3D‐viewshed, in each and all the points of a DEM (Digital Elevation Model). Most previous visibility algorithms in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) are based on the concept of a 2D‐viewshed, which determines the number of points that can be seen from an observer in a DEM. Extending such a 2D‐viewshed to 3D space, then to all the DEM‐points, is too expensive computationally since the viewshed computation per se is costly. In this work, we propose the first approach to compute a new visibility metric that quantifies the visible volume from every point of a DEM. In particular, we developed an efficient algorithm with a high data and calculation re‐utilization. This article presents the first total‐3D‐viewshed maps together with validation results and comparative analysis. Using our highly scalable parallel algorithm to compute the total‐3D‐viewshed of a DEM with 4 million points on a Xeon Processor E5‐2698 takes only 1.3 minutes.