Acid and basic late neogene volcanism in central aegean sea: Its nature and geotectonic significance

Local eruptions of acid volcanic rocks occurred in the Central Aegean region around the Miocene-Pliocene boundary. Rhyolites outcrop on the Island of Antiparos, located in the central part of the Attic-Cycladic Massif. The age of these volcanic rocks ranges from 4.0 to 5.4 m.y., and chemical and Sr isotopic data suggest they were generated by partial melting of the continental crust. At the same time, along the border of the Attic-Cycladic Massif,i.e. on the island of Patmos and Caloyeri, local eruptions of Naalkaline basalts occurred. The whole of the eruptive activity is interpreted as an expression of the marked tensional tectonic phase which has affected the Central Aegean area since Middle Miocene. The contrasting nature of the erupted volcanic rocks (crustal and sub-crustal) is attributed to the different thermal state of the lithosphere beneath the two areas, as emphasized also by the presence of a wide granitic belt, of mainly Miocene age, which developed in the median sector of the Attic-Cycladic Massif.     

The effect of an arctic polynya on the Northern Hemisphere mean circulation and eddy regime: a numerical experiment

The feedback of an arctic polynya, which is a large ice-free zone within the sea ice, on the hemispheric climate is studied with the ECMWF T21 GCM. For this purpose a control and an anomaly integration, in which a polynya was introduced in the Kara Sea, are compared. As the GCM, like the real atmosphere, shows a high level of low frequency variability, the mean response to the changed boundary conditions is obscured by internal noise. The necessary significance analyses are thus performed to enhance the signal-tonoise ratio within the framework of an a priori chosen guess pattern and a multivariate test statistic. The sensible and latent heat fluxes increased above the polynya, which resulted in a warming of the lower troposphere above and near the polynya. No statistically significant local or global sea-level pressure changes are associated with this heating. However we find a significant change of hemispheric extent of the geopotential fields at 300 hPa, if we use as guess patterns the eigenmodes of the barotropic vorticity equation. The different mean flow field is accompanied by significant changes of the synoptic transient eddy field. We find a significant variation in the barotropic and baroclinic forcing of the mean flow by the eddies, a change in the location and intensity of the storm tracks and in the conversion between eddy available and eddy kinetic energy. The additional heat flux from the polynya results in a reduction of the meridional heat flux by the synoptic eddies on the western Atlantic.     

Petrogenesis of the Eocene and Mio–Pliocene alkaline basaltic magmatism in Meseta Chile Chico, southern Patagonia, Chile: Evidence for the participation of two slab windows

The Meseta Chile Chico (MCC, 46.4°S) is the westernmost exposure of Eocene (lower basaltic sequence, LBS; 55–40 Ma, K–Ar ages) and Mio–Pliocene (upper basaltic sequence, UBS; 16–4 Ma, K–Ar ages) flood basalt volcanism in Patagonia. The MCC is located south of the Lago General Carrera-Buenos Aires (LGCBA), southeast from the present day Chile Triple Junction (CTJ), east of the actual volcanic gap between Southern South Volcanic Zone and Austral Volcanic Zone (SSVZ and AVZ, respectively) and just above the inferred location of the South Chile Ridge segment subducted at 6 Ma (SCR-1). Erupted products consist of mainly ne-normative olivine basalt with minor hy-normative tholeiites basalt, trachybasalt and basanite. MCC lavas are alkaline (42.7–53.1 wt.% SiO₂, 3–8 wt.% Na₂O+K₂O) and relatively primitive (Ni: 133–360 ppm, Cr: 161–193 ppm, Co: 35–72 ppm, 4–16.5 MgO wt.%). They have a marked OIB-like signature, as shown by their isotopic compositions (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_o=0.70311–0.70414 and εNd=+4.7–+5.1) and their incompatible trace elements ratios (Ba/La=10–20, La/Nb=0.46–1.09, Ce/Pb=15.52–27.5, Sr/La<25), reflecting deep mantle origin. UBS-primitive lavas have characteristics similar to those of the Eocene LBS basalts, while UBS-intermediate lavas show geochemical imprints (La/Nb>1, Sr/La>25, low Ce/Pb, Nb/U) compatible with contamination by arc/slab-derived and/or crustal components. We propose that the genesis and extrusion of magmas is related to the opening of two slab windows due to the subduction of two active ridge segments beneath Patagonia during Eocene and Mio–Pliocene.     

Estimates of effective permeability for non-Newtonian fluid flow in randomly heterogeneous porous media

An understanding of the interplay between non-Newtonian effects in porous media flow and field-scale domain heterogeneity is of great importance in several engineering and geological applications. Here we present a simplified approach to the derivation of an effective permeability for flow of a purely viscous power–law fluid with flow behavior index n in a randomly heterogeneous porous domain subject to a uniform pressure gradient. A standard form of the flow law generalizing the Darcy’s law to non-Newtonian fluids is adopted, with the permeability coefficient being the only source of randomness. The natural logarithm of the permeability is considered a spatially homogeneous and correlated Gaussian random field. Under the ergodic hypothesis, an effective permeability is first derived for two limit 1-D flow geometries: flow parallel to permeability variation (serial-type layers), and flow transverse to permeability variation (parallel-type layers). The effective permeability of a 2-D or 3-D isotropic domain is conjectured to be a power average of 1-D results, generalizing results valid for Newtonian fluids under the validity of Darcy’s law; the conjecture is validated comparing our results with previous literature findings. The conjecture is then extended, allowing the exponents of the power averaging to be functions of the flow behavior index. For Newtonian flow, novel expressions for the effective permeability reduce to those derived in the past. The effective permeability is shown to be a function of flow dimensionality, domain heterogeneity, and flow behavior index. The impact of heterogeneity is significant, especially for shear-thinning fluids with a low flow behavior index, which tend to exhibit channeling behavior.     

The political ecology of territoriality: territorialities in farmer–herder relationships in Northern Ghana

Fulani herder and farmer relationships in West Africa have always been troublesome as a result of farmers’ fundamental rejection of the herders’ inroads into their areas and also because of increased competition for available resources. In countries such as Ghana, local and even national campaigns have been launched to expel the herders but they persist. This case-study which utilised interviews and group discussions involving farmers and herders, sought to understand the dynamics and subtleties of herders’ resilience in an environment where natural resource access and use rights are tied to common property principles and where herders have no enshrined land and resource rights. Using territoriality as the analytical capsule, we found that the herders’ persistence is related to mainly non-territoriality where the goal is to influence relationships and resource access but not control area. Categorising their non-territorial expression into persuasive and aggressive forms, we provide a new platform for deconstructing farmer-herder relationships in the West African sub-region.     

The impact and rotational light curves of Comet 9P/Tempel 1

UVES and HIRES high-resolution spectra of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 are used to investigate the impact and rotational light curves of various species with a view toward building a simple model of the distribution and activity of the sources. The emission by OH, NH, CN, C₃, CH, C₂, NH₂, and OI, are analyzed, as well as the light scattered by the dust. It is found that a simple model reproduces fairly well the impact light curves of all species combining the production of the observed molecules and the expansion of the material throughout the slit. The impact light curves are consistent with velocities of 400-600 m/s. Their modeling requires a three-step dissociation sequence “Grand-Parent → Parent → Daughter” to produce the observed molecules. The rotational light curve for each species is explained in terms of a single model with three sources. The dust component can however not easily be explained that way.     

Occurrence and distribution of vibrios in fishes and shellfishes in coastal waters of Hong Kong

INTRODUCTIONTheoccurrenceanddistributionofhalophilicvibriosinthecoastalwatersofHongKonghasbeenrePorted(Chanetal.,l986).Theresultsshowedthatvibrioswerepresentduringthesum-mermonthsinHongKongcoastalwatersatconcentrationsof9oto67ooind./cm3,accountingo.4l%~4o%ofthetotalbacterialPOpulationofthe48isolatesexaminedindetail.Theyob-servedV.Paraheamolyticus,V.harvha,V.vulnfficus,V.camPbelliandV.fiuvialis.Becausemanyofthevibri0species,includingsome0ftheisolatesbyChanetal.(1986)fromHongKongwate…     

Ammonium,nitrate and phytoplankton interactions in a freshwater tidal estuarine zone: potential effects of cultural eutrophication

Nitrate and ammonium are the most important nitrogen sources for phytoplankton growth. Differential utilization of inorganic nitrogenous compounds by phytoplankton has been observed and may have significant impacts on primary productivity at local scales. We used enrichment experiments with natural phytoplankton populations from the freshwater tidal zone of the Guadiana estuary, a coastal ecosystem increasingly subjected to anthropogenic influences, to study the effects of nitrate and ammonium on N-consumption and phytoplankton growth. In addition, we used combined additions of nitrate and ammonium to understand the inhibitory effect of ammonium over nitrate uptake. Ammonium concentrations in the freshwater tidal reaches of the Guadiana estuary throughout the sampling period were too low to exert an inhibitory effect on nitrate uptake or a toxic effect on phytoplankton growth. Nitrate was clearly the main nitrogen source for phytoplankton at the study site. Overall, nitrate seemed to become limiting at concentrations lower than 20 μM and N-limitation was particularly significant during summer. A trend of decreasing nitrate uptake with increasing ammonium concentrations and uptake suggested an overall preference for ammonium. However, preference for ammonium was group-specific, and it was observed mainly in green algae and cyanobacteria. In fact, cyanobacteria relied only on ammonium as their N-source. On the contrary, diatoms preferred nitrate, and did not respond to ammonium additions. The increasing eutrophication in the Guadiana estuary and particularly increased inputs of nitrogen as ammonium due to urban waste effluents may result in a shift in phytoplankton community composition, towards a dominance of cyanobacteria and green algae.     

The western Durkan Complex (Makran Accretionary Prism,SE Iran): A Late Cretaceous tectonically disrupted seamounts chain and its role in controlling deformation style

The Durkan Complex is a key tectonic element of the Makran accretionary prism (SE Iran) and it has been interpreted as representing a continental margin succession. We present here a multidisciplinary study of the western Durkan Complex, which is based on new geological, stratigraphic, biostratigraphic data, as well as geochemical data of the volcanic and meta-volcanic rocks forming this complex. Our data show that this complex consists of distinct tectonic slices showing both non-metamorphic and very low-grade metamorphic deformed successions. Stratigraphic and biostratigraphic data allow us to recognize three types of successions. Type-I is composed by a Coniacian – early Campanian pelagic succession with intercalation of pillow lavas and minor volcaniclastic rocks. Type-II succession includes a volcanic sequence passing to a volcano-sedimentary sequence with Cenomanian pelagic limestones, followed by a hemipelagic sequence. This succession is characterized by abundant mass-transport deposits. Type-III succession includes volcanic and volcano-sedimentary sequences, which are stratigraphically covered by a Cenomanian platform succession. The latter is locally followed by a hemipelagic sequence. The volcanic rocks in the different successions show alkaline geochemical affinity, suggesting an origin from an oceanic within-plate setting. Our new results indicate that the western Durkan Complex represents fragments of seamounts tectonically incorporated in the Makran accretionary wedge during the latest Late Cretaceous–Paleocene. We propose that incorporation of seamounts in the frontal prism caused a shortening of the whole convergent margin and possibly contributed to controlling the deformation style in the Makran Accretionary Wedge during Late Cretaceous–Paleocene times.