Late Cenozoic magnetostratigraphy (11 – 0 Ma) of the Dongshanding and Wangjiashan sections in the Longzhong Basin,western China

A paleomagnetic study of the 510-m-thick Wangjiashan section of Late Miocene and Pliocene terrestrial sediments reveals a fairly complete reversal record with ages from 11 to 1.8 Ma. The magnetostratigraphy of the Dongshanding section, located nearby, reveals a partially overlapping reversal record with ages from 2.2 to 0 Ma, and facilitates correlation of the Wangjiashan section with the global polarity time scale. A new stratigraphic division of the Wangjiashan section replaces the name Linxia formation by five new formation names, based on lithologic variation and mammalian fossil finds. The new formations and their magnetostratigraphically determined ages are: Dongshan Formation (c. 1.75–2.6 Ma), Jishi Fm. (c. 2.6–3.6 Ma), Hewangjia Fm. (4.5–6.0 Ma), Liushu Fm. (6.0–7.6 Ma), and Dongxiang Fm. (7.6–c. 12 Ma). The Neogene stratigraphy and fossil mammals suggest that the nearby part of the Tibetan Plateau experienced a persistent denudation during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene, but that it was uplifted more rapidly at about 3.6 Ma.     

Timing of Variscan HP-HT metamorphism in the Moldanubian Zone of the Bohemian Massif: U-Pb SHRIMP dating on multiply zoned zircons from a granulite from the Dunkelsteiner Wald Massif, Lower Austria

In an attempt to better constrain the timing of Variscan HP-HT metamorphism in the SE Bohemian Massif we have dated zoned zircons from a garnet-kyanite granulite of granitic composition from the Dunkelsteiner Wald Massif, Lower Austria, by means of sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) technique. In order to combine isotopic information with crystal growth textures, CL and BSE images were systematically taken from the dated zircons. A characteristic threefold concentric zoning was found in many zircons. This involves pre-Variscan protolithic cores followed by two distinct metamorphic/anatectic overgrowth shells of Variscan age. The inner overgrowth shell is characterized by a weak CL but bright BSE signal, and yields high contents of uranium (0.1 to 0.2 wt.%). A pooled U-Pb Concordia age for this zone is 342.0?±?3.0?Ma (n?=?11, MSWD?=?0.12). The second, outer, overgrowth shell is always bright in the CL image, dark in the BSE image, and has generally low uranium contents (mostly <500?ppm). A pooled U-Pb Concordia age for this zone is 337.1?±?2.7?Ma (n?=?11, MSWD?=?0.22). These results imply that the Variscan HT crystallisation history of the Moldanubian granulites took place over a period of a few million years and was not an extremely rapid subduction-exhumation process. SHRIMP measurements in the protolithic cores yield a cluster of (sub)concordant ages between ??390 and 460?Ma and a few outliers at higher ages mostly represented by cores in cores. Core domains, which are large, homogeneous and with undisturbed igneous oscillatory zoning, yielded preferentially ages between 430 and 460?Ma. We therefore consider that granitic protolith formation took place at that time. The still older inner cores are interpreted as inherited into the granitic melt.     

An upper limit to coronal X-rays from single,magnetic white dwarfs

Pointed ROSAT PSPC exposures of 9277 and 6992 sec, directed toward the nearby, single, cool, magnetic white dwarfs GR 290 and EG 250 yielded no counts significantly above the expected background rate. The corresponding flux limits (for an assumed source temperature of l keV) are 1.0 and 1.7 × 10⁻¹⁴erg cm⁻² s⁻¹, within the 0.1–2.5 keV bandpass of the instrument (99% confidence limits). This is more than an order of magnitude below the tentative detection level (for GR 290) and limits (for four other similar stars) obtained from archival Einstein data in 1991. The corresponding limits on coronal electron density are comparable with those implied if cyclotron emission is not responsible for any of the features observed in the optical spectra of magnetic white dwarfs. X-ray data currently provide no evidence for the existence of coronae around these stars. A final long observation (25,000 sec of GD 356) is scheduled for later this year on ROSAT, along with coordinated EUVE observations.     

Regional isostatic response to Messinian Salinity Crisis events

The salinity crisis of the Mediterranean during Messinian time was one of the most dramatic episodes of oceanic change of the past 20 or so million years, resulting in the deposition of kilometer thick evaporitic sequences. A large and rapid drawdown of the Mediterranean water level caused erosion and deposition of non-marine sediments in a large ‘Lago Mare’ basin. Both the surface loading by the Lower Messinian evaporites, and the removal of the water load resulted in isostatic/flexural rebound that significantly affected river canyons and topographic slopes. We use flexure models to quantitatively predict possible signatures of these events, and verify these expectations at well-studied margins. The highly irregular shape of the reconstructed basin calls for a three-dimensional model. Near basin margins, plate-bending effects are most pronounced which is why flexure is particularly important for a relatively narrow basin like the Mediterranean. We focus on one specific sea level scenario for the Messinian Salinity Crisis, where most of the evaporite load was deposited during a sea level highstand, followed by a rapid desiccation. Evaporite loading at current sea level is expected to cause subsidence of the deep basins by hundreds of meters and simultaneous uplift of continental parts of the margins. Differential uplift may lead to significant slope angle changes and thus gravity flows. The relative scarcity of Lower Evaporite sequences along the margins may be a result of these phenomena. Normal faulting of Lower Evaporite and older sediments and rocks is expected on the margins. Desiccation enhances erosion of the freshly exposed continental shelf and slope. Subsidence and riverbed sedimentation occurs on the continental margins, and significant uplift towards the basin center. Reverse faulting is predicted at the margins. Finally, regional isostatic uplift following Zanclean flooding is predicted to destabilize margin slope deposits, and to cause marginal uplift, river down-cutting, and normal faulting.     

Reproducibility of river water quality measurements: inter-agency comparisons for quality assurance

We assessed the reproducibility of river state-of-environment (SoE) water quality measurements in the Wellington Region, New Zealand (NZ). Field staff from GWRC and NIWA conducted 29 side-by-side water sampling and in-situ measurements at six river sites of diverse water quality for 12 variables measured routinely in river SoE monitoring across NZ. Field measurements of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity and visual clarity agreed closely with strong numerical similarity (within 10%). Numerical similarity ranged widely for laboratory measurements, from strong for nitrate-nitrite-nitrogen to weak for turbidity, dissolved reactive phosphorus, and ammoniacal-nitrogen. Numerical agreement was very weak for laboratory pH (which is problematic) and E. coli–which is ‘tolerable’ for many applications given good correlation (R?=?0.94) over a 2000-fold concentration range. The findings of our inter-agency comparison have contributed to quality assurance recommendations in the NZ National Environmental Monitoring Standard (NEMS) for water quality.     

Modeling aggregated expertise of user contributions to assess the credibility of OpenStreetMap features

The emergence of volunteered geographic information (VGI) during the past decade has fueled a wide range of research and applications. The assessment of VGI quality and fitness‐of‐use is still a challenge because of the non‐standardized and crowdsourced data collection process, as well as the unknown skill and motivation of the contributors. However, the frequent approach of assessing VGI quality against external data sources using ISO quality standard measures is problematic because of a frequent lack of available external (reference) data, and because for certain types of features, VGI might be more up‐to‐date than the reference data. Therefore, a VGI‐intrinsic measure of quality is highly desirable. This study proposes such an intrinsic measure of quality by developing the concept of aggregated expertise based on the characteristics of a feature's contributors. The article further operationalizes this concept and examines its feasibility through a case study using OpenStreetMap (OSM). The comparison of model OSM feature quality with information from a field survey demonstrates the successful implementation of this novel approach.     

Kinematics of the Malatya–Ovacik Fault Zone

Abstract

We investigate the left-lateral slip on the 240-km- long, NE-SW-trending, Malatya-Ovacik fault zone in eastern Turkey. This fault zone splays southwestward from the North Anatolian fault zone near Erzincan, then follows the WSW-trending Ovacik valley between the Munzur and Yilan mountain ranges. It bends back to a SW orientation near Arapkir, from where we trace its main strand SSW beneath the Plio-Quaternary sediment of the Malatya basin. We propose that this fault zone was active during ~5–3 Ma, when it took up 29 km of relative motion between the Turkish and Arabian plates; it ceased to be active when the East Anatolian fault zone formed at ~3 Ma. The geometry of the former Erzincan triple junction, which differs from the modem Karliova triple junction, where the North and East Anatolian fault zones intersect, suggests a possible explanation for why slip on the Malatya- Ovacik fault zone was unable to continue. We interpret the SW- and SSW-trending segments of the Malatya-Ovacik fault zone as transform faults, which define an Euler pole ~1 400 km to the southeast. Its central part along the Ovacik valley, which is ~30° oblique to the adjoining transform faults, is interpreted as the internal fault of a stepover. The adjoining mountain ranges, which now rise up to ~3 300 m, ~2 000 m above the surrounding land surface, are largely the result of the surface uplift which accompanied the components of shortening and thickening of the upper crustal brittle layer that occurred around this stepover while the left-lateral faulting was active. © 2001 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS