Chronology of cenozoic igneous and tectonic events in the central Chilean Andes — latitudes 35° 30′ to 36°S

Sixty-six K---Ar dates from igneous rocks in the central Chilean Andes between 33° and 38°S are reported in this study. From these results and observed field relations, major Cenozoic volcanic and intrusive rock units are divided into chronologic groups representing igneous events.Volcanic units of Oligocene (33.3–27.9 m.y.) and Early Miocene (20.2 m.y.) age have been dated west of the present range at 33°S but neither the magnitude nor extent of these volcanic events has yet been established. Extensive Middle to Late Miocene volcanism (15.3–6.4 m.y.) followed by regional folding is recognized in the map area between 35° 20′ and 36°S. Partly contemporaneous Middle Miocene volcanism (18.4–13.7 m.y.) also followed by regional folding is recorded in the Andes between 37° 30′ and 38°S. General volcanic quiescence from 6.4 to 2.5 m.y. is observed in the map area but whether this volcanic hiatus is of regional significance is not known.The majority of the K---Ar dates document a history of nearly continuous volcanism throughout the last 2.5 m.y. in the map area. The abundant and diverse sequences of volcanic strata formed during this time, have been divided into four successive age groups which as map units show the evolution and distribution of latest volcanic activity.Landforms preserved by this volcanic series show that topographic relief similar to the present has prevailed during this time. Deep incision of rivers into young volcanic terrain, estimated to be on the order of 1–2 m/1000 years, has produced a complex volcanic and morphologic record.Four plutons dated in this study give ages of 62.0, 41.3, 19.5, and 7.0 m.y. No spatial pattern of emplacement is observed in the map area where three of these plutons are represented.Similarities in structural style, orientation and degree of deformation of Miocene and Mesozoic strata suggest that Late Miocene regional folding may have accounted for a significant part of the observed deformation in older basement strata previously ascribed to earlier orogenies.A regional comparison of ages of recognized igneous and tectonic event at different latitudes in the central and southern Andes shows the gross chronology of Cenozoic events which can be correlated with sea-floor spreading and subduction events.     

The impacts of global warming on farmers in Brazil and India

How big a threat is global warming to climate-sensitive and economically important sectors such as agriculture in developing countries? How well will farmers be able to adapt to the threats of global warming? This paper attempts to shed light on these two important questions. A cross-sectional analysis is employed to estimate the climate sensitivity of agriculture in Brazil and India. Using panel data from both countries, the study measures how net farm income or property values vary with climate, and consequently, how farmers in India and Brazil react and adapt to climate. The estimated relationships are then used to predict the consequence of alternative climate scenarios. Global warming by the end of the next century could cause annual damages in Brazil between 1% and 39% and between 4% and 26% in India, although some of this effect may be potentially offset by carbon fertilization. These estimates do not factor into account climate-induced extreme weather events.     

Presolar spinel grains from the Murray and Murchison carbonaceous chondrites

With a new type of ion microprobe, the NanoSIMS, we determined the oxygen isotopic compositions of small (<1μm) oxide grains in chemical separates from two CM2 carbonaceous meteorites, Murray and Murchison. Among 628 grains from Murray separate CF (mean diameter 0.15 μm) we discovered 15 presolar spinel and 3 presolar corundum grains, among 753 grains from Murray separate CG (mean diameter 0.45 μm) 9 presolar spinel grains, and among 473 grains from Murchison separate KIE (mean diameter 0.5 μm) 2 presolar spinel and 4 presolar corundum grains. The abundance of presolar spinel is highest (2.4%) in the smallest size fraction. The total abundance in the whole meteorite is at least 1 ppm, which makes spinel the third-most abundant presolar grain species after nanodiamonds (if indeed a significant fraction of them are presolar) and silicon carbide. The O-isotopic distribution of the spinel grains is very similar to that of presolar corundum, the only statistically significant difference being that there is a larger fraction of corundum grains with large ¹⁷O excesses (¹⁷O/¹⁶O > 1.5 × 10⁻³), which indicates parent stars with masses between 1.8 and 4.5 M_⊙.     

Volcano hazards program in the United States

Volcano monitoring and volcanic-hazards studies have received greatly increased attention in the United States in the past few years. Before 1980, the Volcanic Hazards Program was primarily focused on the active volcanoes of Kilauea and Mauna Loa, Hawaii, which have been monitored continuously since 1912 by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. After the reawakening and catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, the program was substantially expanded as the government and general public became aware of the potential for eruptions and associated hazards within the conterminous United States. Integrated components of the expanded program include: volcanic-hazards assessment; volcano monitoring; fundamental research; and, in concert with federal, state, and local authorities, emergency-response planning.In 1980 the David A. Johnston Cascades Volcano Observatory was established in Vancouver, Washington, to systematically monitor the continuing activity of Mount St. Helens, and to acquire baseline data for monitoring the other, presently quiescent, but potentially dangerous Cascade volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest. Since June 1980, all of the eruptions of Mount St. Helens have been predicted successfully on the basis of seismic and geodetic monitoring.The largest volcanic eruptions, but the least probable statistically, that pose a threat to western conterminous United States are those from the large Pleistocene-Holocene volcanic systems, such as Long Valley caldera (California) and Yellowstone caldera (Wyoming), which are underlain by large magma chambers still potentially capable of producing catastrophic caldera-forming eruptions. In order to become better prepared for possible future hazards associated with such historically unpecedented events, detailed studies of these, and similar, large volcanic systems should be intensified to gain better insight into caldera-forming processes and to recognize, if possible, the precursors of caldera-forming eruptions.     

Food-web manipulation of drinking water reservoirs with salmonids: vertical distribution of prey and predator

In a novel biomanipulation experiment salmonids were used as a tool to improve water quality. The manipulation was initiated in spring 2000 as a response to non-point sources of phosphorus in a drinking water reservoir in Saxony, Germany. Salmonids (brown trout, Salmo trutta forma lacustris) were chosen as predators as the reservoir has a large hypolimnic water body and surface temperatures rarely exceed 20 °C. The vertical distributions of prey fish and brown trout were analysed with a fleet of vertical gill nets set in the pelagic zone of the reservoir. Consumption of brown trout was estimated by means of a bioenergetic model and the diet analyses of the trout. While the dominant planktivore (roach, Rutilus rutilus) was caught almost exclusively in the epilimnion during the stratification period trout were caught mainly below a depth of 10 m. Diet analysis revealed that the trout performed vertical migrations to consume food in the epilimnic layer, as an important food component were adult terrestrial and aquatic insects. The amount of fish in the food increased strongly with the size of the brown trout. The consumption estimate suggested that the trout had consumed 2-3% of the total roach stock during the study period (May-November 2000) of the first year of biomanipulation. We conclude that in general salmonids are suitable for food-web manipulation in deep reservoirs, but the stocked fish should be as large as possible (> 300 mm) and the proportion of large trout (> 500 mm) should be as high as possible.     

How weather impacts the forced climate response

The new interactive ensemble modeling strategy is used to diagnose how noise due to internal atmospheric dynamics impacts the forced climate response during the twentieth century (i.e., 1870?C1999). The interactive ensemble uses multiple realizations of the atmospheric component model coupled to a single realization of the land, ocean and ice component models in order to reduce the noise due to internal atmospheric dynamics in the flux exchange at the interface of the component models. A control ensemble of so-called climate of the twentieth century simulations of the Community Climate Simulation Model version 3 (CCSM3) are compared with a similar simulation with the interactive ensemble version of CCSM3. Despite substantial differences in the overall mean climate, the global mean trends in surface temperature, 500?mb geopotential and precipitation are largely indistinguishable between the control ensemble and the interactive ensemble. Large differences in the forced response; however, are detected particularly in the surface temperature of the North Atlantic. Associated with the forced North Atlantic surface temperature differences are local differences in the forced precipitation and a substantial remote rainfall response in the deep tropical Pacific. We also introduce a simple variance analysis to separately compare the variance due to noise and the forced response. We find that the noise variance is decreased when external forcing is included. In terms of the forced variance, we find that the interactive ensemble increases this variance relative to the control.     

Spatial patterns of sub-tidal seagrasses and their tissue nutrients in the Torres Strait,northern Australia: Implications for management

The distribution and nutritional profiles of sub-tidal seagrasses from the Torres Strait were surveyed and mapped across an area of 31,000 km². Benthic sediment composition, water depth, seagrass species type and nutrients were sampled at 168 points selected in a stratified representative pattern. Eleven species of seagrass were present at 56 (33.3%) of the sample points. Halophila spinulosa, Halophila ovalis, Cymodocea serrulata and Syringodium isoetifolium were the most common species and these were nutrient profiled. Sub-tidal seagrass distribution (and associated seagrass nutrient concentrations) was generally confined to northern-central and south-western regions of the survey area (<longitude 142.60), where mean water depth was relatively shallow (approximately 13 m below MSL) and where sediments were comprised primarily muddy sand to gravelly sand. Seagrass nitrogen and starch content, the most important nutrients for marine herbivores, were significantly correlated with species and with the plant component (above or below ground). For all seagrass species, the above-ground component (shoots and leaves) possessed greater nitrogen concentrations than the below-ground component (roots and rhizomes), which possessed greater starch concentrations. S. isoetifolium had the highest total nitrogen concentrations (1.40±0.05% DW). However, it also had higher fibre concentrations (38.2±0.68% DW) relative to the other four species. H. ovalis possessed the highest starch concentrations (2.76±0.12% DW) and highest digestibility (83.24±0.66% DW) as well as the lowest fibre (27.2±0.66% DW). The high relative abundance (found at 55% of the sites that had seagrass) and nutrient quality characteristics of H. ovalis make it an important source of energy to marine herbivores that forage sub-tidally in the Torres Strait. There were two regions in Torres Strait (north-central and south-western) where sub-tidal seagrass meadows were prevalent and of relatively higher nutritional value. This spatial and nutritional information can be used by local agencies to manage and to protect the ecological, economic and cultural values of the sub-tidal seagrass ecosystems and associated fisheries of the Torres Strait.     

Aminostratigraphy and thermoluminescence dating of coastal aeolianites and the later Quaternary history of a failed delta: The River Murray mouth region,South Australia

A geochronological framework for the sequential development of coastal barrier aeolianite complexes in the mouth region of the River Murray, Australia's largest river system is presented based on amino acid racemization and thermoluminescence dating. The sedimentary successions represent a foreshortened and condensed sequence of coastal barriers compared with those of the Coorong Coastal Plain in southern South Australia where the barrier complexes are more widely separated in response to tectonic uplift. The barriers have formed during interglacial sea-level highstands and are correlatives of genetically equivalent landforms of the Coorong Coastal Plain. Thermoluminescence dating and the extent of amino acid racemization in aeolianite ‘whole-rock’ sediment samples, reveal a general increase in age of the barriers landwards from the modern coastline. In detail, however, the individual barriers represent composite structures having formed in more than one interglaciation, due to the reoccupation of Pleistocene shoreline positions during sea-level highstands of similar amplitude, in a zone of gradual basin subsidence. The most seaward Pleistocene aeolianite at Surfer Beach is of interstadial age (Marine Isotope Stage 5c, 105 ± 5 ka; MIS 5c), and correlates with the Robe Range of the Coorong Coastal Plain. The last interglacial shoreline (130 ± 15 ka; MIS 5e) is particularly well-defined in the River Murray mouth region. It is represented by a complex association of coastal parabolic dunes superimposed on a transverse dune system, which runs parallel with the former coastline, and also includes associated estuarine, lagoonal and open ocean beach facies. Landward of the last interglacial succession are distinct barriers relating to the penultimate interglaciation (215 ± 35 ka; MIS 7), as well as earlier interglaciations (350 ± 65 ka; MIS 9 or 11 and 470 ± 70 ka; MIS 11 or 13). The coastal barriers have been successively breached by the ancestral River Murray at times of lower sea level during glacial cycles. Former mouths of the River Murray during interglacial sea-level highstands are likely to have existed near Tauwitchere Island during MIS 7, and between Goolwa and Hindmarsh Island and near the southern-most part of Lake Albert during the last interglacial (MIS 5e). The River Murray mouth region represents a failed delta as the limited sediment brought to this area since late middle Pleistocene time has been either rapidly incorporated within aeolian deposits during sea-level highstands, or transported to the edge of the Lacepede Shelf during glacial maxima. The Holocene and modern River Murray has not established a marine delta, but deposits its load in the settling basins of the terminal lakes. Only a small digitate delta has formed where the river enters Lake Alexandrina.     

Resolution Sensitivity and Scaling of Large-Eddy Simulations of the Stable Boundary Layer

Large-eddy simulations (LES) of the continuously turbulent quasi-equilibrium stable boundary layer (SBL) are conducted with grid lengths in the range of 12.5 m to 2 m, in order to explore resolution sensitivity, and determine at what point grid convergence occurs. The structure of the mean potential temperature, winds, and turbulent fluxes varies significantly over this resolution range. The highest resolution simulations show a significant degree of convergence. The dimensionless momentum diffusivity asymptotes to a value of 0.06, corresponding to a limiting flux Richardson number of 0.15.Using the converged simulations, some scaling hypotheses underpinning first-order and second-order closure models are revisited. The effective Richardson number stability functions of the LES are compared with the forms often used in numerical weather prediction (NWP). The mixing implied by the LES is less than that used in NWP. The commonly used similarity profiles for heat and momentum fluxes, and the scalings for dissipation and pressure covariances are compared with the LES. This information could provide guidance for the next generation of SBL parametrization schemes.     

Tuffaceous sediments as source rocks for uranium: A case study of the White River Formation, Wyoming

Fine-grained tuffaceous sediments of the White River Formation (Oligocene) are evaluated as a possible source of uranium for the sedimentary uranium deposits of Wyoming. The evaluation is based upon a model in which volcanic glass is considered to be a major host of uranium and thorium and in which uranium and silica are released during alteration of glass to montmorillonite. The evaluation scheme is applicable to other tuffaceous sediments in similar geologic settings. The average uranium and thorium contents of glass separates and glassy air-fall ashes of the White River Formation are 8 ppm and 22.4 ppm respectively, and these values approximate the average composition of glass deposited in Wyoming basins in Oligocene time. Comparison of these values with the uranium and thorium concentrations in montmorillonite separates indicates little change in thorium concentrations but reductions in uranium concentrations which average 3.3 ppm. In spite of the apparent major removal of uranium during alteration of glass to montmorillonite, whole-rock samples of tuffaceous siltstones show an average uranium loss of only 0.4 ± 0.4 ppm, because of generally small amounts of clay alteration. This conclusion is generated by comparisons between glassy ash and partially altered vitric siltstones, the latter corrected for dilution of glass and clay-altered glass with uranium- and thorium-poor primary and detrital materials. The original volume of the White River Formation is adequate to generate economically significant quantities of mobile uranium, even with such modest losses. Uranium and silica which are mobilized during glass alteration can coprecipitate as uraniferous secondary silica in areas where solutions become silica saturated. These precipitates indicate pathways of ancient, uranium-rich solutions in tuffaceous rocks. Exploration efforts in the White River Formation and underlying units should concentrate on areas where such pathways intercept reducing environments. Intercepts of this type are present at some uranium deposits in the study area and this lends support to a tuffaceous source rock model.