Intra-oceanic production of continental crust in a Th-depleted ca. 3.0 Ga arc complex,western Superior Province,Canada

The English Lake magmatic complex in the western Superior Province of Canada represents a fragment of early (3.0 Ga) continental crust exposed in oblique cross section through tonalitic upper levels and subjacent quartz diorite, diorite and gabbro, which are cut by late gabbro, anorthosite and hornblendite dykes. Massive, foliated and gneissic units of tonalitic to gabbroic composition, crystallized over a 10 to 18 m.y. period, bear common geochemical attributes, including negative Th, U and Nb anomalies, and only slight LREE and LILE enrichment on NMORB-normalized trace-element profiles. Epsilon Nd values (+0.1 to +1.7) and ¹⁸O (+6.7 to +8.0 ) do not co-vary with silica or other crustal contamination indices. High Mg#'s and Ni contents suggest derivation from, or interaction with mantle, and large positive anomalies for Ba, Sr and Pb, as well as high U/Th, suggest metasomatism by hydrous fluids. Trace-element profiles resemble those of primitive intra-oceanic island arc magmas except for the negative Th-U anomaly, which precludes the involvement of either oceanic (sedimentary or basaltic) or continental crust in the petrogenesis of English Lake magmas. In order to account for the unusual geochemical character of the suite, we postulate that water-rich fluids derived from subducted, sea-floor-altered serpentinite provided the flux for melting a depleted mantle wedge. Contemporaneous, proximal high Th/Nb tonalites suggest that the zone of serpentinite subduction occurred within a restricted arc segment possibly due to subduction of either: (a) a seamount chain oriented broadly perpendicular to an arc, or (b) a similarly oriented serpentinite-enclosed oceanic fracture zone or fault.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at .Editorial responsibility: T.L. Grove     

Palaeointensity studies of a late Permian lava succession from Guizhou Province, South China: implications for post-Kiaman dipole field behaviour

Palaeomagnetic results are presented from a volcanic sequence in Zhijin County, Guizhou Province, Southern China. The lavas and associated volcanic breccias comprising the sequence represent a southern extension of the Emeishan volcanic province. Biostratigraphic dating of interbedded limestone units and stratigraphic constraints indicate that the section formed during the late Permian (∼263–255  Ma), and is thus somewhat older than the Emei stratotype section in Sichuan Province, and close in age to reported estimates of the termination of the Permo-Carboniferous (Kiaman) reverse superchron. Rock magnetic analyses and reflected light microscopy indicate that the magnetic mineralogy of the lava units is dominated by fresh, primary magnetites containing a significant fraction of single-domain grains. Thermal demagnetization behaviour of the breccia units is poor, but most lava samples have one or two components of remanence above 250 °C. The normal polarity characteristic remanence held by the lavas implies a post-Kiaman age for this succession and suggests that the termination of the Kiaman occurred prior to 263  Ma, supporting recently published estimates. According to standard criteria, Thellier palaeointensity results from the lavas are of good quality and reveal that the dipole field strength was comparatively low shortly after the termination of the superchron. 80 per cent of samples record relative VDM values in the range 42–52 per cent of the present-day value, supporting recent studies of mid-Kiaman field intensity. This suggests that a low-energy dipole existed at least between 300 and 255  Ma and does not appear to have been confined to the stable reverse polarity interval.     

Zonal winds and southeast Australian rainfall in global and regional climate models

Southeast Australia is a region of high rainfall variability related to major climate drivers, with a long-term declining trend in cool-season rainfall. Projections of future rainfall trends are uncertain in this region, despite projected southward shifts in the subtropical ridge and mid-latitude westerlies. This appears to be related to a poor representation of the spatial relationships between rainfall variability and zonal wind patterns across southeast Australia in the latest Coupled Model Intercomparison Project ensemble, particularly in the areas where weather systems embedded in the mid-latitude westerlies are the main source of cool-season rainfall. Downscaling with regional climate models offers improvements in the mean rainfall climatology, and shows some ability to correct for poor modelled relationships between rainfall and zonal winds along the east coast of Australia. However, it provides only minor improvements to these relationships in southeast Australia, despite the improved representation of topographic features. These results suggest that both global and regional climate models may fail to translate projected circulation changes into their likely rainfall impacts in southeast Australia.     

A model of diffuse degassing at three subduction-related volcanoes

2 and δ¹³C in soil gas were measured at three active subduction-related stratovolcanoes (Arenal and Poás, Costa Rica; Galeras, Colombia). In general, Rn, CO₂ and δ¹³C values are higher on the lower flanks of the volcanoes, except near fumaroles in the active craters. The upper flanks of these volcanoes have low Rn concentrations and light δ¹³C values. These observations suggest that diffuse degassing of magmatic gas on the upper flanks of these volcanoes is negligible and that more magmatic degassing occurs on the lower flanks where major faults and greater fracturing in the older lavas can channel magmatic gases to the surface. These results are in contrast to findings for Mount Etna where a broad halo of magmatic CO₂ has been postulated to exist over much of the edifice. Differences in radon levels among the three volcanoes studied here may result from differences in age, the degree of fracturing and faulting, regional structures or the level of hydrothermal activity. Volcanoes, such as those studied here, act as plugs in the continental crust, focusing magmatic degassing towards crater fumaroles, faults and the fractured lower flanks. Received: 16 December 1997 / Accepted: 27 January 2000     

Estimating long-term cliff recession rates from shore platform widths

Coastal cliff erosion is a problem in many coastal areas. However, often only very limited data are available to quantify the rates of recession for the development of coastal management strategies. In the soft flysch deposits of the Waitemata Group, Auckland, New Zealand, coastal cliffs are associated with shore platforms. Two models exist for the profile evolution of shore platforms and associated cliffs: the first suggests that an equilibrium profile develops in response to erosive processes, and this profile subsequently migrates landward; the second model suggests that the seaward margin of the shore platform is relatively static, and the profile extends landward through a combination of cliff recession and platform lowering. Physical simulations and field measurements for mudstone and limestone lithologies indicate that the second model is more likely for soft flysch deposits. A eustatic sea-level curve for the Weiti Estuary, Auckland, suggests that up to 7120 ± 70 years have been available for shore platform development since sea level reached the present seaward margins of shore platforms. Shore platform widths were measured using GPS at two sites in Waitemata Group rocks: the North Shore of Auckland; and the southern side of the Tawharanui Peninsula, North Auckland. The long-term cliff recession rates estimated from shore platform widths (1.4 ± 0.1 to 14.3 ± 0.1 mm y^− 1) are consistent with the lower end of the average range of cliff top and face recession rates published for Waitemata Group rocks using different methods (11–75 mm y^− 1), and in agreement with cliff base recession estimates (3.5 mm y^− 1). Shore platform widths were qualitatively related to the rock mass characteristics of the associated cliffs, and therefore platform widths could provide a method of identifying regions of potential hazard.     

Achievability of the Paris Agreement targets in the EU: demand-side reduction potentials in a carbon budget perspective

Limiting global warming to ‘well below’ 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5°C is an integral part of the 2015 Paris Agreement. To achieve these aims, cumulative global carbon emissions after 2016 should not exceed 940 – 390?Gt of CO₂ (for the 2°C target) and 167 – ?48?Gt of CO₂ (for the 1.5°C target) by the end of the century. This paper analyses the EU’s cumulative carbon emissions in different models and scenarios (global models, EU-focused models and national carbon mitigation scenarios). Due to the higher reductions in energy use and carbon intensity of the end-use sectors in the national scenarios, we identify an additional mitigation potential of 26–37 Gt cumulative CO₂ emissions up to 2050 compared to what is currently included in global or EU scenarios. These additional reductions could help to both reduce the need for carbon dioxide removals and bring cumulative emissions in global and EU scenarios in line with a fairness-based domestic EU budget for a 2°C target, while still remaining way above the budget for 1.5°C.

Key policy insights

• Models used for policy advice such as global integrated assessment models or EU models fail to consider certain mitigation potential available at the level of sectors.

• Global and EU models assume significant levels of CO₂ emission reductions from carbon capture and storage to reach the 1.5°C target but also to reach the 2°C target.

• Global and EU model scenarios are not compatible with a fair domestic EU share in the global carbon budget either for 2°C or for 1.5°C.

• Integrating additional sectoral mitigation potential from detailed national models can help bring down cumulative emissions in global and EU models to a level comparable to a fairness-based domestic EU share compatible with the 2°C target, but not the 1.5°C aspiration.