Trace Metals in Selected Benthic Invertebrates from Belgian Coastal Waters (1981–1996)

Mercury, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc and chromium were assessed in brown shrimp (Crangon crangon), swimming crab (Liocarcinus holsatus), hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus), starfish (Asterias rubens) and cut trough shell (Spisula subtruncata) from ten sampling stations off the Belgian coast, including three dredge spoils disposal sites. Calculations of time trends indicated that on the whole concentrations of trace metals had significantly decreased since 1981, also on dredged material dumping sites. Starfish and hermit crab were found to be the most promising benthic indicator species for metal contamination. Globally, the location of the sites, including the dredge spoils disposal zones, showed to be of little influence on the concentrations of trace metals.     

Geochemistry and geochronology of proterozoic tholeiite dykes of east antarctica: evidence for mantle metasomatism

Two episodes of tholeiite dyke emplacement have been identified in Archaean high-grade metamorphics of the Napier Complex in Enderby Land. Middle Proterozoic Amundsen dykes are typical continental tholeiites and most of the chemical variation in individual suites can be explained in terms of different degrees of partial melting and low-pressure crystal fractionation. Group I Amundsen tholeiites were derived from a relatively homogeneous source region 1,190±200 m.y. ago, whereas that of the group II Amundsen tholeiites was chemically and isotopically heterogeneous. Group II dykes have various degrees of enrichment in incompatible elements, and commonly show normalised trace element abundance patterns with negative Nb anomalies. These features imply variable metasomatism of the source region by a volatile-rich fluid phase (rather than a melt of any observed igneous composition) enriched in K, Rb, Ba, Th, and possibly La and Ce.Early Proterozoic (2,350±48 m.y.) tholeiites were emplaced at considerable depths in the crust during the waning stages of granulite-facies metamorphism and include a high-Mg suite of possible komatiitic affinity, ranging in composition from hypersthene-rich tholeiite (norite) to quartz-rich tholeiite. They tend to have higher ratios of highly to moderately incompatible elements (e.g., K/Zr, K/Ce), and larger Nb anomalies (i.e., higher K/Nb) compared with middle Proterozoic tholeiites, suggesting derivation from more enriched source regions. Isotopic data are not compatible with significant crustal contamination, but constrain source metasomatism to a time immediately before emplacement. Metasomatism of the source region of the much younger group I tholeiites may have been contemporaneous with that of the high-Mg suite.     

Observing total solar eclipses from near the edge of the predicted path

Suitable observations from various locations in the predicted path of a total solar eclipse can provide information about the relative positions and shapes of the Sun and Moon to about ±0.02. The total solar eclipse of 1972, July 10 was observed from locations near the edges of its predicted path. The durations of the limb phenomena were greatly enhanced. Preliminary analysis of the observations shows that the eclipse shadow passed 3 km northeast of its predicted path.Communication presented at the conference on Lunar Dynamics and Observational Coordinate Systems held January 15–17, 1973 at the Lunar Science Institute, Houston, Tex., U.S.A.     

Future climate in the Pacific Northwest

Climate models used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) on the whole reproduce the observed seasonal cycle and twentieth century warming trend of 0.8°C (1.5°F) in the Pacific Northwest, and point to much greater warming for the next century. These models project increases in annual temperature of, on average, 1.1°C (2.0°F) by the 2020s, 1.8°C (3.2°F) by the 2040s, and 3.0°C (5.3°F) by the 2080s, compared with the average from 1970 to 1999, averaged across all climate models. Rates of warming range from 0.1°C to 0.6°C (0.2°F to 1.0°F) per decade. Projected changes in annual precipitation, averaged over all models, are small (+1% to +2%), but some models project an enhanced seasonal cycle with changes toward wetter autumns and winters and drier summers. Changes in nearshore sea surface temperatures, though smaller than on land, are likely to substantially exceed interannual variability, but coastal upwelling changes little. Rates of twenty-first century sea level rise will depend on poorly known factors like ice sheet instability in Greenland and Antarctica, and could be as low as twentieth century values (20 cm, 8^″) or as large as 1.3 m (50^″).     

Biomarker characterisation and hydrous pyrolysis of bitumens from Tertiary volcanics, queen Charlotte islands, British Columbia, Canada

A number of bitumen samples have been recovered from vugs and fractures in outcropping Tertiary basalts of the Queen Charlotte Islands off the west coast of British Columbia, Canada. n-Alkanes and acyclic isoprenoids are not present and the polycyclic biomarker distribution of the four samples analyzed by GC and GC-MS has been altered. One sample contains no remaining recognizable biomarkers. Two bitumens were also obtained from Lower Jurassic potential source rocks, including one from the Sandilands Formation, which was considered previously to be the most likely source of the Tertiary bitumens. Although these two bitumens were also taken from outcrops, they are considerably less biodegraded. The Sandilands Formation bitumen contains 28, 30-bisnorhopanes and since these compounds were not detected in the Tertiary bitumens, there is no evidence from the initial results for a Sandilands Formation contribution to the hydrocarbons in the Tertiary basalts. The presence of 18α(H)-oleanane in the saturate fraction of two of the Tertiary bitumens from widely separated locations indicates that they are at least partially sourced from Tertiary organic matter.Because the distribution of biomarkers in some samples has been severely affected by biodegradation, the asphaltenes of the bitumens were hydrously-pyrolysed and the saturate fractions of the resulting pyrolysates analysed for possible additional information on the origin of the bitumens. The pyrolysates from the more degraded samples contain compounds not detected in the saturate fractions of the original bitumen and show some of the expected characteristics of the original non-degraded bitumen. However, the compounds most useful for correlation are not present in the pyrolysates apparently due to their non-incorporation into the kerogen macromolecule. Our results suggest that hydrous-pyrolysis of asphaltenes is of limited use in the correlation of biodegraded samples and in determining their origins.     

Out of Africa: detrital zircon provenance of central Madagascar and Neoproterozoic terrane transfer across the Mozambique Ocean

The Neoproterozoic East African Orogen reflects closure of the Mozambique Ocean and collision of the Congo and Dharwar cratons. This palaeogeographical change and its environmental consequences are poorly understood, but new detrital zircon ages from Madagascar and published data from elsewhere provide evidence for multiple ocean basins and two-stage collision. We propose that central Madagascar rifted from the Congo Craton and crossed a Palaeomozambique Ocean to collide with the Dharwar Craton at c. 700 Ma, opening a Neomozambique Ocean in its wake. Closure of the Neomozambique Ocean at c. 600 Ma juxtaposed the Congo and Dharwar cratons and resulted in prolonged collisional orogenesis concluding at c. 500 Ma.     

Continental growth and reworking on the edge of the Columbia and Rodinia supercontinents; 1.86–0.9 Ga accretionary orogeny in southwest Fennoscandia

Geological history from the late Palaeoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic is dominated by the formation of the supercontinent Columbia, and its break-up and re-amalgamation into the next supercontinent, Rodinia. On a global scale, major orogenic events have been tied to the formation of either of these supercontinents, and records of extension are commonly linked to break-up events. Presented here is a synopsis of the geological evolution of southwest Fennoscandia during the ca. 1.9–0.9 Ga period. This region records a protracted history of continental growth and reworking in a long-lived accretionary orogen. Three major periods of continental growth are defined by the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt (1.86–1.66 Ga), Gothian (1.66–1.52 Ga), and Telemarkian (1.52–1.48 Ga) domains. The 1.47–1.38 Ga Hallandian–Danopolonian period featured reorganization of the subduction zone and over-riding plates, with limited evidence for continental collision. During the subsequent 1.38–1.15 Ga interval, the region is interpreted as being located inboard of a convergent margin that is not preserved today and hosted magmatism and sedimentation related to inboard extensional events. The 1.15–0.9 Ga period is host to Sveconorwegian orogenesis that marks the end of this long-lived accretionary orogen and features significant crustal deformation, metamorphism, and magmatism. Collision of an indenter, typically Amazonia, is commonly inferred for the cause of widespread Sveconorwegian orogenesis, but this remains inconclusive. An alternative is that orogenesis merely represents subduction, terrane accretion, crustal thickening, and burial and exhumation of continental crust, along an accretionary margin. During the Mesoproterozoic, southwest Fennoscandia was part of a much larger accretionary orogen that grew on the edge of the Columbia supercontinent and included Laurentia and Amazonia amongst other cratons. The chain of convergent margins along the western Pacific is the best analogue for this setting of Proterozoic crustal growth and tectonism.