Developing yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) and hāpuku (Polyprion oxygeneios) for New Zealand aquaculture

Two high value species, yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) and hāpuku (groper, Polyprion oxygeneios), have been identified as suitable new candidates for New Zealand aquaculture. This paper reviews the research by NIWA and collaborators conducted to test the biological, technological and economic feasibility of farming these two species. NIWA now has the capability to produce sufficient kingfish fingerlings per year to meet the needs of the early stages of an industry. Advances in hāpuku aquaculture have also been significant, from spawning in captivity through to the selection of juveniles for improved growth. Recently, the first spawning of captive hāpuku F1 broodstock and production of F2 eggs, larvae and juveniles was achieved. Although hāpuku larval survival remains variable, the ability to close the life cycle, and the availability of domesticated broodstock, provide a significant step forward and increase the chances of this species being commercially farmed.     

Data-moderate assessments of Cape monkfish Lophius vomerinus and west coast sole Austroglossus microlepis in Namibian waters

There is global interest in providing scientific advice on optimal harvesting of all commercially exploited fish stocks. Nevertheless, many commercially important stocks lack analytical assessments. Therefore, we evaluate a data-moderate stock assessment method: the stochastic surplus production model in continuous time (SPiCT). The method was applied to two Namibian stocks: (i) the data-rich Cape monkfish Lophius vomerinus, where results are compared to a new data-rich assessment using a state–space assessment model (SAM); and (ii) the data-moderate west coast sole Austroglossus microlepis, which is an important bycatch species in the Cape monkfish fishery, but currently unassessed. The information available to the data-moderate assessment is total commercial catch, commercial catch per unit effort (CPUE), and survey CPUE. SPiCT and SAM gave largely consistent estimates of relative fishing mortality (F/F_MSY) and relative exploitable biomass (B/B_MSY) for the Cape monkfish stock, although with some discrepancies. Differences in the biomass estimates between the two assessments suggest that further investigation is required to understand the cause, and that some caution is necessary when considering the biomass of the stock. SPiCT shows that the west coast sole may be overexploited, although the confidence bounds were too wide for a firm conclusion. Similarity in the estimates of F/F_MSY for Cape monkfish in recent years, using SPiCT relative to SAM, likewise indicates the suitability of SPiCT for managing west coast sole.     

Early Carboniferous blueschist facies metamorphism in metapelites of the West Sudetes (Northern Saxothuringian Domain,Bohemian Massif)

The metamorphic evolution of micaschists in the north‐eastern part of the Saxothuringian Domain in the Central European Variscides is characterized by the early high‐pressure M1 assemblage with chloritoid in cores of large garnet porphyroblasts and a Grt–Chl–Phe–Qtz ± Pg M2 assemblage in the matrix. Minerals of the M1–M2 stage were overprinted by the low‐pressure M3 assemblage Ab–Chl–Ms–Qtz ± Ep. Samples with the best‐preserved M1–M2 mineralogy mostly appear in domains dominated by the earlier D1 deformation phase and are only weakly affected by subsequent D2 overprint. Thermodynamic modelling suggests that mineral assemblages record peak‐pressure conditions of ≥18–19 kbar at 460–520 °C (M1) followed by isothermal decompression 10.5–13.5 kbar (M2) and final decompression to <8.5 kbar and <480 °C (M3). The calculated peak P–T conditions indicate a high‐pressure/low‐temperature apparent thermal gradient of ～7–7.5 °C km^?1. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry isotopic dating and electron microprobe chemical dating of monazite from the M1–M2 mineral assemblages give ages of 330 ± 10 and 328 ± 6 Ma, respectively, which are interpreted as the timing of a peak pressure to early decompression stage. The observed metamorphic record and timing of metamorphism in the studied metapelites show striking similarities with the evolution of the central and south‐western parts of the Saxothuringian Domain and suggest a common tectonic evolution along the entire eastern flank of the Saxothuringian Domain during the Devonian–Carboniferous periods.     

Metamorphism and Tectonics in Southern Madagascar: An Overview

The scope of this paper is to briefly summarize the general tectonic pattern and the metamorphic evolution of the continental crust from southern Madagascar. After a presentation of the main geophysical features of the Malagasy crust, the brittle and the ductile strain patterns are established at a crustal scale. The Pan-African metamorphic zonation is discussed and interpreted through a tectonic model related to a transpressive regime.     

Top layers charaterization of the Martian surface: Permittivity estimation based on geomorphology analysis

Mars Express spacecraft inserted successfully Martian orbit at the end of 2003. On board this probe, a radar instrument called MARSIS (for Mars Advanced Radar for Surface and Ionosphere Sounding) is looking for water inside the first kilometers of Martian crust. To support MARSIS planning and data inversion, Laboratoire de Planétologie de Grenoble developed a MARSIS signal simulator.We show in this paper that MARSIS can also characterize some surface features, in addition to subsurface water and ionosphere sounding. We study a Martian surface region of special interest: Nilokeras Mensae, inside Acidalia Planitia. We discuss the previous geological studies of this region, and show the geomorphologies analyze of this surface area could lead to a simple terrain model. Then, we present a possible data inversion scheme and applying the MARSIS simulator, we test a first radar data inversion.Finally, we will show that complete dielectric characteristics of surface top layers can be retrieved, at least as often Mars Express flies over some layered terrain (at wavelength scale).     

Lithospheric tectonic structures developed under high-grade metamorphism in the Southern part of Madagascar

Abstract

This paper describes the tectono-metamorphic evolution of a segment of the Precambrian deep crust, in the southern Madagascar island. This crust corresponds to an Archaean basement reworked by a widespread, late panAfrican event (550–580 Ma) during the formation of the Mozambican belt. The finite geometry and associated metamorphism are depicted by satellite imaging, field mapping and P-T estimations using both conventional thermobarometric methods and TWEEQ software program with internally consistent thermodynamic data and uniform set of solution models. The structural pattern developed during high-grade metamorphism shows the juxtaposition of domains with complex fold geometries separated by a 15 km wide ductile shear zone. Within the folded domains, kilometre scale interference patterns associated with strongly dipping metamorphic stretching lineations can be described as superposed folding (F1 and F2 folds). The tight and upright F2 folds result from East-West horizontal shortening. The shear zone is defined by homogeneous orientations of steep foliations, sub-horizontal stretching lineations, and kilometre scale strain gradient. Within the shear zone, we observe dominant non-coaxial criteria at various scales that are consistent with a sinistral strike-slip system during D2 deformation stage. Nevertheless, we have also found in the shear zone, geometries typical of a horizontal shortening. Such a strain pattern is characteristic of transpression tectonics.

The synkinematic metamorphic conditions are estimated on mafic garnetiferous metabasites. Results show that regional transpression tectonics has developed under very high and constant thermal regime (about 800°C). A pressure gap, of about 3 kbar between the domains separated by the shear zone is identified. This implies tectonic coupling of two different structural levels during tranpressive tectonic.     

Métabasites de la cordillère occidentale d'Équateur,témoins du soubassement océanique des Andes d'Équateur

The building-up of the Andean Range is linked to the subduction of the Pacific lithosphere beneath the South American plate. However, the formation of the Central Andes is marked by continental crustal shortening, whereas accretion and underplating of exotic oceanic terranes occurred in the northern Andes. The study of various magmatic and metamorphic rocks exhumed in the Western Cordillera of Ecuador by Miocene transpressive faults enables us to constrain the nature and thermal evolution of the crustal root of this part of Ecuador. These rocks are geochemically similar to oceanic plateau basalts. The thermobarometric peak conditions of a granulite and an amphibolite indicate temperatures of 800–850?°C and pressures less than 6–9 kbar (lack of garnet). The abnormally high geothermal gradient (≈40?°C?km^?1) is probably due to the activity of the magmatic arc, which developed on the accreted oceanic terranes after Late Eocene times, and may have provoked the re-mobilisation of deeply underplated oceanic material during the genesis of the Neogene to Recent arc. To cite this article: É. Beaudon et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Regional-scale Grenvillian-age UHT metamorphism in the Mollendo–Camana block (basement of the Peruvian Andes)

The Mollendo–Camana Block (MCB) is a 50 × 150 km Precambrian inlier of the Andean belt that outcrops along the Pacific coast of southern Peru. It consists of stromatic migmatites of Paleoproterozoic heritage intensely metamorphosed during the Grenville event (c. 1 Ga; U‐Pb and U‐Th‐Pb ages on zircon and monazite). In the migmatites, aluminous mesosomes (FMAS) and quartzofeldspathic leucosomes (KFMASH), contain various amounts of K‐feldspar (Kfs), orthopyroxene (X_Mg Opx = 0.86), plagioclase (Pl), sillimanite (Sil; exceptionally kyanite, Ky) ilmenite (Ilm), magnetite (Mag), quartz (Qtz), and minor amounts of garnet (X_Mg Grt = 0.60), sapphirine (X_Mg Spr = 0.87), cordierite (X_Mg Crd = 0.92) and biotite (X_Mg Bt = 0.83). The ubiquitous peak mineral assemblage is Opx‐Sil‐Kfs‐Qtz‐(± Grt) in most of the MCB, which, together with the high Al content of orthopyroxene (10% Al₂O₃) and the local coexistence of sapphirine‐quartz, attest to regional UHT metamorphism (> 900 °C) at pressures in excess of 1.0 GPa. Fluid‐absent melting of biotite is responsible for the massive production of orthopyroxene that proceeded until exhaustion of biotite (and most of the garnet) in the southern part of the MCB (Mollendo‐Cocachacra areas). In this area, a first stage of decompression from 1.1–1.2 to 0.8–0.9 GPa at temperatures in excess of 950 °C, is marked by the breakdown of Sil‐Opx to Spr‐Opx‐Crd assemblages according to several bivariant FMAS reactions. High‐T decompression is also shown by Mg‐rich garnet being replaced by Crd‐Spr‐ and Crd‐Opx‐bearing symplectites, and reacting with quartz to produce low‐Al‐Opx‐Sil symplectites in quartz‐rich migmatites. Neither osumilite nor spinel‐quartz assemblages being formed, isobaric cooling at about 0.9 GPa probably followed the initial decompression and proceeded with massive precipitation of melts towards the (Os) invariant point, as demonstrated by Bt‐Qtz‐(± pl) symplectites in quartz‐rich migmatites (melt + Opx + Sil = Bt + Grt + Kfs + Qtz). Finally, Opx rims around secondary biotite attest to late fluid‐absent melting, compatible with a second stage of decompression below 900 °C. The two stages of decompression are interpreted as due to rapid tectonic denudation whereas the regional extent of UHT metamorphism in the area, probably results from large‐scale penetration of hot asthenospheric mantle at the base of an over‐thickened crust.     

北山柳园地区中志留世埃达克质花岗岩类及其地质意义

北山柳园地区发育的埃达克质片麻状花岗闪长岩为钙碱性岩浆系列,具有较高SiO₂ (>56%),Al₂O₃ (>15%)和较低的MgO (<3%)含量,Na₂O>K₂O; 并且具有高的Sr含量(>400×10^-6)和Sr/Y比值; 样品轻重稀土强烈分异(La/Yb)_N ＝18~86,强烈亏损重稀土Yb与Y,具有不明显的Eu异常(δEu＝0.90~0.95); 富集LREE和大离子亲石元素(LILE),而亏损HREE、高场强元素(HFSE: Nb、Ta),与世界上典型的俯冲洋壳熔融形成的埃达克岩相似。然而样品具有相对高的(⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_I (0.70635~0.70636)和相对低的ε_Nd(t) (-0.8~-0.9),以及锆石具有相对较低的ε_Hf (t) (-0.8~+2.7)同位素特征,比典型的俯冲洋壳熔融形成埃达克岩具有更多的放射成因,推测可能是源区加入了地壳物质/沉积物/或特殊的洋壳(OIB/E-MORB)熔融,以及侵位过程中地壳物质的混染所造成的。埃达克质片麻状黑云母花岗岩锆石LA-ICPMS年龄为424±4Ma,代表了花岗岩埃达克花岗岩的结晶年龄。花牛山岛弧带在中晚志留世时期具有较高的地热梯度,发育了大面积高ε_Nd(t)钙碱性花岗岩和区域围岩发生了高温变质作用。因此,柳园埃达克岩是由于热的洋壳向花牛山岛弧地体俯冲过程中熔融形成的,俯冲洋壳熔融是本地区早古生代大规模地壳增生的重要方式之一。