Long-term change in eelgrass distribution at Bahía San Quintín,Baja California,Mexico, using satellite imagery

Seagrasses are critically important components of many marine coastal and estuarine ecosystems, but are declining worldwide. Spatial change in distribution of eelgrass,Zostera marina L., was assessed at Bahía San Quintín, Baja California, Mexico, using a map to map comparison of data interpreted from a 1987 Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre multispectral satellite image and a 2000 Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapping image. Eelgrass comprised 49% and 43% of the areal extent of the bay in 1987 and 2000, respectively. Spatial extent of eelgrass was 13% less (−321 ha) in 2000 than in 1987 with most losses occurring in subtidal areas. Over the 13-yr study period, there was a 34% loss of submerged eelgrass (−457 ha) and a 13% (+136 ha) gain of intertidal eelgrass. Within the two types of intertidal eelgrass, the patchy cover class (<85% cover) expanded (+250 ha) and continuous cover class (≥85% cover) declined (−114 ha). Most eelgrass losses were likely the result of sediment loading and turbidity caused by a single flooding event in winter of 1992–1993. Recent large-scale agricultural development of adjacent uplands may have exacerbated the effects of the flood. Oyster farming was not associated with any detectable losses in eelgrass spatial extent, despite the increase in number of oyster racks from 57 to 484 over the study period.     

Thermochemistry of jarosite-alunite and natrojarosite-natroalunite solid solutions

The thermochemistry of jarosite-alunite and natrojarosite-natroalunite solid solutions was investigated. Members of these series were either coprecipitated or synthesized hydrothermally and were characterized by XRD, FTIR, electron microprobe analysis, ICP-MS, and thermal analysis. Partial alkali substitution and vacancies on the Fe/Al sites were observed in all cases, and the solids studied can be described by the general formula K_1-x-yNa_y(H₃O)_xFe_zAl_w(SO₄)₂(OH)_6-3(3-z-w)(H₂O)_3(3-z-w). A strong preferential incorporation of Fe over Al in the jarosite/alunite structure was observed. Heats of formation from the elements, ΔH°_f, were determined by high-temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry. The solid solutions deviate slightly from thermodynamic ideality by exhibiting positive enthalpies of mixing in the range 0 to +11 kJ/mol. The heats of formation of the end members of both solid solutions were derived. The values ΔH°_f = −3773.6 ± 9.4 kJ/mol, ΔH°_f = −4912.2 ± 24.2 kJ/mol, ΔH°_f = −3734.6 ± 9.7 kJ/mol and ΔH°_f = −4979.7 ± 7.5kJ/mol were found for K_0.85(H₃O)_0.15Fe_2.5(SO₄)₂(OH)_4.5(H₂O)_1.5, K_0.85(H₃O)_0.15Al_2.5(SO₄)₂(OH)_4.5(H₂O)_1.5, Na_0.7(H₃O)_0.3Fe_2.7(SO₄)₂(OH)_5.1(H₂O)_0.9, and Na_0.7(H₃O)_0.3Al_2.7(SO₄)₂(OH)_5.1(H₂O)_0.9 respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first experimentally-based report of ΔH°_f for such nonstoichiometric alunite and natroalunite samples. These thermodynamic data should prove helpful to study, under given conditions, the partitioning of Fe and Al between the solids and aqueous solution.     

Palaeomagnetic data from Ediacaran (Vendian) sediments of the Arkhangelsk region, NW Russia: An alternative apparent polar wander path of Baltica for the Late Proterozoic–Early Palaeozoic

The study area is situated along the Zolotica river in NW Russia, located within the Kola–Dvyna Rift System in the Baltic Shield that developed during Meso and Neoproterozoic times. A 9-m thick section made up of shallow marine sediments of Upper Ediacaran age was sampled in this locality. Two volcaniclastic levels from the middle part of the section yielded an age of 556 Ma. (U/Pb SHRIMP-II on zircons). Two magnetic components were successfully isolated, component A (Decl = 157.1, Incl = 68.0, ₉₅ = 1.9°, N = 575 in situ) carried by magnetite and component B (Decl = 120.3, Incl = − 31.7, ₉₅ = 3.9°, N = 57, bedding corrected), carried by haematite. While component A is thought to represent a younger overprint direction, the in situ direction for component B on the other hand, is dissimilar to any expected younger direction and is considered to be primary magnetisation in origin, acquired during or soon after deposition of the sediments in the Late Ediacaran. The corresponding palaeomagnetic pole for component A in situ is located at Lon = 55.4°E, Lat = 31°N, A₉₅ = 2.7° and for component B at Lon = 110°E, Lat = 28.3°S, A₉₅ = 3.8°, N = 57. Combined with other palaeomagnetic poles of the same tectonostratigraphic unit an alternative apparent polar wander path for the Late Proterozoic–Early Palaeozoic of Baltica is proposed. Such an alternative path shows that after the mid Cryogenian (750 Ma), the poles that were situated over South Africa (p.d.c.) moved to the east until they reached Australia during the Late Ediacaran (555 Ma) where they remained approximately stationary until the beginning of the Cambrian (545 Ma). Finally, they moved to the northwest until they reached the Arabian Peninsula in the Early Ordovician. Palaeolatitudes indicate that Baltica situated near the equator from the Cryogenian through to the Ediacaran moving gradually to the south at c. 1 cm/yr. During the Late Early Ediacaran, the plate suddenly began to drift northward at c. 8 cm/yr and in the boundary with the Cambrian it was positioned in low to intermediate latitudes. Finally, Baltica began to move back to the south at c. 13 cm/yr until in the Early Ordovician, reaching intermediate to high southern latitudes.     

Characterisation of dispersed organic matter from lower Palaeozoic metasedimentary rocks by organic petrography, X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy analyses

Dispersed organic matter (DOM) concentrates of C-rich rocks from areas with different metamorphic characteristics were studied by organic petrography, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and micro-Raman spectroscopy analysis. The concentrates contain several types of DOM with different morphologies, reflectance, X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman characteristics.Four different morphological types were identified in the two studied areas. The different types have different distributions and their reflectance is quite variable in the four types, with a dominance of the highest reflectance values in the DOM from the area with the highest metamorphic grade.XRD analyses of samples from the areas reveal the presence of fine graphite together with non-graphitised carbons.The Raman spectral profiles show the usual bands G (1582 cm⁻¹) and D1 (1350 cm⁻¹), on the first-order Raman spectrum, and S1 (2700 cm⁻¹) on the second-order spectrum. Additional weaker bands, D2 (1620 cm⁻¹), and more rarely D3 (1500 cm⁻¹) and S2 (2900 cm⁻¹), are present. These are characteristic for disordered carbons in the different types of DOM and in both studied areas. However, the Raman parameters (D1/G intensity area ratio and the frequency and width of G band) indicate variable degrees of organisation in all DOM types.The existence of different types of DOM with different degrees of ordering in the same lithologies and metamorphic grade seems to be related to different organic precursors, as they are graphitised to different extents under the same metamorphic conditions. However, in the same lithologies and metamorphic grade, the existence of various stages of graphitisation within the same type of DOM can only be explained though the interaction of DOM with the metamorphic fluids present in the rocks. The ordering graphitisation process may be due to the existence of metamorphic fluid circulation events with a variety of compositions.     

The Thermodynamics of Ordered Perovskites on the CaTiO3-FeTiO3 Join

The enthalpies of formation from ilmenite, FeTiO₃, and perovskite, CaTiO₃, of two intermediate ordered perovskite phases, CaFeTi₂O₆ and CaFe₃Ti₄O₁₂, have been measured at 801°C using oxide melt solution calorimetry. These data, in combination with experiments at high pressure and temperature, indicate that below 1518±50°C CaFe₃Ti₄O₁₂ is stable at lower pressures (∼7 GPa at 1200°C) than CaFeTi₂O₆ (∼13 GPa at 1200°C). This relationship should be reversed, and CaFeTi₂O₆ should become stable at lower pressures than CaFe₃Ti₄O₁₂, at temperatures above 1518±50°C. These intermediate phases are of petrological interest because they form as a reaction between two minerals, ilmenite and perovskite, which are commonly associated in kimberlites, and because their pressure-temperature range of formation overlaps that of origin of kimberlites. Received: 10 November 1997 / Revised; accepted: 15 January 1998     

S- and I-type granitoids of North Victoria Land,Antarctica, and their inferred geotectonic setting

In the context of Gondwana North Victoria Land forms the Antarctic conjugate terrain to the East Australian Lachlan Fold Belt, where the distinction between S- and I-type granitoids was first worked out (Chappell &White 1974). Thus the area was considered a good testing ground for the hypothesis when the German Antarctic North Victoria Land Expedition (Ganovex) resumed fieldwork there in 1979/80.It was known at that time that there existed a Cambro/Ordovician and a Devonian/Carboniferous granitoid generation, which, in analogy to Australia, were taken to be related to two different orogenetic events. Our geological, petrographical and geochemical investigations, together with radiometric age dating, revealed that this is true only for the older granite generation. The younger generation is in fact anorogenic. At the same time, it became obvious that the S- and I-type classification did not completely fit the observed field data. At this pointPitcher's (1982) subdivision of the I-types into a »Cordilleran« and a »Caledonian« suite offered a solution to account for the observed irregularities.At about the same time, plate tectonic models based on evidence independent from the granite classification were developed for this part of the active Gondwana margin. This offers the opportunity to crosscheck the tectonic environment derived from the granite classification:The characteristics of the older, Cambro/Ordovician granitoids allow a perfect accommodation in the model of an active margin above a subduction zone as derived from other evidence.For the younger (Devonian/Carboniferous) granitoids, however, the postulated tectonic setting (post-collisional uplift and faulting) could not be verified in North Victoria Land.It is concluded thatPitchers classification is applicable in its petrographic and geochemical aspects but that the tectonic environment postulated for the production of »Caledonian« I-type granitoids may not be the same in all investigated areas.

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Zusammenfassung Im Gondwana Rahmen bildet Nord Victoria Land das antarktische Pendant zur ostaustralischen Lachlan Mobilzone, wo die Einteilung von Graniten in S- und I-Typen entwickelt wurde (Chappell &White 1974). Deshalb war eine überprüfung dieser neu entwickelten Hypothese eines der Arbeitsziele, als die deutschen Nord Victoria Land Expeditionen (Ganovex) dort 1979 ihre Arbeiten aufnahmen. An den bekannten zwei Granitgenerationen der Region wurden geologische, petrographische und geochemische Untersuchungen sowie Altersbestimmungen durchgeführt, deren Ergebnisse sich folgenderma\en zusammenfassen lassen.Die ältere, kambro-ordovizische Granitfolge steht, analog zur Situation in Australien, in enger Beziehung zu einer bedeutenden Orogenese, während sich zur jüngeren, devonisch-karbonischen Suite kein zugehöriges tektonisches Ereignis finden lie\. Dies steht im Gegensatz zur Situation in Australien/Tasmanien.Die S- und I-Typ Klassifikation, auf Nord Victoria Land angewendet, weist ähnliche Widersprüche auf, wie siePitcher (1982) zur Aufteilung der I-Typen in »kordillere« und »kaledonische« Sippen führten.Plattentektonische Modelle, die in den letzten Jahren für diese Region am mobilen Rand Gondwanas unabhängig von der Granitklassifikation nach geologischen und tektonischen Kriterien entwickelt wurden, erlauben es, die vonPitcher entwickelten tektonischen Bildungsmilieus für verschiedene Granit-Typen zu überprüfen:Die Charakteristiken der älteren (kambro-ordovizischen) Granite erlauben ein widerspruchsloses Einfügen in das aus anderen Kriterien abgeleitete Bild eines aktiven Kontinentalrandes über einer Subduktionszone.Für die jüngeren (devonisch-karbonischen) Granite dagegen, die im Charakter den »kaledonischen« I-TypenPitchers entsprechen, sind die für deren Bildung postulierten Vorgänge, nämlich Hebung und Dehnung nach einer Kollision, in Nord Victoria Land nicht erkennbar.Demnach erscheint zwar die KlassifikationPitchers sinnvoll, da sie in ihrer petrographisch-geochemischen Charakterisierung nachvollziehbar ist, aber das abgeleitete tektonische Milieu für die Bildung der »kaledonischen« Typen bedarf einer weiteren überprüfung.

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Résumé Dans le contexte du Gondwana, la Terre Victoria est le pendant antarctique de la zone plissée de Lachlan, en Australie Orientale, où la distinction entre granites S et I a été établie pour la première fois (Chappel &White 1974). C'est pourquoi la vérification de cette hypothèse a été portée au programme de l'expédition allemande à la Terre Victoria en 1979–80 (Ganovex).On connaissait à cette époque l'existence d'une génération cambro-ordovicienne et d'une génération dévono-carbonifère de granitoÏdes qui, par analogie avec l'Australie, avaient été rapportées à deux événements orogéniques différents. Nos investigations géologiques, pétrologiques, géochimiques et géochronologiques montrent que cette conclusion n'est vraie que pour les granites de la première génération. La seconde génération est, en fait, anorogénique. Il s'est avéré en mÊme temps que la répartition en types S et I ne correspond pas exactement aux observations de terrain. Par contre, la distinction introduite parPitcher (1982) parmi les granites I entre une série »de Cordillère« et une série »Calédonienne« peut expliquer les irrégularités que nous observons.Environ à cette époque, des modèles géodynamiques basés sur des considérations indépendantes de la classification des granites ont été proposés pour cette partie de la marge active du Gondwana. Ces modèles permettent de recouper les considérations sur l'environnement tectonique des granites, déduites de leur classification:Les caractères des granitoÏdes anciens, cambro-ordoviciens, s'accordent parfaitement au modèle d'une marge active surmontant une subduction.Par contre, pour les granitoÏdes jeunes, dévono-carbonifères, la situation tectonique postulée (soulèvement et fracturation post-collision) n'a pas pu Être confirmée sur la Terre Victoria.En conclusion, la classification dePitcher est applicable dans ses aspects pétrographiques et géochimiques, mais l'environnement tectonique qui préside à la formation de granitoÏdes de type »Calédonien I« n'est pas nécessairement le mÊme dans toutes les régions étudiées.

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- Lachlan, S I (Chappell & White, 1974). (GANOVEX) 1979 . , , . : - , , , , - , , - . S I , , (Pitcher, 1982) I . , , , , : — - — , . , - , , , , .. ., , - , , , , .

     

Calorimetric study of high-pressure phase transitions among the CdGeO3 polymorphs (pyroxenoid,garnet, ilmenite,and perovskite structures)

At high pressures, CdGeO₃ pyroxenoid transforms to garnet, then to ilmenite, and finally to perovskite. Enthalpies of transition among the four phases were measured by high temperature calorimetry. The entropies of transition and slopes of the boundaries were calculated using the measured enthalpies and free energies calculated from the phase equilibrium data. Pyroxenoid and garnet are very similar energetically. However garnet is a high pressure phase because of its lower entropy and smaller volume. The pyroxenoid-garnet transition has a small positiveP-T slope. Ilmenite is intermediate in enthalpy between garnet and perovskite, but is lower in entropy than both phases. Therefore the garnet-ilmenite transition has a positivedP/dT, while a negativedP/dT is calculated for the ilmenite-perovskite transition. The thermochemical data for the CdGeO₃ phases are generally consistent with the observed high pressure phase relations. The high entropy of perovskite relative to ilmenite, observed in several ABO₃ comounds including CdGeO₃, is related to the structural features of perovskite, in which relatively small divalent cations occupy the large sites of 8–12 fold coordination. The thermochemistry of the CdGeO₃ polymorphs shows several similarities to that of the CaGeO₃ system.     

Thermochemistry of glasses along joins of pyroxene stoichiometry in the system Ca2Si2O6-Mg2Si2O6-Al4O6

Enthalpies of solution in 2PbO · B₂O₃ at 974 K have been measured for glasses along the joins Ca₂Si₂O₆ (Wo)-Mg₂Si₂O₆ (En) and Mg₂Si₂O₆-MgAl₂SiO₆ (MgTs). Heats of mixing are symmetric and negative for Wo-En with W_H = ?31.0 ± 3.6 kJ mol^?. Negative heats of mixing were also found for the En-MgTs glasses (W_H = ?33.4 ± 3.7 kJ mol^?).Enthalpies of vitrification of pyroxenes and pyroxenoids generally increase with decreasing alumina content and with decreasing basicity of the divalent cation.Heats of mixing along several glassy joins show systematic trends. When only non-tetrahedral cations mix (outside the aluminosilicate framework), small exothermic heats of mixing are seen. When both nontetrahedral and framework cations mix (on separate sublattices, presumably), the enthalpies of mixing are substantially more negative. Maximum enthalpy stabilization near compositions with Al/Si ≈ 1 is suggested.     

Rift-zone magmatism: Petrology of basaltic rocks transitional from CFB to MORB,southeastern Brazil margin

Compositions of basaltic samples from the southeastern Brazil passive margin (18°–24° S) depict the change from continental to oceanic lithosphere during the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean. Samples studied range from 138 to 105 m.y. old and are from 12 Petrobrás drill cores recovered from the coastline to about 150 km offshore in the Espirito Santo, Campos, and Santos basins. Compositions vary, ranging, for example, from 49–54 wt.% SiO₂, 0.5–3.0 wt.% TiO₂, 0.6–5.0 FeO^*/MgO, and 1-6 La/ Yb_(n), but can be grouped: (i) basalts enriched in incompatible elements, such as K (some K₂O>2.0 wt.%), Rb (>18 ppm), Zr (>120 ppm), and LREE (some FeO^* 16 wt.%; most with SiO₂ 51–54 wt.%), and resembling Serra Geral continental flood basalts (SG-CFB) of southern Brazil; (ii) basalts less enriched, or transitional, in incompatible elements, having K₂O <0.40 wt.% and flat REE patterns, and resemble N. Atlantic diabases and FAMOUS basalts; and (iii) one depleted sample, Ce/Yb_(n)=0.7, where Ce_(n)=4. Expressed in oceanic-basalt terminology and Zr-Nb-Y abundances, enriched samples are P- and T-type MORB (e.g., Zr/Nb 4–25), transitional samples are T-type (Zr/ Nb 8–27), and the depleted sample is N-type MORB (Zr/Nb>30).Trace-element ratios (e.g., Zr/Nb, Zr/Y) link the Brazil margin basalts to a heterogeneous mantle (attributed to metasomatic veining) of variably proportioned mixtures of depleted-mantle (N-MORB) and plume (P-MORB, e.g., Tristan hotspot) materials. The various compositions therefore reflect, in part, different zones of melting during the separation of Gondwanaland, where gradual decompression during rifting enabled concurrent melting of upper, more depleted (non- or sparsely-veined) mantle and enriched (densely-veined) mantle. Within the time represented, melting produced enriched, transitional, and depleted magmas that were emplaced subaerially, hypabyssally, and subaqueously; they mark the transition from CFB before rifting and separation (from deeper, enriched mantle) to N-MORB in the S. Atlantic afterwards (from non- or sparsely-veined upper mantle). While P-type mantle components account for the enriched compositions of some basalts (Zr/Nb<8), continental crust is largely responsible for that of others (e.g., Ti/Zr 40–57; La/Yb_(n) 5–6, and ¹⁸O+12.2 in one sample). Some may be contaminated expressions of otherwise T-type basalts free of crustal components. This study identifies CFB to be from sources similar to those for T- and P-type oceanic rocks, where individual CFB magmas may or may not have acquired crustal signatures.     

Thermochemistry of carbonate-pyroxene equilibria

The enthalpies of drop solution of calcite, magnesite, dolomite, wollastonite and diopside have been measured in a lead borate solvent at 977 K in a Calvettype microcalorimeter. The carbonate calorimetry was done under flowing gas atmosphere. Both natural and synthetic samples were used. From these calorimetric data, the enthalpies of several reactions of carbonate with quartz were calculated. The enthalpies of these reactions (kJ/mol) at 298 K are: calcite+quartzwollastonite+CO₂, 92.3±1.0; magnesite+quartzenstatite+CO₂, 82.9±2.8; dolomite+quartzdiopside+CO₂, 163.0±1.9. These values generally are in agreement with those calculated from Robie et al., Helgeson et al., Berman and Holland and Powell. The enthalpy of dolomite-quartz reaction overlaps marginally with those from Berman and Holland and Powell. The enthalpy of formation of dolomite from magnesite and calcite (-11.1±2.5 kJ/mol) was also derived from the measured enthalpies, and this value is consistent with that from acid solution calorimetric measurements as shown by Navrotsky and Capobianco, but different from values in the earlier literature. These results support the premise that drop-solution of carbonates into molten lead borate results in a well-defined final state consisting of dissolved oxide and evolved CO₂. This was also confirmed by weight change experiments. Thus, oxide melt calorimetry is applicable to carbonates.