Comparison of Foraminiferal, Coccolithophorid, and Radiolarian paleotemperature equations: Assemblage coherency and estimate concordancy

The Imbrie-Kipp method of paleotemperature estimation is rigorously tested by comparing Atlantic temperature equations independently derived from the microfossils of three biotic groups: the Foraminifera, Coccolithophorida, and Radiolaria. This method consists of two steps: factor analysis of the modern sea-bed data of the individual groups which resolves discrete biogeographic assemblages and regression analysis of the modern assemblage data with observed sea-surface temperature data to obtain paleotemperature equations. Assemblage biogeography shows a simple subdivision into warm (low latitude) and cold (high latitude) for all biotic groups. Between biotic groups there is greater similarity among high-latitude assemblages than low-latitude ones. Correlating the assemblage data with observed sea-surface temperatures to produce temperature distribution patterns shows differences of less than 2°C in their optimum and critical temperatures. Regression analysis produced accurate temperature equations for each biotic group, all with standard errors of estimate of less than or equal to 2°C. Multiple correlation coefficients were all greater than 0.970. Applying these equations to two multiple biotic data sets (the modern and ice-age sea-bed data) and comparing their temperature estimates using the standard error pooled, shows over 87% concordancy for both data sets. Unlike the modern data, the discordancy among temperature estimates of the ice-age data shows a distinct geographic distribution; its cause is believed to be oceanographic, a difference in the water-mass structure between the modern and ice-age ocean.     

The Araguainha astrobleme/Central Brazil

The following facts have supported the origin of the Araguainha circular structure in Central Brazil by a meteoritic impact:

1. the almost circular contour
2. the impact-morphologic sequence including a central uplift, ring walls and a basin rim of escarpments
3. outcrops of suevites and mixed breccias
4. the evidence of shock metamorphism
5. the presence of shatter cones, and
6. negative anomalies of the total intensity of the magnetic field at the center of the ring structure.

     

Scapolite phenocrysts in a latite dome,northwest Arizona,U.S.A.

A latite dome in northwest Arizona contains a rare occurrence of primary SO₄-rich scapolite phenocrysts. The total phenocryst assemblage consists of plagioclase (An₂₀?An₃₃), hornblende, biotite, and scapolite (Me₆₈). Microphenocrysts include allanite and oxidized low-Ti magnetite. Electron microprobe analyses show that the scapolite contains about 1.74 wt.% S, which indicates an atomic S/(S + C) of 0.58. Although scapolite occurs in xenoliths in volcanic rocks and diatremes, as well as a metamorphic mineral in granulites, its occurrence as a primary igneous mineral is extremely rare.Ca-rich scapolite has been crystallized experimentally by others from melts with a wide range of SiO₂, CaO, and Na₂O contents, at temperatures above 825°C and pressures ranging from 3 to 15 kbar. Comparison of scapolite from this latite with synthetic scapolite crystallized from nepheline syenite melt suggests that the Arizona phenocrysts crystallized under conditions of 850 to 900°C, 3–6 kbar total pressure, and unusually high ?_CO2 and ?_SO2. The rarity of scapolite as a phenocryst mineral suggests that high partial pressures of CO₂ and SO₂ are rare in the magmatic environment.     

The impact,control, and mitigation of off-road vehicle activity in Hungry Valley,California

Hungry Valley, and arid basin situated within the Transverse Ranges of Southern California, has been utilized by off-road vehicles (ORVs) since 1971. Loss of vegetation, severe soil erosion and gullying, alluvial fan formation, and increased sediment discharge are the direct results of ORV activity in the valley. These hydrologic-geologic effects have been documented and monitored utilizing sequential aerial photographs, ground surveys, and sediment transport measurements. Despite the increased usage of ORVs on public lands, and the well-documented short-term physical environmental impacts, little data exists on erosion or sediment transport rates in disturbed vs. adjacent undisturbed areas, the ability of natural vegetation to re-establish itself, or the feasibility of site rehabilitation techniques or methods.     

Variations in crustal level and geothermal gradient during the evolution of the Lewisian complex of northwest Scotland

The metamorphic reactions observed in the polycyclic Precambrian gneisses of parts of western Sutherland and the Outer Hebrides are discussed in the light of other evidence bearing on the tectonic and metamorphic evolution of the Lewisian complex. The evidence that early granulite facies assemblages were transformed into successively lower-pressure assemblages seems consistent with the views expressed by several authors that the complex remained continuously at deep crustal levels for nearly a thousand million years after the earliest dated metamorphic event and that it began to rise towards the earth's surface during the Laxfordian metamorphic stage. The Scourie dyke swarm appears to have been emplaced under deep-seated conditions. The Laxfordian tectonic patterns record the effects of regional uplift and the associated metamorphic assemblages suggest local steepening of the geothermal gradient.     

The Sierra Club and the Law of the Sea

The office of International Environmental affairs of the Sierra Club is focusing its attention on a number of issues, identified at the UN Stockholm conference last year as significant. One of these is the Law of the Sea. This article is an abbreviated version of a preliminary paper prepared for a Working Party or Task Force that is examining the issues and attempting to produce an integrated view of all the issues.     

Extending the limits of the Borrobol Tephra to Scandinavia and detection of new early Holocene tephras

Analyses of two infilled lakes in Blekinge, southeast Sweden, indicate the presence of at least three tephra horizons of Termination 1 and early Holocene age. Geochemical analyses confirm the presence of the Borrobol Tephra, the Askja Tephra (10,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P.), and one previously unreported tephra of Icelandic origin. Extending the limits of the Borrobol Tephra to Scandinavia illustrates that this ash is far more widespread than previously realized and is therefore, an important marker horizon for determining the rate and timing of the initial warming at the start of Greenland Interstade 1 (GI-1) within Europe. The relatively unknown Askja Tephra and the newly discovered Hässeldalen Tephra are stratigraphically placed at the Younger Dryas/Preboreal transition. This paper demonstrates the suitability and success associated with the extraction techniques for tracing microtephra horizons in areas distal to volcanic sources.     

Aftershocks hazard in Italy Part I: Estimation of time-magnitude distribution model parameters and computation of probabilities of occurrence

We analyzed the available instrumental data on Italian earthquakes from1960 to 1996 to compute the parameters of the time-magnitudedistribution model proposed by Reasenberg and Jones (1989) andcurrently used to make aftershock forecasting in California. From 1981 to1996 we used the recently released Catalogo Strumentale deiTerremoti `Italiani' (CSTI) (Instrumental Catalog Working Group, 2001)joining the data of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia(INGV) and of the Italian major local seismic network, with magnituderevalued according to Gasperini (2001). From 1960 to 1980 we usedinstead the Progetto Finalizzato Geodinamica (PFG) catalog(Postpischl, 1985) with magnitude corrected to be homogeneous with thefollowing period. About 40 sequences are detected using two differentalgorithms and the results of the modeling for the corresponding ones arecompared. The average values of distribution parameters (p= 0.93±0.21, Log₁₀(c) = –1.53±0.54, b = 0.96±0.18 and a = –1.66±0.72) are in fair agreementwith similar computations performed in other regions of the World. We alsoanalyzed the spatial variation of model parameters that can be used topredict the sequence behavior in the first days of future Italian seismic crisis,before a reliable modeling of the ongoing sequence is available. Moreoversome nomograms to expeditiously estimate probabilities and rates ofaftershock in Italy are also computed.     

Beeinflusst die Strukturgüte von Fließgewässern das Vorkommen von Makrophyten?

Does the Structural Quality of Running Waters Affect the Occurrence of Macrophytes? The morphological structure plays, besides e.g. nutrient concentration, an important role for the integrated assessment of running waters. This paper focuses on the relationship between structural quality and macrophyte vegetation. During summer 2000 structural quality according to LAWA, macrophyte vegetation, and selected habitat parameters were recorded in 135 mapping sections in running waters in Southern Germany. In streams of high structural diversity, generally higher species richness is expected than in rivers of low diversity of habitats. However, no significant differences in macrophyte species richness were detected between different classes of structural quality. In contrast, bryophytes alone showed a significant decrease in species richness with degradation of structural quality. The number of species of other macrophytes increased, respectively. The relationship between occurrence of macrophytes, structural quality, and other environmental variables was analysed using canonical correspondence analysis. Rivers of high structural quality mostly showed high flowing velocities and were heavily shaded. These environmental conditions, which characterize river types of mountainous regions, were predominantly tolerated by bryophytes. Vascular plants and charophytes generally prefer slowly flowing and unshaded habitats. River types exhibiting these environmental conditions often are more influenced by human activities and are more structurally degraded, respectively. With respect to these fundamental differences between river types, species richness of macrophytes and class of structural quality are not correlated when all types of rivers are taken into account. Type‐specific ecomorphological parameters, which conceal the differences in species richness caused by structural quality, are discussed. Structural degraded rivers can provide good environmental conditions for vascular plants and charophytes. To predict macrophyte species richness from structural quality, a differentiation of river types is essential.