Fossil sharks

Sharks were around as early as the Silurian and were most abundant during the Carboniferous. During the Eocene, some of them were even larger than today's Great White Shark.     

NUMERICAL MODELLING OF STANDARD AND CONTINUOUS VERTICAL ELECTRICAL SOUNDINGS1

Analytical solutions of vertical electrical soundings (VES) have mostly been applied to groundwater exploration and monitoring groundwater quality on terrains of fairly simple geology and geomorphology on which the electrode arrays are symmetrical (e.g. Schlumberger or Wenner configurations). The sounding interpretation assumes flat topography and horizontally stratified layers. Any deviations from these simple situations may be impossible to interpret analytically. The recently developed GEA-58 geoelectrical instrument can make continuous soundings along a profile with any colinear electrode configuration. This paper describes the use of finite-difference and finite-element methods to model complex earth resistivity distributions in 2D, in order to calculate apparent resistivity responses to any colinear current electrode distribution in terrains in which the earth resistivities do not vary along the strike. The numerical model results for simple situations are compared with the analytical solutions. In addition, a pseudo-depth section of apparent resistivities measured in the field with the GEA-58 is compared with the numerical solution of a real complex resistivity distribution along a cross-section. The model results show excellent agreement with the corresponding analytical and experimental data.     

Source and Differentiation of Deccan Trap Lavas: Implications of Geochemical and Mineral Chemical Variations

The basalt stratigraphy of the Deccan Trap between MahabaleshwarGhat and Belgaum over-steps the basement from north to south.Sr-isotope and Zr/Nb ratios, and Sr, Rb, and Ba concentrationscorrelate portions of the post-Poladpur stratigraphy over 250km along the Western Ghats, thereby confirming a southerly componentof dip of 0?06?. At the southwestern margin, the stratigraphyextends upwards from the compositionally uniform Ambenali Formation(Cox & Hawkesworth, 1984) into a sequence of grossly heterogeneousflow units which have been allocated to the Mahabaleshwar andPanhala Formations (Lightfoot & Hawkesworth, 1988). TheMahabaleshwar Formation is represented only by a sequence ofhighly fractionated flows (termed the Kolhapur unit) with similar⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr₀ to the Mahabaleshwar (0?7045), but with Sr<240ppm and TiO₂>2?25%. Succeeding the Kolhapur unit are a seriesof flows with high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr₀ (0?7045-0?705), Zr/Nb > 13,and low Sr (< 200 ppm), which have been allocated to thePanhala Formation, and a group of flows with high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr₀(0?707–0?708) and Sr (>230), but trace element concentrationssimilar to the Mahabaleshwar Formation; these have been allocatedto the Desur unit of the Panhala. Geochemical variations in flows overlying the Ambenali definetwo distinct trends: one is attributed to gabbro fractionation,and the other to variations in the compositions of the parentalmagmas, and arguably their source regions. There is little evidencefor significant crustal contamination in these flows, and thedegree of fractionation and the composition of the phase extractare shown to vary along strike within the Mahabaleshwar Formation.The high TiO₂ content of Kolhapur unit flows is shown to bethe result of shallow-level gabbro fractionation, rather thanthe presence of a primitive high-Ti magma. Mahabaleshwar Formationbasalts exhibit a broad negative correlation between the degreeof fractionation and Sr-isotopic composition. The endmemberwith lower ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr₀ has different Zr/Y from the Ambenali basalts,and would appear to have been generated by lower degrees ofmelting of a similar source. The other endmember has more radiogenicSr, lower Zr/Nb, similar Zr/Y, but higher mg-number. The simplestinterpretation is that these magmas were more primitive andhence hotter and more able to interact with the lithosphereen route to the surface, and that they then mixed to producethe Mahabaleshwar array. The Panhala Formation basalts ploton the Sr-Nd array defined by the Mahabaleshwar Formation, andthe Desur unit basalts plot on an extension of this array; thissuggests that the source characteristics are also lithospheric.The absolute elemental abundances may then be a function ofmelting and fractionation. We are impressed by the apparentswitch from crustal lithospheric contributions to mantle lithosphericcontributions through the stratigraphy, and suggest that this,together with the more protracted fractionation of the magma,reflects a change in the availability of the lithospheric componentsaccompanying the southerly migration of the volcanic edifice. ^* Present address: Geoscience Laboratories, Ontario Geological Survey, 11th Floor, 77, Grenville Street, Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1W4, Canada     

Growth, Production, and a Partial Energy Budget for the Amphipod, Talorchestia capensis (Crustacea; Talitridae) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Abstract. .A population of Talorchestia capensis was sampled in dune slacks over the period of one year. Two hatching periods, one in March and one in September, were observed. Growth was rapid, the amphipods reaching a size of 8.4 mm standard length in 18 months. Maximum growth occurred in spring and minimum growth in winter. Annual mortality rates for summer- and winter-hatched individuals were low, 0.22-y“¹ and 0.16-y”¹. Average production for the summer classes was 7.2g-y?‘ (dry mass) and for the winter classes 2.9-y“¹, with a P/B ratio of 2.25-y”’. Production values peaked during autumn and summer. Abundance and biomass estimates showed maxima during summer and minima in early spring. Reproductive output was low, 0.1 kJ ? m^-2 y“¹, indicating that 7 % of the total production is used for reproduction and 93 % for somatic production. The assimilated energy flow through the population was estimated to be 16.3 kJ m?² y?‘ and consumption about 81.6 kJ m^-2 y^_’.     

The effects of climate variability on discharge as dependent on catchment characteristics in the Upper Loire basin,France

Abstract

The effects of climatically deviating periods of at least four years on discharge were investigated employing flow duration curves in the Upper Loire basin, France. The periods were determined using the standardized cumulative yearly deviation from the mean precipitation for ten climate stations. Flow duration curves from 27 catchments were determined and parameterized for each period. Results show that the effect of precipitation on discharge is more pronounced than the effect of temperature. They also show that the parameter values that determine the flow duration curve differ significantly between dry and wet periods. Furthermore the effect of drought on discharge is larger than the effect of wetness. Catchments with a high variability of discharge are more sensitive to changes of precipitation than catchments with a low variability of discharge.     

Using estimated thermodynamic properties to model accessory phases: the case of tourmaline

Accessory phases and minor components in minerals are commonly ignored in thermodynamic modelling. Such an approach seems unwarranted, as accessory phases can represent a significant element reservoir and minor components can substantially change their host mineral's stability field. However, a lack of thermodynamic data prohibits assessment of these effects. In this contribution, the polyhedron method is used to estimate the thermodynamic properties of tourmaline, a common and widespread accessory phase, stable over a range of P–T–X conditions. The polyhedron method allows Δ H , S , V , C _P and V _m ( T , P ) properties to be estimated from a linear stoichiometric summation over the fractional properties of its polyhedron constituents. To allow for estimates of tourmaline, fractional thermodynamic properties for B^III and B^IV polyhedra were derived. Mixing contributions to molar volume were evaluated and symmetrical mixing parameters derived for Al-Mg, Al-Fe and Al-Li interaction on tourmaline's Y-site and T-site Al-Si interaction. Evaluation of the estimated properties using experimental and natural equilibria between tourmaline and melts, minerals and hydrothermal fluids, shows that reliable semi-quantitative results are obtained. The boron contents in fluids coexisting with tourmaline are calculated to within an order of magnitude of measured content, and where anchor-points are available, agreement improves to within a factor of 2. Including tourmaline in petrogenetic modelling of metamorphic rocks indicates that its presence leads to disappearance of staurolite and garnet, among others, and modifies the X _Mg of coexisting phases, in line with observations on natural rocks.     

Relict Majoritic Garnet Microstructures from Ultra-Deep Orogenic Peridotites in Western Norway

Protogranular, porphyroclastic and equigranular (or equant-polygonal)garnet microstructures from Mg–Cr type orogenic garnetperidotites, Otrøy, Western Gneiss Region, Norway, havebeen studied using naked eye, light-optical, electron-opticaland confocal laser (fluorescence) microscopy techniques. Protogranularand porphyroclastic garnets contain microstructural evidencefor the former existence of majoritic (or super-silicic) garnet.The microstructural evidence consists of exsolution texturesinvolving pyroxene. Two types of exsolution microstructuresoccur—needles parallel to <111>_grt and interstitialgrains. The maximum volume percentage for intra-crystallinepyroxene exsolution is 2·7, and 3·6 for inter-crystallinepyroxene exsolution. The maximum pyroxene total volume percentagemeasured in one single protogranular or porphyroclastic garnetis 4·0. This value, at 1200°C, corresponds to minimumpressures of 6·4 GPa (