Contrasting origin of post-collisional high-K calc-alkaline and shoshonitic versus alkaline and peralkaline granitoids. The use of sliding normalization

Abundant high-K calc-alkaline (HKCA) magmatism appears to be post-collisional and often shifts to shoshonitic or alkaline–peralkaline compositions in the final stages of orogeny. The nature and the causes of this transition are studied on the basis of 308 major element and of 86 unpublished trace element (including REE) analyses of the Pan-African granitoids from the Tuareg shield (Adrar des Iforas, Mali and Aïr, Niger). This database covers a wide variety of magmas from subduction-related to intraplate-type including abundant HKCA batholiths. Literature data from geodynamically well-constrained cases are also included. In addition to a conventional geochemical approach of the studied magmatism, the sliding normalization method is proposed. This tool aims at comparing magmatic series: each studied rock is normalized to the interpolated composition of the reference series that has the same SiO₂ content as the sample. This method amplifies differences in sources and in fractionation processes and allows comparison of rocks from basic to acid composition. Two distinct juvenile sources are proposed: a previously enriched phlogopite-K richterite bearing lithospheric mantle or a lower juvenile crustal equivalent for HKCA-shoshonitic magmas, and a lowest lithospheric-upper asthenospheric OIB-type mantle for alkaline-peralkaline magmatism. The first source is melted only shortly after its generation when the lithosphere was still hot, which restricts HKCA magmatism mainly to post-collisional settings. The second asthenospheric/lowest lithosphere source is by definition close to its melting temperature and can generate magma ubiquitously both in space and time. The main melting triggers are lithospheric major structures which are not only operative in a post-collisional setting but also in other environments such as intraplate setting. Geochemistry thus gives indications about the nature of the source and on geotectonic settings. However, the latter is a second rank information, which is partly model-dependant. The post-collisional period differs from other settings by a propensity to generate large amounts of magma of various kinds, among which HKCA magmatism is volumetrically the most prominent.     

Modelling Carbon Dynamics of Boreal Forest Ecosystems Using the Canadian Land Surface Scheme

The ecosystem carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) simulations recently implemented in the Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS) are presented. The main calculations include plant photosynthesis, autotrophic respiration, root N uptake, litterfall, plant growth, and soil heterotrophic respiration. Model experiments are made on two boreal forest ecosystems, deciduous (aspen) and conifers (black spruce). Simulated plant, soil, and ecosystem CO₂ exchanges are analysed on half-hourly, daily, and annual time scales and compared with tower eddy correlation flux measurements and estimates from various authors. Modeled daily ecosystem CO₂ exchange explained86% and 54%, respectively, of the observed variance of eddy correlationflux at the aspen site and at the black spruce site. Annual results show that the aspen ecosystem was simulated as a C sink in both 1994 (+164 g Cm^–2) and 1996 (+142 g C m^–2), and the black spruce ecosystem wassimulated as a C sink in 1994 (+39 g C m^–2) and 1995 (+25 g Cm^–2), but as a C source in 1996 (–27 g C m^–2).     

Blueschist ophiolites in the melange zone,northern New Caledonia

A regional melange zone, 150 km long and 30 km wide, forms the southern boundary and structural capping to a high-pressure blueschist belt in northern New Caledonia. The disrupted country rocks in the melange zone are Mesozoic metagrey-wackes and Eocene chert-limestone sequences which have been penetrated from below by tectonically-injected ophiolite slivers containing metamorphosed serpentinite, gabbro, dolerite, basalt, tuff, chert and shale. An ocean crust origin for these rocks is indicated by chemical, mineralogical and radiometric data from coastal outcrops at Anse Ponandou on the northeast coast. The age (41 m.y.), metamorphic environment (350 ° C at 7 kb), and mineral association (acmitic jadeite-riebeckite-pyropic spessartine-pistacitic epidote-lawsonite-high Si phengite) are significantly different from those of the adjacent regional high-pressure schist belt, indicating a separate structural site for blueschist metamorphism of buried ophiolitic ocean crust during early Tertiary orogenesis.     

Oxygen isotope study of metamorphic rocks from the Ouégoa district,New Caledonia

48 minerals from 18 in situ metamorphic rocks (mostly metasediments) from the Ouégoa district have been studied. Particular emphasis was placed on obtaining isotopic data for quartz, calcite and muscovite but some pyroxenes and amphiboles were also examined. Data for Ouégoa rocks show they have tended to be isotopically homogenized by metamorphism and that the effect of increasing metamorphism is to progressively deplete the rocks of heavy C and O isotopes. These results indicate that during metamorphism the rocks isotopically exchanged through the medium of a widespread oxygen-carrying fluid phase. Tentatively assigned temperatures obtained from isotopic data for quartz-calcite and quartz-muscovite pairs, using the calibration curves of Epstein and Taylor (1967), indicate lawsonite in the Ouégoa schists to be stable over a temperature range of 250 to 400° C and epidote from ca. 380° to at least 550° C. Temperatures for metamorphic zones in Ouégoa blueschists closely parallel those obtained for Type III and IV glaucophane-bearing rocks from Ward Creek, California (Taylor and Coleman, 1968). The measured tectonic thickness of lawsonite-bearing schists has been used to calculate a lithostatic pressure increment of 2 Kb and geothermal gradient of 20° C per km for the lawsonite zone. Comparison of lithostatic pressure increment with total pressure increment estimated from the stability relations of lawsonite over the temperature range 250–400° C (3.5 Kb Nitsch, 1972) suggest P _total ≠ P _lithostatic and that that the pressure of the fluid phase may have exceeded lithostatic pressure.     

Is the present stellar birthrate really determined by gas density?

Observed supernovae rates in Sb and Sc galaxies, and a recent re-examination of the mean gas density in these galactic types, implies that if the clumpiness of gas in the disks of Sb and Sc galaxies is similar, the gas density isnot the primary factor in determining the overall present stellar birthrate.     

Airborne detection of ecosystem responses to an extreme event: Phytoplankton displacement and abundance after hurricane induced flooding in the Pamlico-Albemarle Sound system,North Carolina

Airborne laser-induced fluorescence measurements were used to detect and monitor ecosystem wide changes in the distribution and concentration of chlorophyll biomass and colored dissolved organic matter in the Pamlico-Albemarle Sound system, North Carolina, U.S., following massive flooding caused by a series of three hurricanes in the late summer of 1999. These high-resolution data provided a significantly more detailed representation of the overall changes occurring in the system than could have been achieved by synoptic sampling from any other platform. The response time for the distribution of chlorophyll biomass to resume pre-flood conditions was used as a measure of ecosystem stability. Chlorophyll biomass patterns were reestablished within four mo of the flooding, whereas higher chlorophylla biomass concentrations persisted for approximately 6 mo. The primary trophic level in the Pamlico-Albemarle Sound system returned to equilibrium in less than a year of a major perturbation.     

Ultraviolet absorption studies of H2O and other species in comet comae with satellite telescope-spectrometers

Ultraviolet absorption by H₂O and other species in the comae of comets could be detected by studying, with satellite telescope-spectrometers, the occultation of hot stars by comets. Such observations could produce the first direct detection of H₂O, the fundamental parent molecule in comet comae, and give measures of molecular level populations. The first instrument suitable for such observations will be the High Resolution Spectrograph on Space Telescope and, therefore, we consider its capabilities. We have used a Haser model to estimate the molecular column densities and to predict equivalent widths for lines of H₂O, OH, CO, and O as functions of time and angular distance from a comet with a high H₂O production rate. We have determined the minimum detectable equivalent widths, and therefore, the maximum angular separation from such a comet at which H₂O, OH, and CO could be studied. A conservative, statistical estimate shows that comets with high water production rates should pass near enough to about 10 to 100 stars suitable for absorption studies of the $\text{C}\text{}\text{X}$ band of H₂O (1240 Å). Estimated equivalent widths for CO, OH, and the resonance lines of C and O indicate that these species may also be detected.     

Comparison of Techniques for Visualising Fire Behaviour

During every Australian summer fires are common in the south‐eastern region of the continent. The combined forces of climate, topography and vegetation make Victoria in particular, one of the most fire prone regions on earth ( DSE 2003 ). Throughout its history, Victoria has seen a number of devastating bushfires, including Black Friday 1939, Ash Wednesday 1983, and more recently in the northeast of the State in 2003. The loss of life combined with the damage caused to land and property results in a heavy cost to the community. In Victoria, two of the organizations involved in fire management are the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and the Country Fire Authority (CFA). Both use fire ‘meters’ to determine potential fire behaviour given certain conditions. Values for temperature, wind speed, fuel load and vegetation type are input and a numerical estimate of fire danger given. There are a number of different meters used for different locations and environmental types. The most common meter used in Victoria is the McArthur Meter ( CSIR0 2001b ). The output data from this meter is numerical, and provides no spatial representation of fire danger. This paper looks at a variety of techniques used to visualise the numerical output from the McArthur Forest Fire Danger Meter. The article outlines the different models used by fire managers to simulate a fire situation, to assess future scenarios and for decision making involving fire management. Particular emphasis is placed on the McArthur Forest Fire Danger Meter as this is commonly used by fire departments in Australia. The article then focuses on geographical visualisation and a number of techniques employed to convey spatial information are discussed. The article then goes on to describe the fire simulation prototypes created for a study, a visualisation proof‐of‐concept product for organizations involved in managing bushfires in Australia. Finally, results from the evaluation of the prototype are presented.