Abundant seamounts of the Rano Rahi seamount field near the Southern East Pacific Rise, 15° S to 19° S

A widespread seamount province, the Rano Rahi Field, is located near the superfast spreading Southern East Pacific Rise (SEPR) between 15°–19° S. Particularly abundant volcanic edifices are found on Pacific Plate aged 0 to 6.5 Ma between 17°–19° S, an area greater than 100,000 km². The numbers of seamounts and their volume are several times greater than those of a comparablysurveyed area near the Northern East Pacific Rise (NEPR), 8°–17° N. Most of the Rano Rahi seamounts belong to chains, which vary in length from 25 km to >240 km and which are very nearly collinear with the Pacific absolute and relative plate motion directions. Bends of 10°–15° occur along a few of the chains, and some adjacent chains converge or diverge slightly. Many seamount chains have fluctuations in volume along their length, and statistical tests suggest that some adjacent chains trade-off in volume. Several seamount chains split into two lines of volcanoes approaching the axis. In general, seamount chains composed of individual circular volcanoes are found near the axis; the chains consist of variably-overlapping edifices in the central part of the survey; to the west, volcanic ridges predominate. Near the SEPR, the volume of nearaxis seamount edifices is generally reduced near areas of deflated cross-sectional area of the axial ridge. Fresh lava flows, as imaged by sidescan sonar and sampled by dredging, exist around some seamounts throughout the entire survey area, in sharp contrast to the absence of fresh flows beyond 30 km from the NEPR. Also, the increases in seamount abundance and volume extend to much greater crustal ages than near the NEPR. Seamount magnetization analysis is also consistent with this wider zone of seamount growth, and it demonstrates the asynchronous formation of most of the seamount chains and volcanic ridges. The variety of observations of the SEPR seamounts suggests that a number of factors and mechanisms might bring about their formation, including the mantle upwelling associated with superfast spreading, off-axis mantle heterogeneities, miniplumes and local upwelling, and the vulnerability of the lithosphere to penetration by volumes of magma. In particular, we note the association of extensive, recent volcanism with intermediate wavelength gravity lineaments lows on crust aged 6 Ma. This suggests that the lineaments and some of the seamounts share a common cause which may be related to ridge-perpendicular asthenospheric convection and/or some manner of extension in the lithosphere.     

Characterizing and predicting essential habitat features for juvenile coastal sharks

The successful management of shark populations requires juvenile recruitment success. Thus, conservation initiatives now strive to include the protection of areas used by pre‐adult sharks in order to promote juvenile survivorship. Many shark species use inshore areas for early life stages; however, species often segregate within sites to reduce competition. Using a fisheries‐independent gillnet survey from the Northern Gulf of Mexico (2000–2010) we describe distribution patterns and preferred habitat features of the juveniles of six shark species. Our results suggest that multiple shark species concurrently use the area for early life stages and although they overlap, they exhibit distinct habitat preferences characterized by physical variables. Habitat suitability models suggest that temperature, depth, and salinity are the important factors driving juvenile shark occurrence. Within each site, across the sampled range of physical characteristics, blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) preferred higher temperature (>30 °C) and mid‐depth (~5.5 m); bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo) preferred higher temperature (>30 °C) and mid‐salinity (30–35 PSU), finetooth shark (Carcharhinus isodon) preferred low salinity (<20 PSU) with mid‐depth (~4 m), scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) preferred high temperature (>30 °C) and salinity (>35 PSU), Atlantic sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae) preferred high temperature (>30 °C) and deep water (>6 m), and spinner shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna) preferred deep water (>8 m) and high temperature (>30 °C). The other investigated factors, including year, month, latitude, longitude, bottom type, inlet distance, coastline and human coast were not influential for any species. Combining habitat preferences with the sampled environmental characteristics, we predicted habitat suitability throughout the four sites for which physical characteristics were sampled. Habitat suitability surfaces highlight the differences in habitat use between and within sites. This work provides important insight into the habitat ecology of juvenile shark populations, which can be used to better manage these species and protect critical habitat.     

Siderophile and chalcophile element abundances in shergottites: Implications for Martian core formation

Elemental abundances for volatile siderophile and chalcophile elements for Mars inform us about processes of accretion and core formation. Such data are few for Martian meteorites, and are often lacking in the growing number of desert finds. In this study, we employed laser ablation inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) to analyze polished slabs of 15 Martian meteorites for the abundances of about 70 elements. This technique has high sensitivity, excellent precision, and is generally accurate as determined by comparisons of elements for which literature abundances are known. However, in some meteorites, the analyzed surface is not representative of the bulk composition due to the over‐ or underrepresentation of a key host mineral, e.g., phosphate for rare earth elements (REE). For other meteorites, the range of variation in bulk rastered analyses of REE is within the range of variation reported among bulk REE analyses in the literature. An unexpected benefit has been the determination of the abundances of Ir and Os with a precision and accuracy comparable to the isotope dilution technique. Overall, the speed and small sample consumption afforded by this technique makes it an important tool widely applicable to small or rare meteorites for which a polished sample was prepared. The new volatile siderophile and chalcophile element abundances have been employed to determine Ge and Sb abundances, and revise Zn, As, and Bi abundances for the Martian mantle. The new estimates of Martian mantle composition support core formation at intermediate pressures (14 ± 3 GPa) in a magma ocean on Mars.     

Interactions between climate change and contaminants

There is now general consensus that climate change is a global threat and a challenge for the 21st century. More and more information is available demonstrating how increased temperature may affect aquatic ecosystems and living resources or how increased water levels may impact coastal zones and their management. Many ecosystems are also affected by human releases of contaminants, for example from land based sources or the atmosphere, which also may cause severe effects. So far these two important stresses on ecosystems have mainly been discussed independently. The present paper is intended to increase awareness among scientists, coastal zone managers and decision makers that climate change will affect contaminant exposure and toxic effects and that both forms of stress will impact aquatic ecosystems and biota. Based on examples from different ecosystems, we discuss risks anticipated from contaminants in a rapidly changing environment and the research required to understand and predict how on-going and future climate change may alter risks from chemical pollution.     

Evidence of centennial-scale drought from southeastern Massachusetts during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition

A principal method for studying past hydroclimatic change is the reconstruction of paleo-lake levels. Here, we provide high-resolution lake-level records from New Long Pond and Rocky Pond in southeastern Massachusetts, which each contain evidence for multiple, sub-centennial-to-millennial scale low stands during the transition between the Late Pleistocene (15.0 ka) and Middle Holocene (ca 7.0 ka). Data from New Long Pond also demonstrate sedimentary evidence for a drop in water levels in the early to mid AD 20th century, when long-term trends in instrumental data show lower-than-average precipitation in the northeastern United States. Local data show the most precipitous declines in precipitation and groundwater levels are concurrent with the most severe drought in the AD 1960s, which occurred during a period of low sea-surface temperatures in the western North Atlantic. Ground penetrating radar and sediment core data indicate five intervals with numerous paleo-shoreline deposits between ca 15.0 and 7.0 ka, similar to the layer deposited in the AD 1960s. Many of the intervals of low lake levels coincide with proposed meltwater release events or abrupt climate oscillations in the circum North Atlantic. For example, we document at least three low stands during the Younger Dryas (12.9–11.6 ka) and in association with the “9.2” and “8.2” ka events. The combined evidence of (1) concurrent paleo-droughts in southeastern New England with documented North Atlantic abrupt cooling events and (2) recent drought with the modern association of low sea-surface temperatures indicates that freshening and cooling of the western North Atlantic is a viable mechanism for decreasing moisture within the region. Large-scale changes in seasonality and ice sheet extent also may have increased the susceptibility of the northeast to dry conditions triggered by changes in the North Atlantic.     

The 1959 and 1960 eruptions of Kilauea volcano,Hawaii, and the construction of walls to restrict the spread of the lava flows

Bulletin of Volcanology - A summit eruption of Kilauea volcano took place in Kilauea Iki crater, immediately adjacent to Kilauea caldera, from November 14 to December 20, 1959. Approximately 61...     

Migration of earthquake foci in Europe

Summary The present paper deals with the migration of earthquake foci in the horizontal and vertical plane observed in Europe and Asia Minor in the period 1901–69.     

Distribution of earthquake sequences in the Mediterranean

Summary The results that were obtained by the study of space distribution of individual types of earthquake sequences in the Mediterranean are summarized. The present results apply only to large earthquakes, because with weak shocks it is not possible to present reliable results owing to the incompleteness of material.     

Liquid immiscibility between trachyte and carbonate in ash flow tuffs from Kenya

Three thin, syn-caldera ash flow tuffs of the Suswa volcano, Kenya, contain pumiceous clasts and globules of trachytic glass, and clasts rich in carbonate globules, in a carbonate ash matrix. Petrographic and textural evidence indicates that the carbonate was magmatic. The trachyte is metaluminous to mildly peralkaline and varies from nepheline- to quartz-normative. The carbonate is calcium-rich, with high REE and F contents. The silicate and carbonate fractions have similar ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values, suggesting a common parental magma. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns are consistent with a carbonate liquid being exsolved from a silicate liquid after alkali feldspar fractionation. Sr isotopic and REE data show that the carbonate matrix of even the freshest tuffs interacted to some degree with hydrothermal and/or meteoric water. A liquid immiscibility relationship between the trachyte and carbonate is indicated by the presence of sharp, curved menisci between them, the presence of carbonate globules in silicate glass and of fiamme rich in carbonate globules separated by silicate glass, and by the fact that similar phenocryst phases occur in both melts. It is inferred that the carbonate liquid separated from a carbonated trachyte magma prior to, or during, caldera collapse. Viscosity differences segregated the magma into a fraction comprising silicate magma with scattered carbonate globules, and a fraction comprising carbonate globules in a silicate magmatic host.Explosive disruption of the magma generated silicate-and carbonate-rich clasts in a carbonate matrix. The silicate liquid was disaggregated by explosive disruption and texturally appears to have been budding-off into the carbonate matrix. After emplacement, the basal parts of the flows welded slightly and flattened. The Suswa rocks represent a rare and clear example of a liquid immiscibility relationship between trachyte and carbonate melts.     

Inversion of magnetic anomalies and sea-floor spreading in the Cayman Trough

For some time, sea-floor spreading has been hypothesized for the Mid-Cayman Rise based on inferences from seismicity, heat flow, topography and plate geometry. Here we present magnetic anomaly inversions from which a reasonable record of sea-floor spreading emerges. We obtain total opening rates of 20 ± 2 mm/yr for 0–2.4 m.y. B.P. and 40 ± 2 mm/yr for 2.4–6.0 m.y. B.P. Data on the west flank extend the half-opening rate of 20 mm/yr back to 8.3 m.y. B.P. Spreading has been very nearly symmetric. These new observations place important constraints on plate tectonic reconstructions by defining the relative motion between the North American and Caribbean plates. They also shed some light on sea-floor spreading processes in which the spreading center is a secondary feature in the sense that it is over an order of magnitude shorter than the adjoining transform faults.