Occurrence of diagenetic pseudobreccias within the paleokarst zone of the upper Dammam Formation in Kuwait, Arabian Gulf

A paleokarstic zone capping the Middle Eocene dolomitic Dammam Formation delineates a regional disconformity with the overlying Mio-Pleistocene fluvial deposits in Kuwait. This formation outcrops in a quarry located in the southeast of Kuwait and occurs in the subsurface of Umm Ghudair water field, west Kuwait. Karstification has affected the upper member of the Dammam Formation, which is formed of extensively chertified, vuggy chalky biodolomicrite. Karstification is manifested by two phases: a dissolution phase that was responsible for the occurrence of surface and near surface karst features and a precipitation phase during which a karst carapace and dolocretic and calcitic pseudobreccias were developed. Petrographic investigations of both the biodolomicrites host rock and the karst lithotypes revealed a complex diagenetic history that encompasses the following diagenetic events, arranged in a chronological order: (a) replacive dolomitization, (b) precipitative dolomitization, (c) precipitative silica, (d) replacive silica, (e) karstification, (f) development of karst carapace [calcretization and calcitization (development of calcitic psuedobreccia)], (g) dolocretization (development of dolocretic psuedobreccia), (h) mild karstification, (i) calcite precipitation, and (j) silica precipitation. The development of the karst carapace at the unconformity surface between the Eocene Dammam Formation dolomicrites and the overlying Mio-Pleistocene Kuwait Group clastics has played a significant role in the hydrological characteristics of Kuwait usable groundwater resources. It is recommended that the occurrence of similar diagenetic processes within the Arabian carbonate shelf deposits be investigated.     

The best fitting distribution of annual maximum rainfall in Peninsular Malaysia based on methods of L-moment and LQ-moment

This paper discusses patterns of annual and monthly precipitation variability at seven weather stations in east central Europe (1851–2007). Precipitation patterns were compared to three simple regional indices of atmospheric circulation, i.e., western circulation, southern circulation and the cyclonicity (C) index and a relationship between precipitation and the North Atlantic Oscillation index was identified. Correlations of the monthly records and multiple regression, using a principal components’ analysis, helped determine the statistical significance of the dependence of precipitation on the circulation indices. The Mann–Kendall test revealed no trend to change in any of the precipitation series, but a certain spatial regularity could be discerned in the phase of the annual periodic component. A common feature of the variability in central European annual precipitation is the dry period identified in the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. In the northern part of the region, above-average precipitation was noted from the 1960s through to the mid-1970s as a result of the frequent prevalence of depressions. South of the divide, the wettest period was recorded at the turn of 1930s/1940s. After a number of very wet years in the last decade of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century, precipitation began to fall at all of the region’s weather stations. The C index is the strongest circulation-linked factor influencing precipitation in central Europe and it accounts for more than 40% of the variance in spatially averaged wintertime precipitation.     

Paleomagnetism of Carboniferous sediments from the West Sudetes (SW Poland)

The studied Carboniferous flysch and molasse sediments from the Intra-Sudetic Basin correspond to the period from Middle Visean to Early Autunian. Main magnetic minerals carrying the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) are goethite, magnetite, maghemite and hematite, all usually secondarily formed and/or remagnetized due to several tectonometamorphic events. In most samples several NRM components were isolated. One of them is usually a Jurassic-Triassic overprint. Some others define the Westphalian-Early Permian segment of the declination and inclination trajectory for the Sudetes calculated according to the reference apparent polar wander path for the Baltica plate. The Sudetic path is slightly shifted to the east compared to the reference path, suggesting the possibility of independent movements of the Sudetes during this time. The majority of isolated NRM components are secondary and related to the Sudetic orogenic phase and later tectonometamorphic activity.     

Effect of hot dry summer tropical climate on forage intake and milk yield in Holstein–Friesian and indigenous zebu cows in Sudan

The effects of dry summer ambient temperature on some physiological and productive responses were studied in an exotic European breed (Holstein–Friesian) and a local zebu breed (Butana ecotype) of cattle in Sudan. Rectal temperature and respiration rate were positively correlated, and dry matter intake and milk yield were negatively correlated with variation in ambient temperature. However, significant adverse effects on high ambient temperature were only observed in the exotic breed.     

The Southern Sudanese migration to Khartoum and the resultant conflicts

Today, more than one third of the population of Khartoum are southerners who migrated to the capital mainly in the last eight years because of the civil war. Their conditions are very bad. They are starving in the town, for most of them are unemployed and have no means of living. Their housing conditions in the shanty towns are deplorable. The development of squatter settlements and the struggle for the demarcation of quarters are delineated in this paper. In Khartoum the southerners develop a strong sense of solidarity and develop a growing supra-southern-Sudanese identity replacing the former ethnic and local identities.     

Middle Miocene ostracods from Wadi Sudr,westcentral Sinai,Egypt: systematic,biostratigraphy and palaeobiogeographic affinity with the Mediterranean realm

The investigation of the exposed middle Miocene strata from Wadi Sudr yielded well-preserved ostracod carapaces. Detailed taxonomic and paleontological studies led to the recognition of 36 ostracod species belonging to 25 genera, 4 species of them were considered new which fully described. Three assemblage biozones were recorded as follows: Actinocythereis spinosa–Actinocythereis hystrix zone, Chrysocythere cataphracta muricata-Cytheretta africana zone, and Disopontocypris schweijeri-Bythocypris tripolensis zone. The recorded biozones were calibrated with the previously studied middle Miocene planktonic foraminiferal biozones on the same samples and also correlated with the Miocene ostracod biozones from the neighboring countries. Our ostracod assemblages present in the lower and upper parts of the studied section (section II) indicated an inner neritic marine environment of moderate energy of currents and rapid sedimentation, while the assemblages in the middle part showed more deeper (outer neritic) environments with low energy of currents and low rate of sedimentation. The palaeobiogeographic distribution of the studied ostracods showed high affinity with the ostracod assemblages of the southern Mediterranean and moderate to low affinities with that of the northern and eastern Mediterranean respectively. The highly ornamented ostracod species with structures on the carapace were recorded from both Northern and Southern Mediterranean, while the smooth ones were found in the Southern Mediterranean only. The highly ornamented species are more widely distributed in both Southern and Northern Mediterranean than the smooth species. This may indicate that the ornamented species are more able to migrate than the smooth ones.