Authigenic quartz and albite in Devonian limestones: origin and significance

Euhedral quartz and albite crystals are common in Devonian (Givetian-Frasnian) shallow-marine shelf carbonates from the Belgian Ardennes. Several features such as morphology, the presence of carbonate inclusions, inversion temperatures and occurrence in the insoluble residues of stylolitic surfaces indicate that these crystals have developed authigenically. Oxygen isotope ratios point to an intermediate deep burial realm of origin at temperatures of 60–90°C. The predominance of illite and the almost total absence of smectite clay minerals is interpreted as an indication that illitization produced the silica needed for authigenesis. The mineral composition of inclusions indicates that the carbonate host rock must have consisted of low-Mg calcite already at the time of authigenesis. These inclusions represent an earlier diagenetic stage than the present carbonate rock, since they were protected from further diagenetic alteration by the surrounding quartz. The calcite inclusions display a higher Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratio than the carbonate host-rock. Because neomorphic diagenesis of the carbonate continued after silicate authigenesis, the contents of Mg and Sr in the calcite of the host carbonate are even lower. The authigenic feldspar mineralogy seems to be determined by the composition of the host-sediment.     

Stabilization of clayey soils with Tunisian phosphogypsum: effect on geotechnical properties

Phosphogypsum and cement have been reported to improve the physicochemical properties of clayey soils. The present study aimed to investigate the behavior of various soils with different particle sizes and chemical and mineralogical compositions in the presence of phosphogypsum and cement mixed at various proportions. These hydraulic binders were assayed on three different soil samples, and their effects were examined using a battery of standardized tests, including the Atterberg limit, uniaxial compressive strength, Californian Bearing Rate (CBR) test, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), microstructure observation (SEM), and X-ray diffraction tests. The results revealed a significant effect associated with the variation of phosphogypsum content in the soils. Keeping the cement content constant in the mixture, the continuous addition of phosphogypsum was noted to allow shifting the domain of plasticity to the highest water contents, which reduces the sensitivity of the soil to water and to increase the strength of soil. An increase of CBR index with the addition of phosphogypsum and cement is obtained. This treatment could have positively influenced the optimum moisture content and the maximal dry density. The mixture of soil-phosphogypsum and cement could give new forms such as ettringite and hydrate indicators of the improvement of the mechanical properties of the soil. This improvement varies from one soil to another, depending on its granularity and its mineralogy. The mineralogical composition of the soil, particularly kaolinite, amount, and size grading, have direct effects on the physical and mechanical properties of the soils under investigation.     

Geochronological and isotopic records of crustal storage and assimilation in the Wolverine Creek–Conant Creek system,Heise eruptive centre,Snake River Plain

Understanding the processes of differentiation of the Yellowstone–Snake River Plain (YSRP) rhyolites is typically impeded by the apparent lack of erupted intermediate compositions as well as the complex nature of their shallow interaction with the surrounding crust responsible for their typically low O isotopic ratios. A pair of normal-δ¹⁸O rhyolitic eruptions from the Heise eruptive centre in eastern Idaho, the Wolverine Creek Tuff and the Conant Creek Tuff, represent unique magmatic products of the Yellowstone hotspot preserving abundant vestiges of the intermediate differentiation steps leading to rhyolite generation. We address both shallow and deep processes of magma generation and storage in the two units by combining high-precision ID–TIMS U–Pb zircon geochronology, trace element, O and Hf isotopic studies of zircon, and Sr isotopic analyses of individual high-Mg# pyroxenes inherited from lower- to mid-crustal differentiation stages. The zircon geochronology confirms the derivation of both tuffs from the same rhyolitic magma reservoir erupted at 5.5941 ± 0.0097 Ma, preceded by at least 92 ± 14 ky of continuous or intermittent zircon saturation approximating the length of pre-eruptive magma accumulation in the upper crust. Some low-Mg# pyroxenes enclosing zircons predate the eruption by at least 45 ± 27 ky, illustrating the co-crystallisation of major and accessory phases in the near-liquidus rhyolitic melts of the YSRP over a significant period of time. Coeval zircon crystals are isotopically heterogeneous (two populations at εHf ~?5 and ?13), requiring the assembly of isotopically distinct melt pockets directly prior to, or during, the eruption. The primitive Mg# 60–90 pyroxenes are out of isotopic equilibrium with the host rhyolitic melt (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i = 0.70889), covering a range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i = 0.70705–0.70883 corresponding to ratios typical of the most radiogenic YSRP basalts to the least radiogenic YSRP rhyolites. Together with the low εHf in zircon, the Sr isotopic ratios illustrate limited assimilation dominated by radiogenic Archean crustal source materials incorporated into variably evolved YSRP melts as they progress towards rhyolitic compositions by assimilation–fractional crystallisation.     

三峡水库气候效应及2006年夏季川渝高温干旱事件的区域气候模拟

针对2006年夏季川(四川)渝(重庆)地区的高温干旱事件，使用RegCM3区域气候模式，采用双重嵌套和次网格(SUB-BATS)方法，进行中国和三峡地区2005—2006年气候50 km和10 km(通过SUB-BATS方法达到2 km)分辨率数值模拟，并在此基础上进行了三峡地区下垫面改变(三峡水库建成蓄水)的气候效应模拟试验，重点分析了模式对中国和三峡地区夏季气候和气候异常的模拟能力，以及三峡水库对气温和降水的影响。结果表明，模式能较好模拟出中国和川渝地区的气候及以2006年川渝地区高温干旱为代表的气候异常，双重嵌套和SUB-BATS方法的应用，使模式能够提供局地和区域气候更详细的信息。有无三峡水库的对比试验表明，水库对周边区域气温、降水的影响很小，大部分格点上的变化达不到90%统计信度检验标准，气温变化中少数通过检验的格点基本集中于水库水体本身，邻近区域内气温和降水的变化随距库区的距离变远而变得更弱。除了库区本身降温和降水减少外，模拟结果中出现的变化更多表现为模式中出现的噪音。2006年夏季的川渝高温干旱，更多是由于大的环流场造成的，与局地强迫的关系不大，三峡水库在其中所起的作用非常微弱，可以忽略不计。     

Basin organization of nature management for solving hydroecological problems

Presented are the development of the concept and projects of the basin nature management and the organization of their implementation in the whole region using the basin-administrative approach. Based on the multidimensional analysis and forecast of river runoff variations using the artificial neural networks, the typification of catchments is carried out mainly defined by such factors as its area, order of the river, and degree of anthropogenic load. Depending on the hydrological functioning type, the adapted complexes of Hydroecological activities are determined. The need in the integration of the geodata for each river basin with the inherent morphological and process characteristics as well as of the results of Hydroecological monitoring enables to recommend the structure of the database of the basin organization of nature management in the regions of Russia based on the European experience in the river network monitoring in the context of the EU Water Framework Directive and of the creation of the single infrastructure of the spatial data.     

Comparison of statistically downscaled precipitation in terms of future climate indices and daily variability for southern Ontario and Quebec,Canada

Given the coarse resolution of global climate models, downscaling techniques are often needed to generate finer scale projections of variables affected by local-scale processes such as precipitation. However, classical statistical downscaling experiments for future climate rely on the time-invariance assumption as one cannot know the true change in the variable of interest, nor validate the models with data not yet observed. Our experimental setup involves using the Canadian regional climate model (CRCM) outputs as pseudo-observations to estimate model performance in the context of future climate projections by replacing historical and future observations with model simulations from the CRCM, nested within the domain of the Canadian global climate model (CGCM). In particular, we evaluated statistically downscaled daily precipitation time series in terms of the Peirce skill score, mean absolute errors, and climate indices. Specifically, we used a variety of linear and nonlinear methods such as artificial neural networks (ANN), decision trees and ensembles, multiple linear regression, and k-nearest neighbors to generate present and future daily precipitation occurrences and amounts. We obtained the predictors from the CGCM 3.1 20C3M (1971–2000) and A2 (2041–2070) simulations, and precipitation outputs from the CRCM 4.2 (forced with the CGCM 3.1 boundary conditions) as predictands. Overall, ANN models and tree ensembles outscored the linear models and simple nonlinear models in terms of precipitation occurrences, without performance deteriorating in future climate. In contrast, for the precipitation amounts and related climate indices, the performance of downscaling models deteriorated in future climate.     

Diatom assemblages from Costa Rican lakes: an initial ecological assessment

We compared the distributions of 59 diatom species in surface sediments of 25 Costa Rican lakes with 21 environmental variables using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). The distribution of taxa was related to the chemical and physical characteristics of the lakes. The most influential chemical variables were cation concentrations (especially magnesium) and related variables such as water hardness, pH, and temperature. Lake area and lake depth were among the most important physical variables.A number of taxa were identified as potential environmental indicators. The diatoms Brachysira serians var. brachysira and Frustulia rhomboides seem to be associated with low values of alkalinity, hardness, Ca, Mg, and SiO2. Cymbella minuta var. silesiaca is associated with low to moderate values of alkalinity, hardness, Ca, and Mg. Nitzschia cf. amphibia may be an indicator of moderate-to-high concentrations of Mg. Pinnularia braunii var. amphicephala seems to prefer low values of hardness, Ca, Mg, and SiO2.In many closed lakes, these environmental variables (Mg/Ca/hardness/alkalinity) increase with effective evaporation. Consequently, these diatoms may be indirectly tracking P:E ratios. Results from this initial, small data set indicate the potential of diatoms for inferring lake paleochemistry, and perhaps P:E ratios, in Costa Rica.     

Desert vegetation and timing of solar radiation

Timing and amount of solar radiation were examined as factors influencing the distribution of seven perennial plants on a small mountain located in the Chihuahuan Desert. Average direct beam solar radiation fluxes at differing times throughout the day and year were estimated with computer calculations. Principal components analysis was used to reduce the number of solar radiation parameters and include the maximum available information with a manageable number of variables. The remaining solar radiation parameters were compared to plant distributions using redundancy analysis and generalized additive models. Unimodal, bimodal, and monotonic responses were all found depending upon the species and solar radiation parameter. Niche separation at this location depends upon the timing as well as the amount of solar radiation.     

Zur Sedimentologie eines arktischen Deltas (Colville Delta,Nordalaska)

Zusammenfassung Im August 1971 wurden vom Verfasser Feldarbeiten zur Sedimentologie des Colville Deltas, Alaska, durchgeführt. Aus subaquatischen Typlokalitäten wurden Probenkerne gezogen und auf Strukturen, Korngrößen und Mineralogie hin untersucht. Neben konventionellen Labormethoden kamen moderne elektronische Verfahren zum Einsatz (Röntgenradiographie, Röntgendiffraktometrie, Elektronenmikroskopie). Die Arbeiten sind Teil eines Programmes, dessen Gesamtleitung Prof. Dr. H. J. Walker, Baton Rouge, USA, hatte und das unterstützt wurde von: Arctic Program and Geography Programs, Office of Naval Research.

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In August 1971, sedimentological field work was carried out by the author in the Colville River delta, Alaska. Short cores were taken from several deltaic environments and analyzed for structure and composition. Laboratory analysis included both conventional laboratory methods and modern electronic techniques (radiography, X-ray diffractometry, electron microscopy). The research reported is part of a program headed by Prof. Dr. H. J. Walker, Baton Rouge, USA, and was supported by the Arctic Program and Geography Programs, Office of Naval Research.

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Résumé En auguste 1971 l'auteur a étudié sur le terrain la sédimentologie du delta de Colville (Alaska). On a prélevé des échantillons dans des profiles de divers environnements typiques; on en a examiné les structures et la composition par les méthodes traditionelles et électroniques (rayons X, radiographie et diffractométrie, microscope électronique). Ces investigations font partie d'un programme sous la direction du Prof. Dr. H. J. Walker, Baton Rouge, USA, subventionné par »Arctic Program and Geography Programs, Office of Naval Research«.

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1971 . , . , . , - , . , . . H. J. Walker, Baton Rouge, USA Arctic Program, and Geography Programs, Office of Naval Research.