Stable isotope and mineralogical investigation of the genesis of amethyst geodes in the Los Catalanes gemological district,Uruguay, southernmost Paraná volcanic province

Stable isotopes (C, O, S) and mineralogical studies of the world-class amethyst-geode deposits of the Los Catalanes gemological district, Uruguay, constrain processes operative during mineral deposition. The mineralized basaltic andesites from the Cretaceous Paraná volcanic province are intensely altered to zeolites (clinoptilolite) and clay minerals. Variations in the δ¹⁸O values of silica minerals in geodes (chalcedony, quartz, and amethyst) are much larger and the values generally somewhat lower (21.2–31.5‰) in the Uruguayan deposits than in the Ametista do Sul area of southern Brazil. The range of δ³⁴S values (−15.0 to −0.3‰) of altered basaltic rocks requires (in addition to sulfur of magmatic origin) the involvement of ³⁴S-depleted sedimentary sulfur from bacterial sulfate reduction. The results delimit the mineralizing processes to a post-eruption environment characterized by low temperature and strong interaction of the lava flows with meteoric water.     

Designing a long-term flood risk management plan for the Scheldt estuary using a risk-based approach

The Scheldt is a tidal river that originates in France and flows through Belgium and the Netherlands. The tides create significant flood risks in both the Flemish region in Belgium and the Netherlands. Due to sea level rise and economic development, flood risks will increase during this century. This is the main reason for the Flemish government to update its flood risk management plan. For this purpose, the Flemish government requested a cost-benefit analysis of flood protection measures, considering long-term developments. Measures evaluated include a storm surge barrier, dyke heightening and additional floodplains with or without the development of wetlands. Some of these measures affect the flood risk in both countries. As policies concerning the limitation of flood risk differ significantly between the Netherlands and Flanders, distinctive methodologies were used to estimate the impacts of measures on flood risk. A risk-based approach was applied for Flanders by calculating the impacts of flood damage at different levels of recurrence, for the base year (2000) and in case of a sea level rise of 60 cm by 2100. Policy within the Netherlands stipulates a required minimal protection level along the Scheldt against storms with a recurrence period of 1 in 4,000 years. It was estimated how flood protection measures would delay further dyke heightening, which is foreseen as protection levels are presently decreasing due to rising sea levels. Impacts of measures (safety benefits) consist of delays in further dyke heightening. The results illustrate the importance of sea level rise. Flood risks increased fivefolds when a sea level rise of 60 cm was applied. Although more drastic measures such as a storm surge barrier near Antwerp offer more protection for very extreme storms, a combination of dykes and floodplains can offer higher benefits at lower costs.     

Minibasin depocentre migration during diachronous salt welding,offshore Angola

Salt tectonics is an important part of the geological evolution of many continental margins, yet the four-dimensional evolution of the minibasins, the fundamental building block of these and many other salt basins, remains poorly understood. Using high-quality 3D seismic data from the Lower Congo Basin, offshore Angola we document the long-term (>70 Myr) dynamics of minibasin subsidence. We show that, during the Albian, a broadly tabular layer of carbonate was deposited prior to substantial salt flow, diapirism, and minibasin formation. We identify four subsequent stages of salt-tectonics and related minibasin evolution: (i) thin-skinned extension (Cenomanian to Coniacian) driven by basinward tilting of the salt layer, resulting in the formation of low-displacement normal faults and related salt rollers. During this stage, local salt welding led to the along-strike migration of fault-bound depocentres; (ii) salt welding below the eastern part of the minibasin (Santonian to Paleocene), causing a westward shift in depocentre location; (iii) welding below the minibasin centre (Eocene to Oligocene), resulting in the formation of a turtle and an abrupt shift of depocentres towards the flanks of the bounding salt walls; and (iv) an eastward shift in depocentre location due to regional tilting, contraction, and diapir squeezing (Miocene to Holocene). Our study shows that salt welding and subsequent contraction are key controls on minibasin geometry, subsidence and stratigraphic patterns. In particular, we show how salt welding is a protracted process, spanning > 70 Myr of the salt-tectonic history of this, and likely other salt-rich basins. The progressive migration of minibasin depocentres, and the associated stratigraphic architecture, record weld dynamics. Our study has implications for the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of minibasins.     

The helium abundance and ΔY/ΔZ in lower main-sequence stars

We use nearby K dwarf stars to measure the helium-to-metal enrichment ratio  Δ Y /Δ Z   , a diagnostic of the chemical history of the solar neighbourhood. Our sample of K dwarfs has homogeneously determined effective temperatures, bolometric luminosities and metallicities, allowing us to fit each star to the appropriate stellar isochrone and determine its helium content indirectly. We use a newly computed set of Padova isochrones which cover a wide range of helium and metal content.
Our theoretical isochrones have been checked against a congruous set of main-sequence binaries with accurately measured masses, to discuss and validate their range of applicability. We find that the stellar masses deduced from the isochrones are usually in excellent agreement with empirical measurements. Good agreement is also found with empirical mass-luminosity relations.
Despite fitting the masses of the stars very well, we find that anomalously low helium content (lower than primordial helium) is required to fit the luminosities and temperatures of the metal-poor K dwarfs, while more conventional values of the helium content are derived for the stars around solar metallicity.
We have investigated the effect of diffusion in stellar models and the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) in deriving metallicities. Neither of these is able to resolve the low-helium problem alone and only marginally if the cumulated effects are included, unless we assume a mixing-length which is strongly decreasing with metallicity. Further work in stellar models is urgently needed.
The helium-to-metal enrichment ratio is found to be  Δ Y /Δ Z = 2.1 ± 0.9  around and above solar metallicity, consistent with previous studies, whereas open problems still remain at the lowest metallicities. Finally, we determine the helium content for a set of planetary host stars.     

Isotopic anomalies of noble gases in meteorites and their origins—III. LL-chondrites

Nine LL-chondrites were studied by a selective etching technique, to characterize the noblegas components in three mineral fractions: HF-HCl-solubles (silicates, metal, troilite, etc.; comprising ～ 99% of the meteorite), chromite and carbon (～ 0.3–0.7%) and Q (a poorly characterized mineral defined by its solubility in HNO₃, comprising ～ 0.05% of the meteorite but containing most of the Ar, Kr, Xe and a neon component of ${}^{20}\text{Ne}{}^{22}\text{Ne}\text{= 10.9 ± 0.8}$). The ${}^{20}\text{Ne}{}^{36}\text{Ar}$ ratio in Q falls wi petrologic type and rising ³⁶Ar content, as expected for condensation from a cooling solar nebula, but contrary to the trend expected for metamorphic losses. Chondrites of different petrologic types therefore cannot all be derived from the same volatile-rich ancestor, but must have formed over a range of temperatures, with correspondingly different intrinsic volatile contents.The CCFXe (carbonaceous chondrite fission) component varies systematically with petrologic type. The most primitive LL3s (Krymka, Bishunpur, Chainpur) contain substantial amounts of CCFXe in chromite-carbon, enriched relative to primordial Xe as shown by high ${}^{136}\text{Xe}{}^{132}\text{Xe}$ (0.359–0.459, vs 0.310 for primordial Xe). These are accompanied by He and by Ne with ${}^{20}\text{Ne}{}^{22}\text{Ne}\text{≈ 8.0}$ and by variable amounts of a xenon component enriched in the light isotopes. The chromite in these meteorites is compositionally peculiar, containing substantial amounts of Fe(III). These meteorites, as well as Parnallee (LL3) and Hamlet (LL4) also contain CCFXe in phase Q, heavily diluted by primordial $\text{Xe}\text{(}{}^{136}\text{Xe}{}^{132}\text{Xe}\text{= 0.317–0.329)}$. On the other hand, LL5s and 6s (Olivenza, St. Séverin, Manbhoom and Dhurmsala) contain no CCFXe in either mineral. This deficiency must be intrinsic rather than caused by metamorphic loss, because Q in these meteorites still contains substantial amounts of primordial Ne.If CCFXe comes from a supernova, then its distribution in LL-chondrites requires three presolar carrier minerals of the right solubility properties, containing three different xenon components in certain combinations. These minerals must be appropriately distributed over the petrologic types, together with locally produced Q containing primordial gases, and they must be isotopically normal, in contrast to the gases they contain. On the other hand, if CCFXe comes from fission of a volatile superheavy element, then its decrease from LL3 to LL6 can be attributed to progressively less complete condensation from the solar nebula. Ad hoc assumptions must of the host phase Q, its association with ferrichromite and the origin of the associated xenon component enriched in the light isotopes.Soluble minerals in LL3s and LL4s contain a previously unobserved, solar xenon component, which, however, is not derived from the solar wind. Three types of ‘primordial’ xenon thus occur side-by-side in different minerals of the same meteorite: strongly fractionated Xe in ferrichromite and carbon, lightly fractionated Xe in phase Q, and ‘solar’ Xe in solubles. Because the first two can apparently be derived from the third by mass fractionation, it seems likely that all were trapped from the same solar nebula reservoir, but with different degrees of mass fractionation.     

Tropical cyclone–southwest monsoon interaction and the 2008 floods and landslides in Panay island, central Philippines: meteorological and geological factors

An unusual amount of precipitation fell in Panay island during the passage of Typhoon Fengshen (local name: Typhoon Frank) in June 2008. The voluminous amount of rain is attributed to the interaction of the tropical cyclone and southwest monsoon as the latter was enhanced by the former during its passage across central Philippines. Ground and aerial surveys were conducted to document the extensive flooding and landslides that occurred in the island. Artificial damming of rivers followed by breaching resulted to flooding, whereas steep slopes, fractured lithologies and intense precipitation were recognized to have led to the occurrence of landslides. These natural hazards and their causes are presented to contribute to our understanding of how weather systems evolve and what the corresponding effects are on the ground. This, hopefully, can provide significant inputs in improving disaster risk reduction and preparedness programs.     

2010 oil spill: trajectory projections based on ensemble drifter analyses

An accurate method for long-term (weeks to months) projections of oil spill trajectories based on multi-year ensemble analyses of simulated surface and subsurface (z = −800 m) drifters released at the northern Gulf of Mexico spill site is demonstrated during the 2010 oil spill. The simulation compares well with satellite images of the actual oil spill which show that the surface spread of oil was mainly confined to the northern shelf and slope of the Gulf of Mexico, with some (more limited) spreading over the north/northeastern face of the Loop Current, as well as northwestward toward the Louisiana–Texas shelf. At subsurface, the ensemble projection shows drifters spreading south/southwestward, and this tendency agrees well with ADCP current measurements near the spill site during the months of May–July, which also show southward mean currents. An additional model analysis during the spill period (Apr–Jul/2010) confirms the above ensemble projection. The 2010 analysis confirms that the reason for the surface oil spread to be predominantly confined to the northern Gulf shelf and slope is because the 2010 wind was more southerly compared to climatology and also because a cyclone existed north of the Loop Current which moreover was positioned to the south of the spilled site.     

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