Dihedral angle measurements and infiltration property of SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-rich melts in mantle peridotite assemblages

Petrological and experimental studies demonstrated that nepheline-normative, SiO₂-rich melts can be present in the upper mantle at pressures 1.5 GPa. To evaluate the role of such melts in mantle processes and magma genesis, we carried out two types of experiments: (1) melt distribution experiments to characterize the grain-scale distribution of a small fraction of typical SiO₂-rich mantle melt (SRMM) in polycrystalline olivine (Ol) at 1,180°C, 1.2 GPa; and (2) an infiltration experiment to test the ability of SRMM to impregnate and metasomatise neighbouring non-molten mantle rocks. The median dihedral angles at Ol-Ol-SRMM contacts are equal to 50°, implying that melt should be interconnected at all melt fractions. Complications arise, however, in the investigated system because Ol–liquid interfacial energy is anisotropic, and we estimate that the connectivity threshold in the SRMM–Ol system is 0.3 vol%. Regarding the very low volume fraction of SRMM in peridotites, we conclude that these melts either occur as isolated pockets or form a network of grain edge channels with a low degree of connectivity due to a large number of dry grain edges. Even in the case where an interconnected network exists, their large viscosities should prohibit the extraction of SRMM from peridotite sources. The infiltration experiment also points to a very reduced mobility of SRMM in the upper mantle. In this experiment, a slice of synthetic dunite was immersed into a magma reservoir made of 60 wt% SRMM+40 wt% Ol, and subjected to 1,180°C-1.2 GPa for 113 h: despite this long duration, the SiO₂-rich liquid was unable to infiltrate measurably the dunite. Our experiments do not support the hypothesis that SRMM represent agents of mantle metasomatism.     

Identification of an underfilled foreland basin system in the Upper Devonian of the Central Pyrenees: implications for the Hercynian orogeny

A foreland basin succession has been identified in the Frasnian of the Central Pyrenees. This succession comprises a carbonate-dominated transgressive system which recorded the cratonward migration of the foreland basin subsidence, and siliciclastic depocenters which recorded the progression of the thrust-fold deformation. The foreland basin system has always been maintained in deep-marine environments, i.e., at an underfilled depositional state. It was associated with a thrust wedge which descended toward a deep-marine hinterland, i.e., with a type of orogenic wedge usually related to subduction zones. The Frasnian foreland basin system differs from the one known in the Carboniferous which evolved to overfilled depositional state and was associated with a thrust wedge rising toward a mountainous hinterland. Consequently, the Hercynian orogeny in the Pyrenees seems to result first, from a Frasnian thrusting controlled by a subduction zone located north of the Pyrenees, and second, from a Carboniferous thrusting controlled by the surrection of a frontal thrust belt in the Pyrenees. The association of underfilled foreland basin systems and hinterland-dipping thrust wedges, as exemplified in the Frasnian of the Pyrenees, can be interpreted as illustrative of the initial stages of thrust-wedge growth in deep-marine settings.     

Division of man, division of men. Why is the territory a strong component of contemporary collective identity?

When it comes to differentiation between human groups, one of the main features of Western culture is the importance of the spatial divide. The invention of nations, that lasted four centuries of wars from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, speaks for that. The fact that claims for local identity (neo-regionalism and nationalism) have such a success nowadays, reveals that this feature is still quite alive. Louis Dumont's theory about individualism explains the long run contestation of pre-existent collective authorities, and the rise of the general ideology of the individual. Jacques Lacan and contemporary psychoanalysts who work on the links between psyche and society, go further. They shed light on the recurrent call into question of institutions, on the overwhelming power of the individual and on the protest for identity. According to Lacan the subject is structurally divided, the price for denying it is the overwhelming importance given to social demarcations, namely territorial demarcations. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) predation on adult thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) at Coats Island, Nunavut, Canada

Although the diet of walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus ) is considered varied, records of walrus consuming marine birds are rare in the published literature. In 2001 and 2002 we observed walrus foraging on adult thick-billed murres ( Uria lomvia ) at Coats Island in Nunavut, Canada. Approximately 46% of the attacks on murres were successful, and as many as 67 murres may have been killed in one day in August 2002. All soft parts of the murres were sucked out, with carcasses of only bones, feathers and skin left floating on the water. The extent to which predation on seabirds by walrus occurs across the eastern Arctic is unknown, but it could represent an important source of mortality for murres at some breeding colonies.     

Paléoclimat des Petites Antilles depuis 4000 ans BP : l'enregistrement de la lagune de Grand-Case à Saint-Martin

A 2.5-m-thick sequence of lake sediments at the Étang de Grand-Case, Saint Martin (French West Indies) is studied here. Significant hydrological budget fluctuations allows distinction of three main climatic periods: (1) an overall dry period (4200 BP–2300 BP), characterised by carbonated mud, gypsum and storm sand layers; (2) a wet phase (2300 BP–1150 BP) dominated by organic mud; and (3) a more complex phase (1150 BP to present), with detrital inputs due to human activities. Comparison with other regional high-resolution records shows that similar climate modifications typify the whole Mesoamerican and Caribbean area. The climatic phenomena that are implicated in the variations of both precipitation and hurricane frequency over the Lesser Antilles are due to the latitudinal displacement of the inter-tropical convergence zone. These data give new support to the hypothesis of the existence of a correlation between peopling phases and climate variations in the Caribbean as previously proposed by some archaeologists. To cite this article: P. Bertran et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Predicting ordinary kriging errors caused by surface roughness and dissectivity

The magnitude of kriging errors varies in accordance with the surface properties. The purpose of this paper is to determine the association of ordinary kriging (OK) estimated errors with the local variability of surface roughness, and to analyse the suitability of probabilistic models for predicting the magnitude of OK errors from surface parameters. This task includes determining the terrain parameters in order to explain the variation in the magnitude of OK errors. The results of this research indicate that the higher order regression models, with complex interaction terms, were able to explain 95 per cent of the variation in the OK error magnitude using the least number of predictors. In addition, the results underscore the importance of the role of the local diversity of relief properties in increasing or decreasing the magnitude of interpolation errors. The newly developed dissectivity parameters provide useful information for terrain analysis. Our study also provides constructive guides to understanding the local variation of interpolation errors and their dependence on surface dissectivity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Homogenization estimates for texture evolution in halite

In this work, the recently developed “second-order” self-consistent method [Liu, Y., Ponte Castañeda, P., 2004a. Second-order estimates for the effective behavior and field fluctuations in viscoplastic polycrystals. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 52 467–495] is used to simulate texture evolution in halite polycrystals. This method makes use of a suitably optimized linear comparison polycrystal and has the distinguishing property of being exact to second order in the heterogeneity contrast. The second-order model takes into consideration the effects of hardening and of the evolution of both crystallographic and morphological texture to yield reliable predictions for the macroscopic behavior of the polycrystal. Comparisons of these predictions with full-field numerical simulations [Lebensohn, R.A., Dawson, P.R., Kern, H.M., Wenk, H.R., 2003. Heterogeneous deformation and texture development in halite polycrystals: comparison of different modeling approaches and experimental data. Tectonophysics 370 287–311], as well as with predictions resulting from the earlier “variational” and “tangent” self-consistent models, included here for comparison purposes, provide insight into how the underlying assumptions of the various models affect slip in the grains, and therefore the texture predictions in highly anisotropic and nonlinear polycrystalline materials. The “second-order” self-consistent method, while giving a softer stress-strain response than the corresponding full-field results, predicts a pattern of texture evolution that is not captured by the other homogenization models and that agrees reasonably well with the full-field predictions and with the experimental measures.     

C chronology for ice retreat and inception of Champlain Sea in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, Canada

AMS radiocarbon cross-dating of plant debris and marine shells trapped in a lake basin on Mount St. Hilaire (Québec, Canada) provides a direct assessment of a reservoir effect totaling ca. 1800 ¹⁴C years during the early stage of Champlain Sea. Pollen-based extrapolation of bottommost ages on terrestrial plant macrofossils in sediments of this lake, and of another lake nearby support an estimate of 11,100 ± 100 ¹⁴C yr B.P. for marine invasion in the Central St. Lawrence River Lowlands. Results indicate a 400–1000 years younger regional chronology of ice retreat, now congruent with the one inferred from the New England varve chronology. This is a summary of a longer paper to be published in French.     

Découverte de structures périglaciaires (sand-wedges et composite-wedges) sur le site de stockage de déchets radioactifs de l'Aube (France)

Since 1990, a dense network of subvertical cracks has been observed at the upper part of the Albian sands of the site of radioactive waste storage operated by ANDRA. New studies carried out in 1999 during enlargement of the site of Soulaines and in 2003 on the nearby TFA site highlighted an especially well-developed network of periglacial features that are mainly of the sand-wedge type (subvertical stratified infill). These observations demonstrate the periglacial origin of these cracks, which are mainly superimposed on a dense network of former tectonic extension joints, and that rapidly disappear at the top of the underlying clays. In addition, these observations currently represent the only example of a large sand-wedge network developed during the Last Glacial in northern France. To cite this article: P. Antoine et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).