Retrograde pressure-temperature path for spinel-bearing metapelites in Rayagada, Eastern Ghats, India

Summary Two assemblages have been identified in spinel-bearing metapelites from Rayagada, in the Eastern Ghats Belt, India: the first, an iron-rich assemblage, is characterized by iron-rich spinel and garnet; the second, iron-poor assemblage, by iron-poor spinel and garnet, together with cordierite and hematite. Garnet and sillimanite coronas around spinel show elongation parallel to the dominant fabric in the iron-rich assemblage but not in the iron-poor one. Both textures suggest the corona forming retrograde reaction spl + qtz = grt + sil. The P-T conditions for these corona-forming reactions are estimated at 950°C and 8.7-9.0 kbar for the iron-rich, and 800°C and 8 kbar for the iron-poor assemblage. Thermobarometric results and observed phase relations, using the model system FeO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (FMAS) indicate near-isobaric cooling from 950° to 800°C and subsequent decompression from 8 to 6.5 kbar. The corona-forming event in the iron-rich assemblage has been correlated with the dominant second phase of deformation (D2), but that in the iron-poor assemblage apparently postdates D₂.

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Der retrograde P-T Pfad Spinell führender Metapelite in Rayagada, östliche Ghats, Indien

Zusammenfassung Zwei unterschiedliche Spinell-führende Mineralvergesellschaftungen in Metapeliten werden aus Rayagada in den östlichen Ghats Indiens beschrieben. Die erste, eine eisenreiche, ist durch Fe-reichen Spinell und Granat, die zweite eisenarme, durch Fe armen Spinell, Granat, Cordierit und Hämatit charakterisiert. Granat und Sillimanit Coronas um Spinell sind nur in der eisenreichen Vergesellschaftung parallel zum dominierenden metamorphen Gefüge elongiert, nicht aber in der eisenarmen. Beide Texturen belegen die retrograde Reaktion Spl + Qtz = Grt + Sil. Die P-T Bedingungen der Koronareaktionen in der Fe-reichen Assoziation werden mit ca. 950°C und 8.7-9.0 kbar, die in der Fe-armen mit ca. 800°C und 8 kbar abgeschätzt. Die Ergebnisse der Geothermobarometrie und die beobachteten Phasenbeziehungen im Modellsysem FeO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (FMAS) belegen eine mehr oder weniger isobare Abkühlung von ca. 950 bis 800°C mit anschließender Dekompression von ca. 8 bis 6.5 kbar. Die koronabildende Raktion in der eisenreichen Vergesellschaftung wird mit der dominierenden zweiten (D2) Deformationsphase korreliert, überdauert diese aber in den Fe-armen Gesteinen.

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With 5 Figures     

Spatiotemporal data model for network time geographic analysis in the era of big data

There has been a resurgence of interest in time geography studies due to emerging spatiotemporal big data in urban environments. However, the rapid increase in the volume, diversity, and intensity of spatiotemporal data poses a significant challenge with respect to the representation and computation of time geographic entities and relations in road networks. To address this challenge, a spatiotemporal data model is proposed in this article. The proposed spatiotemporal data model is based on a compressed linear reference (CLR) technique to transform network time geographic entities in three-dimensional (3D) (x, y, t) space to two-dimensional (2D) CLR space. Using the proposed spatiotemporal data model, network time geographic entities can be stored and managed in classical spatial databases. Efficient spatial operations and index structures can be directly utilized to implement spatiotemporal operations and queries for network time geographic entities in CLR space. To validate the proposed spatiotemporal data model, a prototype system is developed using existing 2D GIS techniques. A case study is performed using large-scale datasets of space-time paths and prisms. The case study indicates that the proposed spatiotemporal data model is effective and efficient for storing, managing, and querying large-scale datasets of network time geographic entities.     

Earth's atmosphere – Hadean to early Proterozoic

The chemistry of Earth's atmosphere during its first 2–2.5 Ga bears on several branches of geoscience including the origin of prebiotic molecules and life itself, early surface processes, the “faint young sun” problem, carbon isotope systematics, and the transition to an oxidized surface. The geologic record, as sparse as it is for this era, presents several difficulties for attempts to model the atmosphere and its changes through time. The prevailing view for the past 50 years has centered around a moderately oxidized atmosphere of CO₂ and N₂, and most modeling efforts have been directed at reconciling geologic data, and atmospheric and chemical constraints, with such a composition. Improvements in modeling of early Earth processes and increased knowledge of Archean geology, including new geochemical methods and data, have largely helped support this view of the early atmosphere over the last 25 years, but have also left several nagging questions unanswered. How was a sufficient reservoir (and concentration) of prebiotic molecules produced? What were the major reservoirs for carbon, and how did they develop their isotopic signatures? Is there a solution to the problem of the “faint young sun”? Why was surface oxidation delayed following the advent of oxygenic photosynthesis? Lately, some attempts at answering these questions have suggested the importance of more reducing capacity at the early Earth's surface, but without abandoning the idea of a mainly CO₂–N₂ atmosphere. It may be that returning to ideas of the early atmosphere current during the 1940s and earliest 1950s could help resolve some of these problems. Such an approach may not only be consistent with the atmospheres of the other terrestrial planets, but may help answer significant questions about the surface history of Mars.     

A Space-Time GIS Approach to Exploring Large Individual-based Spatiotemporal Datasets

The increasing number of large individual-based spatiotemporal datasets in various research fields has challenged the GIS community to develop analysis tools that can efficiently help researchers explore the datasets in order to uncover useful information. Rooted in Hägerstrand's time geography, this study presents a generalized space-time path (GSTP) approach to facilitating visualization and exploration of spatiotemporal changes among individuals in a large dataset. The fundamental idea of this approach is to derive a small number of representative space-time paths (i.e. GSTPs) from the raw dataset by identifying spatial cluster centers of observed individuals at different time periods and connecting them according to their temporal sequence. A space-time GIS environment is developed to implement the GSTP concept. Different methods of handling temporal data aggregation and the creation of GSTPs are discussed in this article. Using a large individual-based migration history dataset, this study successfully develops an operational space-time GIS prototype in ESRI's ArcScene and ArcMap to provide a proof-of-concept study of this approach. This space-time GIS system demonstrates that the proposed GSTP approach can provide a useful exploratory analysis and geovisualization environment to help researchers effectively search for hidden patterns and trends in such datasets.     

Life cycle of chokka-squid Loligo reynaudii in South African waters

This short note summarises past and current knowledge of the life cycle of chokka-squid Loligo reynaudii d’Orbigny, 1845, in South African waters. Prior to approximately 2010, the chokka-squid stock was considered simple and uniform, with one paralarval pool, the drift of paralarvae westwards, one main nursery area and one main, long spawning migration of adult squid eastwards, back to the main spawning grounds. Based on new information, this life-history scheme has been revised. Genetically, the stock is uniform; however, morphologically, it comprises three main geographic groups. It is proposed that the differences between the groups originate from many different paralarval events and that short (not long) migrations dominate the life cycle.     

Generation of internal waves by barotropic tidal flow over a steep ridge

A three-dimensional nonhydrostatic numerical model is used to study the generation of internal waves by the barotropic tidal flow over a steep two-dimensional ridge in an ocean with strong upper-ocean stratification. The process is examined by varying topographic width, amplitude of the barotropic tide, and stratification at three ridge heights. The results show that a large amount of energy is converted from the barotropic tide to the baroclinic wave when the slope parameter, defined as the ratio of the maximum ridge slope to the maximum wave slope, is greater than 1. The energy flux of internal waves can be normalized by the vertical integral of the buoyancy frequency over the ridge depths and the kinetic energy of the barotropic tides in the water column. A relationship between the normalized energy flux and the slope parameter is derived. The normalized energy flux reaches a constant value independent of the slope parameter when the slope parameter is greater than 1.5. It is inferred that internal wave generation is most efficient at the presence of strong upper-ocean stratification over a steep, tall ridge. In the Luzon Strait, the strength of the shallow thermocline and the location of the Kuroshio front could affect generation of internal solitary waves in the northern South China Sea.     

Late Quaternary highstands at Lake Chilwa,Malawi: Frequency,timing and possible forcing mechanisms in the last 44 ka

The extensive shoreline deposits of Lake Chilwa, southern Malawi, a shallow water body today covering 600 km² of a basin of 7500 km², are investigated for their record of late Quaternary highstands. OSL dating, applied to 36 samples from five sediment cores from the northern and western marginal sand ridges, reveal a highstand record spanning 44 ka. Using two different grouping methods, highstand phases are identified at 43.7–33.3 ka, 26.2–21.0 ka and 17.9–12.0 ka (total error method) or 38.4–35.5 ka, 24.3–22.3 ka, 16.2–15.1 ka and 13.5–12.7 ka (Finite Mixture Model age components) with two further discrete events recorded at 11.01 ± 0.76 ka and 8.52 ± 0.56 ka. Highstands are comparable to the timing of wet phases from other basins in East and southern Africa, demonstrating wet conditions in the region before the LGM, which was dry, and a wet Lateglacial, which commenced earlier in the southern compared to northern hemisphere in East Africa. We find no evidence that wet phases are insolation driven, but analysis of the dataset and GCM modelling experiments suggest that Heinrich events may be associated with enhanced monsoon activity in East Africa in both timing and as a possible causal mechanism.