Discussion of: Ortega-Flores et al. (2018) Provenance analysis of Oligocene sandstone from the Cerro Pelón area,southern Gulf of Mexico.https://doi.org/10.1080/00206814.2018.1476922

ABSTRACT

We discuss the 2018 publication that reports petrographic, heavy mineral data, mineral chemistry, and zircon geochronology for Oligocene sandstones in the Cerro Pelón area in southern Mexico Sureste basin. As the title of their paper says, the goal of their study is to establish the source (s) of the voluminous Cenozoic section in this region, reaching several kilometres in thickness and important as a petroleum system. These authors conclude that Oligocene sandstones of La Laja Formation were mostly sourced from eclogite- to greenschist-facies metasedimentary, metaigneous, and ultramafic rocks of the Guatemala suture complex. Minor contributions from the Chiapas Massif Complex, exposed directly to the south ~60 km of the Cerro Pelón area, were also suggested by the authors. They thus conclude that the Palaeogene stratigraphic record in southeastern Mexico was mostly controlled by the development of the Caribbean–North America plate boundary rather than by orogenic processes at the Pacific margin of North America. Presently, we do not agree with the conclusions of Ortega Flores and colleagues who studied the Cerro Pelón section, thus some discussion is required. Serpentinite bearing Nanchital Conglomerate is well exposed in the Cerro Pelón area, and high- to low-grade metamorphic rocks experienced an uplift in the vicinity of the Cerro Pelón area at the time of deposition of the La Laja Formation. We believe the data are better explained by multiple local sources in southern and eastern Oaxaca as well as sources to the south and southwest, which include the Cenozoic coastal batholith, the Grenvillean/Guichicovi basement complexes, the Chiapas Massif, the Mazatlán schist and other units in the Cuicateco Belt, as well as the Mesozoic cover of these areas (Todos Santos Formation, Cretaceous carbonate rocks, and Paleogene strata such as the Soyaló and Bosque Formations).     

The XMM-Newton Bright Serendipitous Survey: First Extragalactic Results

We present here some initial results from the ongoing XMM-Newton bright serendipitous survey. The survey is aimed at selecting and spectroscopically identifying a large and statistically representative sample of bright (f _x ≳ 7× 10⁻¹⁴ c.g.s) serendipitous X-ray sources in the 0.5–4.5 keV energy band (BSS) and a complementary (smaller) sample in the 4.5–7.5 keV energy band (HBSS). The work is partly based on observations obtained with XMM-Newton, an ESA science mission with instruments and contributors directly founded by ESA member states and the USA(NASA) and on observations collected at TNG. The TNG telescope is operated on the island of La Palma by the Centro Galileo Galilei of the INAF in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. On behalf of the XMM-Newton Survey Science Center.     

Multi-refractor imaging with stacked refraction convolution section

Multi‐refractor imaging is a technique for constructing a single two‐dimensional image of a number of refractors by stacking multiple convolved and cross‐correlated reversed shot records. The method is most effective with high‐fold data that have been obtained with roll‐along acquisition programs because the stacking process significantly improves the signal‐to‐noise ratios. The major advantage of the multi‐refractor imaging method is that all the data can be stacked to maximize the signal‐to‐noise ratios before the measurement of any traveltimes. However, the signal‐to‐noise ratios can be further increased if only those traces that have arrivals from the same refractor are used, and if the correct reciprocal times or traces are employed. A field case study shows that multi‐refractor imaging can produce a cross‐section similar to the familiar reflection cross‐section with substantially higher signal‐to‐noise ratios for the equivalent interfaces.     

The double solid reactant method: II. An application to the shallow groundwaters of the Porto Plain,Vulcano Island (Italy)

This paper presents an example of application of the double solid reactant method (DSRM) of Accornero and Marini (Environmental Geology, 2007a), an effective way for modeling the fate of several dissolved trace elements during water–rock interaction. The EQ3/6 software package was used for simulating the irreversible water–rock mass transfer accompanying the generation of the groundwaters of the Porto Plain shallow aquifer, starting from a degassed diluted crateric steam condensate. Reaction path modeling was performed in reaction progress mode and under closed-system conditions. The simulations assumed: (1) bulk dissolution (i.e., without any constraint on the kinetics of dissolution/precipitation reactions) of a single solid phase, a leucite-latitic glass, and (2) precipitation of amorphous silica, barite, alunite, jarosite, anhydrite, kaolinite, a solid mixture of smectites, fluorite, a solid mixture of hydroxides, illite-K, a solid mixture of saponites, a solid mixture of trigonal carbonates and a solid mixture of orthorhombic carbonates. Analytical concentrations of major chemical elements and several trace elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Sr and Ba) in groundwaters were satisfactorily reproduced. In addition to these simulations, similar runs for a rhyolite, a latite and a trachyte permitted to calculate major oxide contents for the authigenic paragenesis which are comparable, to a first approximation, with the corresponding data measured for local altered rocks belonging to the silicic, advanced argillic and intermediate argillic alteration facies. The important role played by both the solid mixture of trigonal carbonates as sequestrator of Mn, Zn, Cu and Ni and the solid mixture of orthorhombic carbonates as scavenger of Sr and Ba is emphasized.

Petrographic and geochemical characterization of the granitic rocks of the Araguainha impact crater,Brazil

Petrographic and geochemical data obtained on the Araguainha impact crater (Goiás/Mato Grosso States, Brazil) indicate the existence of several molten products that originated during impact‐induced congruent melting of an alkali‐granite exposed in the inner part of the central uplift of the structure. Although previous studies have described these melts to some extent, there is no detailed discussion on the petrographic and geochemical variability in the granite and its impactogenic derivatives, and therefore, little is known about the geochemical behavior and mobility of trace elements during its fusion in the central part of the Araguainha crater. This paper demonstrates that the preserved granitoid exposed in the core of the structure is a magnesium‐rich granite, similar to postcollisional, A‐type granites, also found in terrains outside the Araguainha crater, in the Brasília orogenic belt. The molten products are texturally distinct and different from the original rock, but have very similar geochemical composition, making it difficult to separate these lithotypes based on concentrations of major and minor elements. This also applies for trace and rare earth elements (REE), thus indicating a high degree of homogenization during impact‐induced congruent melting under high pressure and postshock temperature conditions. Petrographic observations, along with geochemical data, indicate that melting occurs selectively, where some of the elements are transported with the melt. Simultaneously, there is an effective dissolution of the rock (granite), which leads to entrainment of the most resistant solid phases (intact or partially molten minerals) into the melt. Minerals more resistant to melting, such as quartz and oxides, contribute substantially to a chemical balance between the preserved granite and the fusion products generated during the meteoritic impact.     

Seismic stratigraphy of Lago Puyehue (Chilean Lake District): new views on its deglacial and Holocene evolution

Prior to the collection of a series of sediment cores, a high- and very-high-resolution reflection seismic survey was carried out on Lago Puyehue, Lake District, South-Central Chile. The data reveal a complex bathymetry and basin structure, with three sub-basins separated by bathymetric ridges, bedrock islands and interconnected channels. The sedimentary infill reaches a thickness of >200 m. It can be sub-divided into five seismic-stratigraphic units, which are interpreted as: moraine, ice-contact or outwash deposits (Unit I), glacio-lacustrine sediments rapidly deposited in a proglacial or subglacial lake at the onset of deglaciation (Unit II), lacustrine fan deposits fed by sediment-laden meltwater streams in a proglacial lake (Unit III), distal deposits of fluvially derived sediment in an open, post-glacial lake (Unit IV) and authigenic lacustrine sediments, predominantly of biogenic origin, that accumulated in an open, post-glacial lake (Unit V). This facies succession is very similar to that observed in other glacial lakes, and minor differences are attributed to an overall higher depositional energy and higher terrigenous input caused by the strong seismic and volcanic activity in the region combined with heavy precipitation. A long sediment core (PU-II core) penetrates part of Unit V and its base is dated as 17,915 cal. yr. BP. Extrapolation of average sedimentation rates yields an age of ca. 24,750 cal. yr. BP for the base of Unit V, and of ca. 28,000 cal. yr. BP for the base of Unit IV or for the onset of open-water conditions. This is in contrast with previous glacial-history reconstructions based on terrestrial records, which date the complete deglaciation of the basin as ca. 14,600 cal. yr. BP. This discrepancy cannot be easily explained and highlights the need for more lacustrine records from this region. This is the second in a series of eight papers published in this special issue dedicated to the 17,900 year multi-proxy lacustrine record of Lago Puyehue, Chilean Lake District. The papers in this special issue were collected by M. De Batist, N. Fagel, M.-F. Loutre and E. Chapron.     

High-precision repeat-groundtrack orbit design and maintenance for Earth observation missions

The focus of this paper is the design and station keeping of repeat-groundtrack orbits for Sun-synchronous satellites. A method to compute the semimajor axis of the orbit is presented together with a station-keeping strategy to compensate for the perturbation due to the atmospheric drag. The results show that the nodal period converges gradually with the increase of the order used in the zonal perturbations up to \(J_{15}\). A differential correction algorithm is performed to obtain the nominal semimajor axis of the reference orbit from the inputs of the desired nodal period, eccentricity, inclination and argument of perigee. To keep the satellite in the proximity of the repeat-groundtrack condition, a practical orbit maintenance strategy is proposed in the presence of errors in the orbital measurements and control, as well as in the estimation of the semimajor axis decay rate. The performance of the maintenance strategy is assessed via the Monte Carlo simulation and the validation in a high fidelity model. Numerical simulations substantiate the validity of proposed mean-elements-based orbit maintenance strategy for repeat-groundtrack orbits.     

The Nuclear Stellar Cluster in NGC 1068

We present new near-infrared integral field spectroscopy and adaptive optics imaging of the nucleus of NGC 1068. Using the stellar CO absorption features in the H and K bands, we have identified a moderately extincted stellar core centered on the nuclear position and of intrinsic size ~50 pc. We show that this nuclear stellar core is probably 5-16 × 108 years in age and contributes at least 7% of the total nuclear luminosity of ~1 × 1011 L⊙. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Glaucony from the Cretaceous of the Sierra de Guadarrama (Central Spain) and its application in a sequence-stratigraphic context

Detailed sedimentological and geochemical analyses of Upper Cretaceous glaucony-bearing deposits from the middle portion of the Castro de Fuentidueña Formation, in Central Spain, enable identification of a multiphase history of glaucony accumulation. Despite its relatively high maturity (K₂O > 7%), glaucony from the transgressive subtidal sandstones has anomalously low concentration in the host rock (generally <10%), suggesting remobilization from a different source. The remarkable thickness of the glaucony-bearing horizons, concurrently with concentration of glaucony in laminae, small size, and high degree of roundness and sorting provide further evidence for an allochthonous origin of the green grains. In contrast, authigenic glaucony from the overlying offshore clays exhibits higher abundance (up to 45%) and lower maturity (K₂O < 7%) and is interpreted to have formed in situ. Allochthonous glaucony originally developed in more distal areas during a prolonged period of sediment starvation. The green grains were then swept away from their place of origin and concentrated into tidal bars and channels within the upper transgressive systems tract of the third-order depositional sequence. Maximum concentration of autochthonous glaucony is recorded at the transition from tidal-influenced to offshore deposits: this glaucony, which is relatively less evolved due to lower time available for maturation, is interpreted to reflect the turnaround from transgressive to highstand conditions, marking the condensed section of the depositional sequence. As postulated by previous sequence-stratigraphic models, this study documents that allochthonous glaucony can be widespread throughout the transgressive systems tract (TST), while the condensed section (CS) typically hosts autochthonous glaucony. Contrary to the existing literature, however, this study shows that glaucony from the TST may be even more mature than glaucony from the CS, if enough time for maturation during transgression is allowed before the ultimate concentration of the green grains. Identification of spatial and temporal characteristics of glaucony, thus, is critical to a reliable sequence-stratigraphic interpretation of the glaucony-bearing deposits.