The geoarchaeology of Iron Age “moated” sites of the Upper Mae Nam Mun Valley,N.E. Thailand. I: Palaeodrainage,site–landscape relationships and the origins of the “moats”

The study focuses on the “moated” Iron Age sites of N.E. Thailand, first identified as significant prehistoric settlement sites in the 1940s from aerial photography. Two more recent photograph sets are used to map the surficial geology and prehistoric site distribution for a study area west of Phimai, N.E. Thailand, with a focus on site–landscape relationships and, in particular, relationships between site location and form and patterns of palaeodrainage. The derived record of the surficial geology reflects several phases of palaeodrainage, characterized by differing locations and types of former river channels. Of note is the differentiation between a recent period in which river channels, including those presently active, are single-string meandering channels, and an older period of broad belts of meandering multistring channels. The prehistoric site distribution correlates closely with the older drainage, and for many, the encircling channels (the “moats”) are closely associated with former river channels. These relationships provide a critical and novel model for site distribution; several implications arise, supported by emerging field evidence, and introducing issues for archaeological debate: (i) there is no need, as has been done in the past, to invoke prehistoric artificial forms of drainage associated with the sites; (ii) the definition of the encircling channels as “moats” is seriously called into question; and (iii) the inferred geomorphological evolution of the floodplain implies past changes in environmental parameters such as run-off, climate or biophysical environments. Since the sites are all located in or beside ancient meander belts, these parameters should now be introduced into archaeological discussions regarding the establishment, history, evolution, and abandonment of the Iron Age sites. Methodologically, this article illustrates the need to be aware of the complexity of aerial photograph interpretation in archaeological survey, showing that careful analysis of aerial photograph information may have a significant impact upon the modeling of prehistoric interpretations. Further stratigraphical studies will be reported subsequently, and will refine the models presented here. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Gas hydrate systems at Hydrate Ridge offshore Oregon inferred from molecular and isotopic properties of hydrate-bound and void gases

We report and discuss molecular and isotopic properties of hydrate-bound gases from 55 samples and void gases from 494 samples collected during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 204 at Hydrate Ridge offshore Oregon. Gas hydrates appear to crystallize in sediments from two end-member gas sources (deep allochthonous and in situ) as mixtures of different proportions. In an area of high gas flux at the Southern Summit of the ridge (Sites 1248-1250), shallow (0-40 m below the seafloor [mbsf]) gas hydrates are composed of mainly allochthonous mixed microbial and thermogenic methane and a small portion of thermogenic C₂₊ gases, which migrated vertically and laterally from as deep as 2- to 2.5-km depths. In contrast, deep (50-105 mbsf) gas hydrates at the Southern Summit (Sites 1248 and 1250) and on the flanks of the ridge (Sites 1244-1247) crystallize mainly from microbial methane and ethane generated dominantly in situ. A small contribution of allochthonous gas may also be present at sites where geologic and tectonic settings favor focused vertical gas migration from greater depth (e.g., Sites 1244 and 1245). Non-hydrocarbon gases such as CO₂ and H₂S are not abundant in sampled hydrates. The new gas geochemical data are inconsistent with earlier models suggesting that seafloor gas hydrates at Hydrate Ridge formed from gas derived from decomposition of deeper and older gas hydrates. Gas hydrate formation at the Southern Summit is explained by a model in which gas migrated from deep sediments, and perhaps was trapped by a gas hydrate seal at the base of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). Free gas migrated into the GHSZ when the overpressure in gas column exceeded sealing capacity of overlaying sediments, and precipitated as gas hydrate mainly within shallow sediments. The mushroom-like 3D shape of gas hydrate accumulation at the summit is possibly defined by the gas diffusion aureole surrounding the main migration conduit, the decrease of gas solubility in shallow sediment, and refocusing of gas by carbonate and gas hydrate seals near the seafloor to the crest of the local anticline structure.     

Viruses as potential regulators of regional brown tide blooms caused by the alga,Aureococcus anophagefferens

Blooms of the brown tide organismAureccoccus anophagefferens have recurred in the coastal bays in New Jersey since 1995 and in the coastal bays of Long Island since 1985. Intracellular viral-like particles (VLPs) were documented during 1999–2000 brown tide blooms in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, but it was not determined whether cells were infected during the termination of the bloom. The objective of this study was to determine if VLPs infected and lysed natural populations ofA. anophagefferens in coastal bays of New Jersey and New York in 2002 with the same frequency as in 1999–2000 and especially at the termination of the bloom. Our results confirmed that the highest percentage (37.5%) of VLP-infected cells occurred at the termination of the brown tide bloom in New Jersey in 2002. Intracellular VLPs were present throughout the bloom event. The percentage of visibly infected cells was higher at the beginning of the bloom than during the peak of the bloom. The intracellular VLPs in natural populations ofA. anophagefferens were consistent in size and shape (approximately 140 nm in diameter) and comparable to those in previous studies. Concentrated viral isolates, prepared from waters during brown tide blooms in New York and New Jersey in 2002, infected healthy laboratoryA. anophagefferens cultures in vitro. The viral isolates associated with the highest laboratory viral activity (lysis positive) were concentrated from water samples having the highest viral and bacteria concentrations. The intracellular viruses in these virally infected laboratory cultures ofA. anophagefferens were similar in size and shape to those found in natural populations. The successful isolation of a virus specific toA. anophagefferens from a brown tide bloom in the field, the similarity of ultrastructure of VLPs infecting both natural populations and laboratory infected cultures, and the pattern of VLP infection during bloom activity in combination with the observed high percentage of VLP-infected cells during bloom termination, supports, the hypothesis that viruses may be a major source of mortality for brown tide blooms in regional coastal bays of New Jersey and New York.     

Potential impacts of aerosol–land–atmosphere interactions on the Indian monsoonal rainfall characteristics

Aerosols can affect the cloud-radiation feedback and the precipitation over the Indian monsoon region. In this paper, we propose that another pathway by which aerosols can modulate the multi-scale aspect of Indian monsoons is by altering the land–atmosphere interactions. The nonlinear feedbacks due to aerosol/diffuse radiation on coupled interactions over the Indian monsoon region are studied by: (1) reviewing recent field measurements and modeling studies, (2) analyzing the MODIS and AERONET aerosol optical depth datasets, and (3) diagnosing the results from sensitivity experiments using a mesoscale modeling system. The results of this study suggest that the large magnitude of aerosol loading and its impact on land–atmosphere interactions can significantly influence the mesoscale monsoonal characteristics in the Indo-Ganges Basin.     

Use of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate Strips in Soil Improvement

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - Many studies have investigated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene fibers in soil improvement. However, there is a lack of research using...     

Process-based forward numerical ecological modeling for carbonate sedimentary basins

Nowadays, numerical modeling is a common tool used in the study of sedimentary basins, since it allows to quantify the processes simulated and to determine interactions among them. One of such programs is SIMSAFADIM-CLASTIC, a 3D forward-model process-based code to simulate the sedimentation in a marine basin at a geological time scale. It models the fluid flow, siliciclastic transport and sedimentation, and carbonate production. In this article, we present the last improvements in the carbonate production model, in particular about the usage of Generalized Lotka-Volterra equations that include logistic growth and interaction among species. Logistic growth is constrained by environmental parameters such as water depth, energy of the medium, and depositional profile. The environmental parameters are converted to factors and combined into one single environmental value to model the evolution of species. The interaction among species is quantified using the community matrix that captures the beneficial or detrimental effects of the presence of each species on the other. A theoretical example of a carbonate ramp is computed to show the interaction among carbonate and siliciclastic sediment, the effect of environmental parameters to the modeled species associations, and the interaction among these species associations. The distribution of the modeled species associations in the theoretical example presented is compared with the carbonate Oligocene-Miocene Asmari Formation in Iran and the Miocene Ragusa Platform in Italy.     

Earth''s earliest continental lithosphere, hydrothermal flux and crustal recycling

The Kaapvaal craton in southern Africa and the Pilbara craton of northwestern Australia are the largest regions on Earth to have retained relatively pristine mid-Archaean rocks (3.0–4.0 Ga).The Kaapvaal craton covers about 1.2×10⁶ km², and varies in lithospheric thickness between 170 and 350 km. At surface, the craton can be subdivided into a number of Archaean sub-domains; some of the subdomains are also well defined at depth, and local variations in tomography of the lithosphere correspond closely with subdomain boundaries at surface.The Archaean history of the Kaapvaal craton spans about 1 Gyr and can be conveniently subdivided into two periods, each of about the same length as the Phanerozoic. The first period, from circa 3.7-3.1 Ga, records the initial separation of the cratonic lithosphere from the asthenosphere, terminating with a major pulse of accretion tectonics between 3.2 and 3.1 Ga, which includes the formation of “paired metamorphic belts”. This period of continental growth can be compared to plate tectonic processes occurring in modern-day oceanic basins. However, the difference is that in the mid-Archaean, these oceanic processes appear to have occurred in shallower water depths than the modern ocean basins. The second period, from circa 3.1-2.6 Ga, records intra-continental and continental-edge processes: continental growth during this period occurred predominantly through a combination of tectonic accretion of crustal fragments and subduction-related igneous processes, in much the same way as has been documented along the margins of the Pacific and Tethys oceans since the Mesozoic.The intra-oceanic processes resulted in small, but deep-rooted continental nucleii; the first separation of this early continental lithosphere could only have occurred when the mean elevation of mid-oceanicridges sank below sea-level. Substantial recycling of continental lithosphere into the mantle must have occurred during this period of Earth history. During the second period, at least two large continental nucleii amalgamated during collisional processes which, together with internal chemical differentiation processes, created the first stable continental landmass. This landmass, which is known to have been substantially bigger than its present outline, may have been part of the Earth's first supercontinent.The oldest known subdomains of the craton include the oceanic-like rocks of the Barberton greenstone belt. The comagmatic mafic-ultramafic rocks (3.48–3.49 Ga) of this belt represent a remnant of very early oceanic-like lithosphere (known as the Jamestown Ophiolite Complex), which was obducted, approximately 45 Ma after its formation, onto a volcanic arc-like terrain by processes similar to those which have emplaced modern ophiolites at convergent margins of Phanerozoic continents. The early metamorphic history, metamorphic mineralogy, oxygen isotope profiles and degree of hydration of the 3.49 Ga Jamestown Ophiolite Complex are similar to present day subseafloor hydrothermal systems. The ratio of ΔMg to ΔSi for hydrothermally altered igneous rocks, both present day and Archaean, are remarkably uniform at −5(±0.9) and the same as that of hydrothermal fluids venting on the present-day East Pacific Rise. This observation suggests that the process of Mg exchange for Si in hydrothermal systems was commonplace throughout Earth's history.The chemistry of vent fluids and hydrothermally altered igneous rocks was combined with an inventory of ³He in the mantle to model Earth's total hydrothermal flux. An Archaean flux (at 3.5 Ga) of about 10 times present day was accompanied by a correspondingly greater abundance of Mg(OH), SiO₂, carbonate and Fe---Mn metasomatic rock types as well as massive sulphides. Assuming a constant column of seawater since the Archaean, the average residence time of seawater in the oceanic crust was 1.65−8.90×10⁵ years in the Archaean. Assuming that ³He and heat are transported from the mantle in silicate melts in uniform proportions, the model stipulates that accretion of oceanic crust decreased from about 3.43−6.5×10¹⁷ g/yr to a present-day rate of 0.52−0.8×10¹⁷ g/yr, with a drop in heat flow from 1.4−2.6×10²⁰ cal/yr to 2.1−3.2×10¹⁹ cal/year.The total amounts of SiO₂ and Fe mobilised in marine hydrothermal systems since 3.5 Ga is less than their masses in the present exosphere reservoirs (crust, hydrosphere, atmosphere). The total amounts of Mg, K, CO₂, Ca and Mn are greater than their respective masses in exosphere reservoirs; therefore, they must have been recycled into mantle. The total mass of recycled hydrothermal components is small compared to the mass of the mantle. The flux of volatiles in hydrothermal systems is large compared to their volume in the atmosphere suggesting that the CO₂ and O₂ budgets of the atmosphere have been influenced by hydrothermal processes, especially in the Archaean.     

Diagenetic evolution of Aptian evaporites in the Namibe Basin (south‐west Angola)

The widespread and dissected nature of the Angolan gypsiferous salt residuals offers a uniquely detailed view of the lateral and vertical relations inherent to secondary evaporite textures, which typify exhumed salt masses worldwide. Such secondary textures are sometimes misinterpreted as primary evaporite textures. Thin, metre‐scale and patchy, dome‐like gypsum accumulations are well‐exposed within strongly incised present‐day river valleys along the eastern margin of the Namibe and Benguela basins (south‐west Angola). These sections are time equivalent to the main basinward subsurface evaporites (Aptian Loeme Formation) which mostly consist of halite. The gypsum (here called the Bambata Formation) is interpreted to represent the final residual product of fractional dissolution and recrystallization of the halite mass that occurred during Late Cretaceous margin uplift and continues today. This halite underwent multiple episodes of diagenetic alteration between its deposition and its final exhumation, leading to the formation of various secondary gypsum fabrics and solution‐related karst and breccia textures that typify the current evaporite outcrop. Four different diagenetic gypsum fabrics are defined: thinly bedded alabastrine, nodular alabastrine, displacive selenite rosettes and fibrous satin‐spar gypsum. Current arid conditions are responsible for a thin weathered crust developed at the top of the outcropping gypsum, but the fabrics in the main core of the current at‐surface evaporite unit mostly formed during the telogenetic stage of uplift prior to complete subaerial exposure. Alteration occurred as various dissolving and rehydrating saline minerals encountered shallow aquifers in the active phreatic and vadose zones. Geomorphological and petrographic analyses, mostly based on the cross‐cutting relations and crystallographic patterns in the outcrop, are used to propose a sequence of formation of these different fabrics.