Shoshonitic lamprophyre dykes and their relation to mesothermal Au---Sb veins at Hillgrove, New South Wales, Australia

The Hillgrove mineral field, in the southern part of the New England Orogen of northeastern New South Wales, Australia, contains numerous mesothermal Au---Sb vein systems. Calc-alkaline (shoshonitic) lamprophyre (CAL) dykes are also associated with mineralisation with dilational lode structures acting as conduits for dyke intrusion, which has occurred before and after major quartz-stibnite veining. Dykes include minette and vogesite compositions and were emplaced in the late Permian (247–255 Ma), at the same time as regionally extensive I-type magmatism in the New England Orogen. Least-altered dykes are enriched in Mg, K, Ba, Rb, Sr, Zr, Th, Cr and Ni relative to I-type intrusives although chemical affinities are evident between lamprophyres and the more mafic members of the high-K Moonbi Plutonic Suite.

Hillgrove lamprophyres are commonly enriched in Sb, As, Hg, Au, W and Bi with respect to average CAL compositions. Evidence indicates this is most likely due to contamination of magma during intrusion through mineralised structures, rather than a primary magmatic feature. Partially resorbed xenocrystic stibnite occurs in dykes which have intruded lode structures, probably facilitated by the low melting point of stibnite (550°C) and its incorporation into the magma. Carbon and oxygen isotopic data from carbonates in least-altered, post-lode lamprophyres are indistinguishable from carbonate in altered dykes and veins, implying that hydrothermal interaction continued after dyke intrusion. Although it is unlikely that lamprophyre dykes have been a direct source for mineralisation at Hillgrove, the close temporal and spatial relation of dykes, mesothermal Au---Sb veins and I-type intrusions are interpreted to be manifestations of the post-collisional setting and influx of mantle-derived heat and partial melts into the New England Orogen during the late Permian.     

Fault location and fault activity assessment by analysis of historic level line data, oil-well data and groundwater data, Hollywood area, California

Transecting the Los Angeles metropolitan area in a general E-W direction are major north-dipping reverse faults comprising the Santa Monica—Raymond Hill fault zone, a segment of the frontal fault system separating the Transverse Ranges from the Peninsular Ranges geomorphic provinces of southern California. Pleistocene or Holocene movement is evident along some segments of these faults, but urban development precludes accurate location and assessment of Quaternary movement by conventional mapping techniques. At present no conclusive evidence of Holocene surface rupture has been found onshore west of the Raymond Hill segment of the fault zone, but the geologic conditions and urban development in the area are such that the possibility of Holocene movement cannot be excluded at this time. Groundwater barriers in Pleistocene sediments are indicative of Quaternary faulting on the Santa Monica fault segment west of the Newport—Inglewood fault zone. Most literature indicates that movement along the Beverly Hills—Hollywood segment east of the Newport—Inglewood fault zone terminated in Late Miocene or Pliocene time, and there is no general agreement on the location of faults in this segment. However, recent work by the Division of Mines and Geology, by Geotechnical Consultants, Inc., and others suggests that the Santa Monica fault transecting the Hollywood area is associated with a zone of differential subsidence that varies from 100 to 400 m wide, depending on the resolution of repeated leveling survey data and with a groundwater barrier determined from analysis of oil-well and water-well data. Additional exploration is essential to test our present geologic model and to evaluate the earthquake hazard and seismic risk of faults in the area.     

Komatiites and nickel sulfide ores of the Black Swan area,Yilgarn Craton,Western Australia. 3: Komatiite geochemistry,and implications for ore forming processes

The Black Swan komatiite sequence is a package of dominantly olivine-rich cumulates with lesser volumes of spinifex textured rocks, interpreted as a section through an extensive komatiite lava flow field. The sequence hosts a number of nickel sulfide orebodies, including the Silver Swan massive shoot and the Cygnet and Black Swan disseminated orebodies. A large body of whole rock analyses on komatiitic rocks from the Black Swan area has been filtered for metasomatic effects. With the exception of mobile elements such as Ca and alkalis, most samples retain residual igneous geochemistry, and can be modelled predominantly by fractionation and accumulation of olivine. Whole rock MgO–FeO relationships imply a relatively restricted range of olivine compositions, more primitive than the olivine which would have been in equilibrium with the transporting komatiite lavas, and together with textural data indicate that much of the cumulus olivine in the sequence was transported. Flow top compositions show evidence for chromite saturation, but the cumulates are deficient in accumulated chromite. Chromite compositions are typical of those found in compound flow-facies komatiites, and are distinct from those in komatiitic dunite bodies. Incompatible trace element abundances show three superimposed influences: control by the relative proportion of olivine to liquid; a signature of crustal contamination and an overprint of metasomatic introduction of LREE, Zr and Th. This overprint is most evident in cumulates, and relatively insignificant in the spinifex rocks. Platinum and palladium behaved as incompatible elements and are negatively correlated with MgO. They show no evidence for wholesale depletion due to sulfide extraction, which was evidently restricted to specific lava tubes or pathways. The lack of correspondence between PGE depletion and contamination by siliceous material implies that contamination alone is insufficient to generate S-saturation and ore formation in the absence of sulfide in the assimilant. Contamination signatures in spinifex-textured rocks may be a guide to Ni-sulfide mineralisation, but are not entirely reliable in the absence of other evidence. The widespread vesicularity of the sequence may be attributable to assimilated water rather than to primary mantle-derived volatiles, and cannot be taken as evidence for primary volatile-rich magmas. The characteristic signature of the Black Swan Succession is the presence of highly localised disseminated sulfide within a sequence showing more widespread evidence for crustal contamination and interaction with its immediate substrate. This has important implications for the applicability of trace element geochemistry in exploration for komatiite-hosted nickel deposits.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at Editorial handling: Peter Lightfoot     

Determining extreme parameter correlation in ground water models

In ground water flow system models with hydraulic-head observations but without significant imposed or observed flows, extreme parameter correlation generally exists. As a result, hydraulic conductivity and recharge parameters cannot be uniquely estimated. In complicated problems, such correlation can go undetected even by experienced modelers. Extreme parameter correlation can be detected using parameter correlation coefficients, but their utility depends on the presence of sufficient, but not excessive, numerical imprecision of the sensitivities, such as round-off error. This work investigates the information that can be obtained from parameter correlation coefficients in the presence of different levels of numerical imprecision, and compares it to the information provided by an alternative method called the singular value decomposition (SVD). Results suggest that (1) calculated correlation coefficients with absolute values that round to 1.00 were good indicators of extreme parameter correlation, but smaller values were not necessarily good indicators of lack of correlation and resulting unique parameter estimates; (2) the SVD may be more difficult to interpret than parameter correlation coefficients, but it required sensitivities that were one to two significant digits less accurate than those that required using parameter correlation coefficients; and (3) both the SVD and parameter correlation coefficients identified extremely correlated parameters better when the parameters were more equally sensitive. When the statistical measures fail, parameter correlation can be identified only by the tedious process of executing regression using different sets of starting values, or, in some circumstances, through graphs of the objective function.     

The Effects of Annual Harvesting on the Subsequent Phytomass and Species Composition of Grassland and Fernland: A Hong Kong Case

Anthropogenic grasslands mixed with fern and shrubland, on scales from metres to kilometres, are widespread in tropical Southeast Asia, and especially in southern China and adjoining regions where harvesting for domestic fuel is a major factor in their maintenance. Baseline surveys in grassland and fernland in 1989–90 and resurveys in 2001 of three 6 × 20 m plots in Wong Chuk Yuen, Hong Kong, showed substantial change in species composition and total aboveground phytomass as a result of annual harvesting, with more pronounced change in the fernland. Under harvesting pressure, the species composition of the grassland changed considerably, though the proportions of the various life‐forms did not. Ischaemum spp. and Miscanthus floridulus increased whereas Themeda gigantea died out while the proportion of other grass species remained much the same. Under the same regime the species composition and life‐forms of the fernland changed markedly. The proportion of Dicranopteris fern dropped substantially, though still comprising a third of the phytomass by 2001. The shrub Melastoma survived harvesting. A firebreak cut in the fernland became grassy under annual harvesting and remained grassy six years after cutting ceased. The annual harvests from the growth‐years 1991–2000 showed a substantial though variable increase in total phytomass. Analyses relating harvested phytomass with various climatic parameters showed no significant correlations. Some possible reasons for this are suggested. Although annual harvesting was clearly sustainable over the ten years of observation, the question of continued sustainability on sites harvested for centuries, the situation in much of southern China and parts of upland mainland Southeast Asia, remains unresolved.     

Effects of camel grazing on the ecology of small perennial plants in the Dubai (UAE) inland desert

Camel grazing is recognized as a primary cause of ecological degradation in the UAE. A study of perennial plant species <1 m in height was conducted along a fence separating continuously camel grazed land from land in which camels had been replaced by oryx and gazelle species for 5 years (Al Maha). Vegetation regeneration in Al Maha in the absence of camels was considerable on all substrates (gravel, stable sand, and semi-stable sand) but was greatest on the gravel substratum, indicating that ecology in this habitat is most at risk. Observed regeneration was primarily through vegetative reproduction and growth of existing plants, showing that existing species can tolerate heavy grazing. Therefore, an equilibrium grazing model of continuous and reversible vegetation dynamics is most suitable for management of this ecological zone. Species richness was greater in Al Maha due to the greater number of plants, but biodiversity was unaffected. There was some evidence of localized dune stabilization within Al Maha due to increased vegetative cover. Further recovery of vegetation within Al Maha is discussed. This study highlights the need for reduced grazing pressure throughout the Dubai inland desert, and in particular on gravel substrata.     

Power law relationships between bond length, bond strength and electron density distributions

The strength of a bond, defined as p=s/r, where s is the Pauling bond strength and r is the row number of an M cation bonded to an oxide anion, is related to a build-up of electron density along the MO bonds in a relatively large number of oxide and hydroxyacid molecules, three oxide minerals and three molecular crystals. As p increases, the value of the electron density is observed to increase at the bond critical points with the lengths of the bonds shortening and the electronegativities of the M cations bonded to the oxide anion increasing. The assertion that the covalency of a bond is intrinsically connected to its bond strength is supported by the electron density distribution and its bond critical point properties. A connection also exists between the properties of the electron density distributions and the connectivity of the bond strength network formed by the bonded atoms of a structure. Received: 20 August 1997 / Revised, accepted: 3 November 1997     

Cyclical Spectral and Photometric Variations of the Apparently Single Wolf-Rayet Star WR 134

Evidence is presented for the existence of a 2.3 day periodicity in the line-profile changes of the apparently singleWolf-Rayet star WR 134. This cyclical variability may be induced either by the presence of an orbiting collapsed companion, or by the rotational modulation of a largely inhomogeneous outflow. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A comprehensive variability study of the enigmatic WN8 stars: final results

As a conclusion of our all-sky variability survey of the 'enigmatic' variable WN8 stars, we have carried out coordinated multisite photometric and spectroscopic observations of WN8 stars in 1989 and 1994–1995. We confirm the leading role of the stellar core in restructuring the whole wind. This emerges as a statistical trend: the higher the level of the ∼continuum (i.e. ∼core) light variations, the higher the variability of the P Cygni edges of the optical emission lines. However, the form of the correlation between the light and profile variations is generally different for each individual star. The high level of activity of WN8 stars may be supported/induced by pulsational instability.