Crustal Architecture of the Inverted Central Lapland Rift Along the HUKKA 2007 Profile

We have studied the lateral velocity variations along a partly buried inverted paleo–rift in Central Lapland, Northern Europe with a 2D wide-angle reflection and refraction experiment, HUKKA 2007. The experiment was designed to use seven chemical explosions from commercial and military sites as sources of seismic energy. The shots were recorded by 102 stations with an average spacing of 3.45 km. Two-dimensional crustal models of variations in P-wave velocity and Vp/Vs-ratio were calculated using the ray tracing forward modeling technique. The HUKKA 2007 experiment comprises a 455 km long profile that runs NNW–SSE parallel to the Kittilä Shear Zone, a major deformation zone hosting gold deposits in the area. The profile crosses Paleoproterozoic and reactivated Archean terranes of Central Lapland. The velocity model shows a significant difference in crustal velocity structure between the northern (distances 0–120 km) and southern parts of the profile. The difference in P-wave velocities and Vp/Vs ratio can be followed through the whole crust down to the Moho boundary indicating major tectonic boundaries. Upper crustal velocities seem to vary with the terranes/compositional differences mapped at the surface. The lower layer of the upper crust displays velocities of 6.0–6.1 km/s. Both Paleoproterozoic and Archean terranes are associated with high velocity bodies (6.30–6.35 km/s) at 100 and 200–350 km distances. The Central Lapland greenstone belt and Central Lapland Granitoid complex are associated with a 4 km-thick zone of unusually low velocities (<6.0 km/s) at distances between 120 and 220 km. We interpret the HUKKA 2007 profile to image an old, partly buried, inverted continental rift zone that has been closed and modified by younger tectonic events. It has structural features typical of rifts: inward dipping rift shoulders, undulating thickness of the middle crust, high velocity lower crust and a rather uniform crustal thickness of 48 km.     

Eutrophication assessment of the Baltic Sea Protected Areas by available data and GIS technologies

Concerning increased degradation of marine ecosystems, there is a great political and institutional demand for an array of different tools to restore a good environmental status. Thereby, eutrophication is acknowledged as one of the major human induced stressors which has to be monitored and reduced. The present study concentrates on an assessment of the eutrophication status of the Baltic Sea Protected Areas by use of available data and GIS technologies. Two geodata layers were used for analysis: (1) a map on the eutrophication status of the Baltic Sea generated by the Helsinki Commission applying the HELCOM Eutrophication Assessment Tool (HEAT), and (2) modelled data on atmospheric nitrogen deposition made available by the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP). The results yielded comprehensive and conclusive data indicating that most of the BSPAs may be classified as being 'affected by eutrophication' and underlining the need to decrease the overall emissions of nutrients.     

The influence of late Quaternary sedimentation on vegetation in an Amazonian lowland megafan

The largest areas of white‐sand vegetation in northern Amazonia are confined to Late Pleistocene–Holocene megafan depositional systems, which suggest a relationship between the two. The aim of this work is to determine: (i) the relative role of sedimentary history and recent ecological processes to explaining the mosaic of white‐sand forest patches, grasslands and shrublands in a wetland area of northern Amazonia; and (ii) the long‐term successional trajectory that led to the establishment of the white‐sand forest patches. Facies analysis was used to reconstruct the megafan paleoenvironment; δ¹³C, total organic carbon and carbon/nitrogen from sedimentary organic matter to reconstruct the past vegetation; and floristic inventories to characterize the modern vegetation. The results revealed that the Viruá megafan consists of various sandy sub‐environments, including aeolian sand dunes and sheets developed mostly in the Holocene after the megafan turned inactive as a depositional site. Dune margins and tops are colonized by white‐sand trees mixed with a few generalist rain‐forest species, whereas adjacent lower‐lying areas, which are affected by seasonal flooding, are covered by graminoid plants and/or shrubs. The latter initiated their development over the megafan surface in different times of the Holocene due to hydrological gradients imposed by the topography of the various megafan depositional environments, while the white‐sand forest became dominant only on sand dunes over the last few centuries. We suggest that the late Quaternary sedimentary history was crucial in creating morphologies that now determine topographic gradients responsible for different vegetation physiognomies over the Amazonian lowlands. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

TL dating of partially bleached sediments by the regeneration method

Thermoluminescence dating of sediments in the Warsaw laboratory is based on blue-to-green emission. The ‘partial bleach + regeneration’ method is proposed for dating sediments which have not been completely bleached at the time of burial. Correct TL ages are reported for sediments covering organic deposits of the Eemian Interglacial and also for glacial sediments of Würm and Riss age. We obtained good results for dating till using the partial bleach + regeneration method. The TL zeroing in till is explained by the ‘rubbing’ or compression of grains beneath the glacier and by the freeze-thaw activity occurring during glacial transport and deglaciation.     

Bromine as an indicator of oil migration in northern Iraqi oil fields

The Br content of oil varies systematically along the paths of oil migration in northern Iraqi oil fields, indicating that this element may be used as an indicator of oil movement. The variation in Br parallels that of V and Ni, and like these two elements it is concentrated in the asphaltene fraction of petroleum.     

Adsorption of aromatic carboxylate compounds on the surface of synthesized iron oxide-coated sands

The complex mineral assemblages of silica and Fe minerals play a significant role in the transport of compounds in soils and sediments. Five coated sands including Goethite, Lepidocrocite, Ferrihydrite, Hematite and Magnetite were synthesized by a heterogeneous suspension method and characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, BET surface area and chemical analyses. The synthesis results showed that the degree of coating (mg Fe/g sand) varied with the mineralogy of Fe coating phases, which may have different affinities towards the silica surface. Batch experiments were conducted with two compounds (2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid and 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid) to quantify the contributions to adsorption from different oxide coatings and compare adsorption characteristics of selected organic acids. Sorption of these compounds to coated sands was examined versus a wide range of conditions (time, pH, ionic strength and sorbate concentration). Because of the attachment of Fe oxide, the coated sand had higher specific surface area, involving a better adsorption efficiency of organic compounds. Mineral surface charge and pH proved to be important for the adsorption of these compounds. The batch results indicated that the degree of coating was the most significant factor enhancing the sorption of aromatic compounds on the surface of sand and the mineralogy of the Fe phase was of less importance.     

A Late Cretaceous theropod caudal vertebra from the Sultanate of Oman

A caudal vertebra collected from conglomerates of the Al-Khod Formation (Late Cretaceous) in the Al-Khod area, Sultanate of Oman, is assigned to a medium-sized theropod dinosaur. The Al-Khod discovery represents one of the very few dinosaur records from the Middle East.     

Analysis of three years of boundary layer observations over the Gulf of Mexico and its shores

Boundary layer observations were made over the Gulf of Mexico over a 3-year period in order to develop and test methods for estimating surface fluxes and boundary layer wind fields. In addition to routinely available buoy and CMAN surface data, six 915 MHz radar wind profilers (RWPs) and RASS profilers were mounted on oil platforms and on the shore. Estimates of surface momentum, sensible heat, and latent heat fluxes have been made from the surface observations using the COARE software. Simulations by the National Weather Service's Eta meteorological model are compared with the observations of surface fluxes and wind profiles. The boundary layer is found to be unstable over 90% of the time, and latent heat fluxes are about five to ten times larger than sensible heat fluxes, as usually found over tropical oceans. Eta model simulations of surface fluxes are within about ±50% of COARE estimates of the fluxes based on surface observations. Most of the time, COARE-derived fluxes at 11 sites are within a factor of two of each other at any given hour. In multi-day case studies, COARE calculations are found to agree with Eta model simulations of these fluxes and parameters within a factor of two most of the time. Eta model simulations of wind speeds in the boundary layer tend to exceed the RWP observations by 1–2 m s⁻¹ near shore and by 2–6 m s⁻¹ at distances of 100–200 km offshore.     

Vesta and the HED meteorites: Mid‐infrared modeling of minerals and their abundances

Abstract— We demonstrate that the use of an established spectral deconvolution algorithm with mid‐infrared spectral libraries of mineral separates of varying grain sizes is capable of identifying the known mineral compositions and abundances of a selection of howardite, eucrite, and diogenite (HED) meteorite samples. In addition, we apply the same technique to mid‐infrared spectral emissivity measurements of Vesta that have been obtained from Cornell's Mid‐Infrared Asteroid Spectroscopy (MIDAS) Survey and the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). Each Vesta measurement was made over a different range of longitudes. Our spectral deconvolution results to the Vesta spectra corroborate that Vesta's surface is howardite or eucrite‐like in composition and heterogeneous across its surface. The spectral fits produced by the linear deconvolution algorithm yields good results for the HED samples of known composition, thus giving us a high degree of confidence that our results for Vesta are valid.