Vertical distribution of dissolved aluminium in the mediterranean sea

The vertical distribution of dissolved aluminium in the Mediterranean Sea offshore of Corsica has been followed during a period of high biological activity (April–September). In May and August, the concentration of dissolved aluminium is at a relatively low (1.5 μg Al1^?1) and rather constant value in the surface waters, while exhibiting minimum values of about 0.5 and 0.8 μg Al1^?1 in April and September. It increases under the seasonal thermocline to a depth of 150–500 m. The bottom waters are characterized by a constant and relatively high value of 4 μg Al1^?1.The observed concentrations of dissolved aluminium are not compatible with a precipitation-dissolution mechanism of clay minerals.The general distribution pattern and the seasonal changes of dissolved aluminium exhibit strong analogies with those of dissolved silica and nitrogen, suggesting a pre-dominant role of biological activity. It is not possible at this stage to attribute the aluminium uptake in the photic zone solely to the activity of diatoms, as suggested earlier.     

Role of suspended sediments on the distribution of PCB in the Seine Estuary (France)

PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) contamination and its relationship to SPM (suspended particulate material) have been studied in the Seine Estuary, which is heavily polluted by these persistent and hydrophobic man-made chemicals. Two sampling cruises have been performed during different freshwater discharge conditions. PCB and SPM concentrations, as well as grain-size distributions in the particulate material have been determined. Water samples have been collected at fixed positions during a tidal cycle, and along transects within the estuary.PCB concentrations vary from 2 ng 1⁻¹ in the marine zone to 250 ng 1⁻¹ within the estuary, and reach 1.3 × 10³ ng 1⁻¹ in the turbidity maximum zone. During a tidal cycle, low PCB concentrations are observed at high water, and are in the same range in February as in July. High PCB contamination is observed at low water, but PCB concentrations are about five times higher in February. SPM and PCB variations are well correlated in both periods of observations. Higher PCB contamination during February is explained by higher SPM inputs, mainly due to particles of riverine origin. The transport of PCB within the estuary depends on the quantity and the grainsize composition of suspended material, which varies according to freshwater discharge and tidal amplitude.     

Downstream migration of juvenile European sturgeonAcipenser sturio L. in the Gironde estuary

The European sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) is an endangered diadromous fish species that spawns in the rivers in late spring and early summer. The juveniles spend their first years in the brackish waters (5‰ to 25‰) of the estuary zone before moving out to sea. This study describes the downstream migration pattern of juvenile sturgeon, belonging to the 1994 cohort, the only one born naturally in the Gironde basin, France since the end of the 1980s. During October 1994 to December 1996 the inland section of the Gironde estuary was sampled monthly by trawl (n=818 tows) and all European sturgeon caught (n=381) were marked and released. The first sturgeon of the 1994 cohort (TL=27 cm) were caught in early March 1995 in the zones furthest upstream. During their second fall of life, juveniles gradually acclimatized, and spread over a wide range of salinity conditions. A first incursion into marine water was also observed (at least for a few fish) by the end of the second winter. During this second period, sturgeon showed preference for two particular zones situated at 18 and 38 km, respectively, from the mouth of the estuary. These zones, belonging to two different salinity sectors of the estuary, did not appear to be any different to their neighbors with regards to depth and type of substrate. There were no significant size differences among estuarine zones. Seasonal movements of sturgeon seem to be motivated by a search for warmer temperatures. After a period of early acclimatization of 15 months, juvenile European sturgeon appear to be highly tolerant of salinity variations.     

From oblique subduction to intra-continental transpression: Structures of the southern Kermadec-Hikurangi margin from multibeam bathymetry,side-scan sonar and seismic reflection

The southern Kermadec-Hikurangi convergent margin, east of New Zealand, accommodates the oblique subduction of the oceanic Hikurangi Plateau at rates of 4–5 cm/yr. Swath bathymetry and sidescan data, together with seismic reflection and geopotential data obtained during the GEODYNZ-SUD cruise, showed major changes in tectonic style along the margin. The changes reflect the size and abundance of seamounts on the subducting plateau, the presence and thickness of trench-fill turbidites, and the change to increasing obliquity and intracontinental transpression towards the south. In this paper, we provide evidence that faulting with a significant strike-slip component is widespread along the entire 1000 km margin. Subduction of the northeastern scrap of the Hikurangi Plateau is marked by an offset in the Kermadec Trench and adjacent margin, and by a major NW-trending tear fault in the scarp. To the south, the southern Kermadec Trench is devoid of turbidite fill and the adjacent margin is characterized by an up to 1200 m high scarp that locally separates apparent clockwise rotated blocks on the upper slope from strike-slip faults and mass wasting on the lower slope. The northern Hikurangi Trough has at least 1 km of trench-fill but its adjacent margin is characterized by tectonic erosion. The toe of the margin is indented by 10–25 km for more than 200 km, and this is inferred to be the result of repeated impacts of the large seamounts that are abundant on the northern Hikurangi Plateau. The two most recent impacts have left major indentations in the margin. The central Hikurangi margin is characterized by development of a wide accretionary wedge on the lower slope, and by transpression of presubduction passive margin sediments on the upper slope. Shortening across the wedge together with a component of strike-slip motion on the upper slope supports an interpretation of some strain partitioning. The southern Hikurangi margin is a narrow, mainly compressive belt along a very oblique, apparently locked subduction zone.     

Holocene occurrence of Lophodermium piceae, a black spruce needle endophyte and possible paleoindicator of boreal forest health

Holocene occurrences of conifer needle endophytes have not previously been reported. We report the fossil remains of Lophodermium piceae (Fckl.) Hoehn., a fungal endophyte of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) needles, in macrofossils dating back to 8000 cal yr BP. Spruce budworm head capsules and L. piceae remains were found preceding charcoal layers delineating the transformation of four spruce−moss forest sites to spruce−lichen woodland. As L. piceae is found solely on senescent needles, its increased presence during these transformation periods likely indicates that the forests were in decline due to the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) when they burned. Future paleoecological studies incorporating needle fungi observations could be used to investigate the historical occurrence of tree disease and the role of fungi in forest health and decline.     

From rifting to spreading in the eastern Gulf of Aden: a geophysical survey of a young oceanic basin from margin to margin

A geophysical survey in the eastern Gulf of Aden, between the Alula–Fartak (52°E) and the Socotra (55°E) transform faults, was carried out during the Encens–Sheba cruise. The conjugate margins of the Gulf are steep, narrow and asymmetric. Asymmetry of the rifting process is highlighted by the conjugate margins (horst and graben in the north and deep basin in the south). Two transfer fault zones separate the margins into three segments, whereas the present‐day Sheba Ridge is divided into two segments by a transform discontinuity. Therefore segmentation of the Sheba Ridge and that of the conjugate margins did coincide during the early stages of oceanic spreading. Extensive magma production is evidenced in the central part of the western segment. Anomaly 5d was identified in the northern and southern parts of the oceanic basin, thus confirming that seafloor spreading in this part of Gulf of Aden started at least 17.6 Ma ago.     

Loss of isotopic (Nd,O) and chemical (REE) memory during metamorphism of komatiites: new evidence from eastern Finland

Komatiites are often considered to depict the chemical and isotopic composition of their source rocks in the Archean mantle. However, a weakness of these rocks in tracking the initial compositional heterogeneity of the Earth's mantle is the ubiquitous presence of metamorphic recrystallization, which casts some doubt about the preservation of primary chemical and isotopic characteristics. Two spinifex-textured komatiite flows from the 2.75 Ga old Kuhmo greenstone belt (Siivikkovaara area) of eastern Finland document this weakness. Both flows have experienced low to medium grade metamorphism (T=450±50°C), and now consist entirely of secondary metamorphic assemblages of amphibole±chlorite±plagioclase, with minor proportions of magnetite and ilmenite. MgO contents range from 25 to 8%, which suggests that low pressure differentiation was likely controlled by olivine and clinopyroxene fractional crystallization. However, neither major nor trace elements fall on olivine and/or clinopyroxene control lines. This is particularly well illustrated by the REE as there is an overall 60% variation of (Ce/Sm)_N ratios (0.38 to 0.91), which far exceeds that expected from olivine and clinopyroxene fractionation alone. In fact, careful evaluation of petrographic (including mineral composition data) and chemical characteristics shows that most elements of geological interest (including the reputedly immobile REE) were mobile on a whole-rock scale during metamorphic recrystallization of these two flows. This view is fully supported by Sm-Nd isotopic data since both whole-rock and mineral (amphibole and plagioclase) samples lie on a single isochron relationship at T 1800 Ma, an age which corresponds to the time of regional metamorphism. Thus, the meta-komatiite flows from Siivikkovaara document a case of komatiite flow units in which metamorphism has induced whole-rock scale resetting of primary REE patterns and Sm-Nd isotope systematics. As regards the nature of the mechanism responsible for this resetting, it is suggested here that the secondary mineralogy played an important role, as there are correlations between whole-rock ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios, major and trace element chemistry, oxygen isotopic ratios and modal proportions of secondary minerals. Consideration of oxygen isotopic data, as well as previous results from a komatiite flow from the nearby Tipasjärvi belt, further enable us to propose that the REE carrier was likely a CO₂-rich fluid. The process of secondary REE redistribution prevents estimation of the true initial Nd isotopic compositions of the two flows. Taken as a whole, the results presented in this paper show that great care should be be exercised in the use of meta-komatiites as probes of Archean mantle composition.