Diagenesis in Okavango fan and adjacent dune deposits with implications for the record of palaeo-environmental change in Makgadikgadi–Okavango–Zambezi basin, northern Botswana

This work considers the spatial distribution and ages of western MOZ basin siliclastic sediments prior to providing insights into the diagenesis of degraded dune and alluvial fan sands. Previously published and new TL/OSL ages imply that extensive over-washing of dune sands took place at least 100 ka ago while ages on Okavango floodplains imply that the fan was formed ca. 40 ka and has since undergone periods of higher and lower flood regimes. Sediment analyses indicate that both dune and fan sands contain a diagenetic matrix of clay-enhanced amorphous silica (CEAS) which bonds weakly formed aggregates. The time of formation of diagenetic matrix products is inconclusive but may have been accelerated during or shortly after events dated using OSL/TL techniques. Hence earlier dune over-washing may have led to greater porewater of an acidic to near neutral nature which in turn promoted smectite formation and silicic acid precipitation > 100 000 years ago. The relatively abundant CEAS matrix in floodplain sands implies more recent semi-continuous flood events again of an acidic-near neutral nature leading to the formation of smectite. In this case the floodplain sediments are dated as having been deposited around 40 and 11 ka, when porewater content may have accelerated clay formation and silica dissolution. The dual nature of the CEAS in the islands reflects a changing environment from smectite-dominated flooding events to sepiolite-dominated desiccation events. Flooding may also correspond to TL/OSL ages over the past 40 000 years which contributed to accelerated CEAS formation. The sepiolite is associated with a Ca-rich matrix implying desiccation which may relate to drying events over the 40 000 year period or to riparian tree root pumping and selective salt accumulation. This work shows that sedimentation in incipient rifts is complex and rarely explained totally in terms of primary depositional events. The implications of different stages of sand diagenesis may be significant in enhancing palaeo-environmental interpretations in semi-arid fluvial environments.     

Deciphering the pulsations of G 29-38 with optical time series spectroscopy

We present optical time series spectroscopy of the pulsating white dwarf star G 29-38 taken at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). By measuring the variations in brightness, Doppler shift and line shape of each spectrum, we explore the physics of pulsation and measure the spherical degree (ℓ) of each stellar pulsation mode. We measure the physical motion of the g modes correlated with the brightness variations for three of the eight pulsation modes in this data set. The varying line shape reveals the spherical degree of the pulsations, an important quantity for properly modelling the interior of the star with asteroseismology. Performing fits to the Hβ, Hγ and Hδ lines, we quantify the changing shape of the line and compare them to models and previous time series spectroscopy of G 29-38. These VLT data confirm several ℓ identifications and add four new values, including an additional ℓ= 2 and a possible ℓ= 4. In total, from both sets of spectroscopy of G 29-38, eleven modes now have known spherical degrees.     

Mosquitoes in the mix: How transferable is creative city thinking?

This paper contributes to recent debates about whether urban policy discourses are transferable and what is at stake in their translation. It draws on discussion of Darwin (Northwest Territory, Australia), a tropical savanna location that the local government wants to promote as a 'creative city', without quite knowing what this might require. We discuss relevant debates on research knowledge construction, the creative city and the path-dependent character of neoliberal governmental objectives. We then turn to the geographical, demographic and cultural characteristics that make Darwin a challenging and distinct context for translation of global theories of creative city rejuvenation. As well as arguing a case for more nuanced, locationally specific, analysis of the capacity of places to embrace travelling policy discourses, we suggest ways in which creative city research can be refreshed through engaging with literatures on (post)colonial urban politics and intersections with policy initiatives other than those targeted at 'creative industries' per se . We systematically outline the particular challenges that tropical cities in remote locations provide to accepted wisdom about creativity-led urban planning.     

No evidence for thermogenic methane release in coal from the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous province

The Early Jurassic Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (T-OAE) and concurrent negative carbon-isotope (δ¹³C) excursion have recently been attributed to either the release of methane (CH₄) clathrates or thermogenic CH₄ gas associated with the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous province (LIP) into coals and organic-rich shales. ¹²C-enriched thermogenic CH₄ production associated with the Karoo-Ferrar would result in residual material being ¹²C-depleted nearer the intrusions. In this study, geochemical analyses (carbon isotopes, volatile matter (VM), vitrinite reflectance (R_o)) are reported for two coal transects associated with dykes intruding the No. 4L coal in the Highveld Coalfield, Karoo Basin, South Africa. VM decreases from over 35% to around 15% in one transect, and the second transect shows a less pronounced decrease (from > 25% to ~ 16%). Accompanying the decrease in VM content is an increase in R_o from background levels of around 0.7% to over 4% adjacent to the dyke; used as a palaeo-geothermometer, R_o values indicate background temperatures of ~ 100 °C increasing to > 300 °C close to the contact. Despite changes in VM and R_o, there are no significant changes in δ¹³C, certainly not of the magnitude that would be expected associated with large-scale thermogenic CH₄ generation. These and other Gondwanan coals have low vitrinite and liptinite contents (components more prone to CH₄ generation), in part explaining the modest decreases in VM adjacent to the dykes. This, combined with the relatively narrow metamorphic aureole surrounding the intrusions and the likelihood that at least some of the volatiles generated by the intrusion were trapped as coalbed CH₄ or condensed as pyrolytic carbon, suggests only limited CH₄ release. In addition, based on original estimates of moisture contents in these coals and the depth at time of intrusion (1,000–2,000 m) the dykes would have lost most of their energy heating and evaporating water, thus having very little remaining energy to generate thermogenic CH₄.     

Architecture of the deep critical zone in the Río Icacos watershed (Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory,Puerto Rico) inferred from drilling and ground penetrating radar (GPR)

In the critical zone, surficial bedrock interactions result in the formation of a mantle of chemically‐ and physically‐altered material defined here as regolith. In the watershed of the Río Icacos, an upland river draining the Luquillo Mountains in tropical Puerto Rico, we explored the influence of lithology (quartz diorite versus hornfels‐facies volcaniclastic rock) on weathering. Regolith profiles were studied by drilling boreholes and imaging the subsurface using ground penetrating radar (GPR). Overall, the regolith structure is not laterally continuous but rather is punctuated by zones of deep fractures that host in situ weathering, corestones, and colluvial material. GPR images of these vertical zones show reflectors at 15–20 m depth. Thus, the architecture of the critical zone in the upper Luquillo Mountains is highly dependent on lithology and its influence on fracture development. At the highest elevations where hornfels overlies quartz diorite, positive feedbacks occur when the water table drops so that oxidative weathering of biotite in the more felsic rock creates microfractures and allows deeper infiltration of meteoric waters. Such exposure results in some of the fastest weathering rocks in the world and may contribute to formation of the knickpoint in the Río Icacos watershed. This work represents the first study combining GPR and drilling to look at the structure of the deep critical zone and demonstrates: (1) the importance of combining direct methods (such as drilling) with indirect methods (such as GPR) to understand the architecture of the critical zone in tropical systems; (2) the interplay of the surficial stress regime, lithology and climate in dictating the architecture of weathering. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Earthquake intensity distributions: a new view

Pioneering work by Nicolas Ambraseys and many collaborators demonstrates both the tremendous value of macroseismic data and the perils of its uncritical assessment. In numerous publications he shows that neglect of original sources and/or failure to appreciate the context of historical accounts, as well as use of unreliable indicators such as landsliding to determine intensities, commonly leads to inflated magnitude estimates for historical earthquakes. The U.S. Geological Survey “Did You Feel It?” (DYFI) system, which now collects and systematically interprets thousands of first-hand reports from felt earthquakes, provides the opportunity to explore further the biases associated with traditional intensity distributions determined from written (media or archival) accounts. I briefly summarize and further develop the results of Hough (2013), who shows that traditional intensity distributions imply more dramatic damage patterns than are documented by more spatially rich DYFI data, even when intensities are assigned according to the conservative practices established by Ambraseys’ work. I further consider the separate intensity–attenuation relations that have been developed to characterize intensities for historical and modern earthquakes in California, using traditionally assigned intensities and DYFI intensities, respectively. The results support the conclusion that traditionally assigned intensity values tend to be inflated by a fundamental bias towards reporting of dramatic rather than representative effects. I introduce an empirical correction-factor approach to correct for these biases. This allows the growing wealth of well-calibrated DYFI data to be used as calibration events in the analysis of historical earthquakes.     

Holocene fire and vegetation dynamics in a montane forest, North Cascade Range, Washington, USA

We reconstructed a 10,500-yr fire and vegetation history of a montane site in the North Cascade Range, Washington State based on lake sediment charcoal, macrofossil and pollen records. High-resolution sampling and abundant macrofossils made it possible to analyze relationships between fire and vegetation. During the early Holocene (> 10,500 to ca. 8000 cal yr BP) forests were subalpine woodlands dominated by Pinus contorta. Around 8000 cal yr BP, P. contorta sharply declined in the macrofossil record. Shade tolerant, mesic species first appeared ca. 4500 cal yr BP. Cupressus nootkatensis appeared most recently at 2000 cal yr BP. Fire frequency varies throughout the record, with significantly shorter mean fire return intervals in the early Holocene than the mid and late Holocene. Charcoal peaks are significantly correlated with an initial increase in macrofossil accumulation rates followed by a decrease, likely corresponding to tree mortality following fire. Climate appears to be a key driver in vegetation and fire regimes over millennial time scales. Fire and other disturbances altered forest vegetation at shorter time scales, and vegetation may have mediated local fire regimes. For example, dominance of P. contorta in the early Holocene forests may have been reinforced by its susceptibility to frequent, stand-replacing fire events.     

Mineralogical control of rare earth elements in acid sulfate soils

Major, trace and rare earth element concentrations were measured in porewater, surface water and sediments at an acid sulfate soil site. The concentrations of La and Ce in porewater are up to 1-3 ppm. There is a strong correlation between REE concentration and acidity, except that the maximum concentrations were consistently found below the horizon of maximum acidity, associated with an increase in pH (to ca. 4) and change in mineralogy from jarosite-dominated to goethite-dominated mottles. Jarosite replacement by goethite is as expected with the rise in pH, which in turn is due to the occurrence of a fossil shell bed just below. The rare earth element patterns in the porewaters are enriched in the MREE with respect to Post-Archaean Australian Shale (PAAS). Measurements and calculations show that this is in accord with experiments on low-degree partial dissolution of jarosite, even when the jarosite itself is highly enriched in LREE. There is a clear fractionation in the patterns between the clay-rich soil matrix, which is slightly depleted in the LREE when normalized to PAAS (La/Yb_PAAS ∼0.5), and the secondary mineral phase jarosite, which is enriched in the LREE (La/Yb_PAAS = 15-50). The REE pattern in the porewater changes with the transition from jarosite- to goethite-rich mottles, becoming relatively more enriched in the LREE compared to the HREE, which is consistent with the incongruent dissolution of jarosite to form goethite and the release of greater amounts of jarosite REE to solution, including proportionately more of the jarosite-compatible LREE.Maximum surface water REE concentrations in acidic water were 100-200 ppb La and Ce. REE patterns in surface water were very similar to the porewater transition zone, enriched in the MREE, but asymmetric, relatively enriched in the LREE compared to the HREE.