Evidence from the Rb‐Sr system for 4.4 Ga alteration of chondrules in the Allende (CV3) parent body

Abstract— The timing and processes of alteration in the CV parent body are investigated by the analysis of Sr isotopes, major and trace elements, and petrographic type and distribution of the secondary minerals (nepheline and sodalite) in 22 chondrules from the Allende (CV3) chondrite. The Sr isotopic compositions of the chondrules are scattered around the 4.0 Ga reference line on the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr evolution diagram, indicating that the chondrules have been affected by late thermal alteration event(s) in the parent body. The degree of alteration, determined for individual chondrules based on the distribution of nepheline and sodalite, is unrelated to the disturbance of the Rb‐Sr system, suggesting that the alteration process that produced nepheline and sodalite is different from the thermal process that disturbed the Rb‐Sr system of the chondrules. Considering the geochemical behavior of Rb and Sr, the main host phase of Sr in chondrules is likely to be mesostasis, which could be most susceptible to late thermal alteration. As there is a poor connection between the alteration degree determined from abundances of nepheline and sodalite and the disturbance of Rb‐Sr isotopic system, we consider the mesostasis to provide a constraint on the late parent body alteration process. From this point of view, 23 mesostasis‐rich chondrules, including those from literature data, were selected. The selected chondrules are closely correlated on the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr evolution diagram, with an inferred age of 4.36 ± 0.08 Ga. This correlation would represent an age of the final major Sr isotopic redistribution of the chondrules in the parent body.     

Dendrogeomorphological assessment of movement at Hilda rock glacier, Banff National Park, Canadian Rocky Mountains

Abstract The results of this dendrogeomorphological study provide evidence of the active movement of Hilda rock glacier, a tongue‐shaped rock glacier in the Columbia Icefield region of Banff National Park. Cross‐sectional samples were cut from 44 detrital subalpine fir (Abies Iasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) and Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry) boles killed and buried by debris spilling off the steep distal slope of the rock glacier. The samples were crossdated using locally and regionally developed tree‐ring chronologies, and were shown to have been killed between 1576 and 1999. Our results show that Hilda rock glacier has advanced at an average rate of 1.6 cm/year since the late 1790s, with limited evidence of similar rates of activity extending back to the mid‐1570s. This rock glacier activity is believed to be linked to persistent periglacial processes that appear to be independent of the climatic forcing mechanisms known to influence glacier mass balances over the same interval.     

Song Hong (Red River) delta evolution related to millennium-scale Holocene sea-level changes

The Song Hong (Red River) delta occurs on the northwest coast of the South China Sea. Its evolution in response to Holocene sea-level changes was clarified on the basis of sedimentary facies and 14 radiocarbon dates from the 40 m long Duy Tien core from the delta plain, and using previously reported geological, geomorphological, and archaeological data. The delta prograded into the drowned valley as a result of early Holocene inundation from 9 to 6 cal. kyr BP, as sea-level rise decelerated. The sea-level highstand at +2–3 m from 6 to 4 cal. kyr BP allowed widespread mangrove development on the delta plain and the formation of marine notches in the Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh areas. During sea-level lowering after 4 cal. kyr BP, the former delta plain emerged as a marine terrace, and the delta changed into the present tide- and wave-influenced delta with accompanying beach ridges. Delta morphology, depositional pattern, and sedimentary facies are closely related to Holocene sea-level changes. In particular, falling sea level at 4 cal. kyr BP had a major impact on the evolution of the Song Hong delta, and is considered to be linked to climate changes.     

Sedimentary Features of Tsunami Deposits in Carbonate-Dominated Beach Environments: A Case Study from the 25 October 2010 Mentawai Tsunami

This study provides a case history of tsunami deposition in a carbonate-dominated environmental setting. We present the results of a sedimentological investigation conducted on deposits formed by the 25 October 2010 Mentawai Island Tsunami and report on deposits analyzed at three sites on North Pagai Island: Sabeu Gunggung, Macaroni Resort, and Tumalei. The deposits are mainly composed of medium to coarse sand-sized fragments of corals, shells and foraminifera, with thickness ranging from 3 to 26 cm. The deposits consist of two to five layers, with fining-upward trends dominating. Local topography noticeably affects the thickness, number of layers, and distribution of tsunami deposits. The foraminiferal assemblage and diversity vary at each sample point, along transect and between different transects. Based on the foraminiferal content, most of the deposit material likely came from shallower depths. In addition, density distribution of the tsunami deposit material exhibits some degree of variability in terms of the range of densities in each sample and the trend of the overall density along each transect. In contrast to heavy mineral-dominated deposits, the density of carbonate grains as a function of size may be an important consideration when carbonate-dominated deposits are used to interpret hydraulic conditions that created a particular tsunami deposit. Since there are relatively few studies of tsunami deposits in carbonate-dominated environmental settings such as the Mentawai Islands, our study provides a useful case history of tsunami deposition in such an environmental setting.     

Seasonal occurrence and microhabitat of the hyperparasitic monogenean Udonella fugu on the caligid Copepod Pseudocaligus fugu infecting the grass puffer Takifugu niphobles in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

The seasonal occurrence and microhabitat of the monogenean Udonella fugu that hyperparasitizes exclusively on adults of the caligid copepod Pseudocaligus fugu that infects the skin of the grass puffer Takifugu niphobles were investigated in the Seto Inland Sea, western Japan from November 2004 to December 2006. The udonellids occurred and bred mostly during the occurrence of P. fugu on the fish host. The average prevalence and intensity of U. fugu on P. fugu during the whole investigation were 29% and 3.6, respectively. The main attachment sites of U. fugu were the posterior side of leg 3 and the dorsal marginal side of the cephalothorax for feeding and copulation, while eggs were predominantly located on the ventral side of the urosome to avoid detachment. More attention should be paid to the ecology of U. fugu, due to recent high prevalence of P. fugu on cultured tiger puffer in western Japan.     

Geochemical characteristics of the high reduction zone of stenols in Suwa sediments and the environmental factors controlling the conversion of stenols into stanols

Detailed geochemical analyses of the high reduction zone in Lake Suwa sediments suggested that the stenol to stanol conversion rate in this zone is primarily controlled by the proportion of autochthonous contribution to organic matter and the redox potential in these sediments, and that land-derived stenols were kept insensitive to hydrogenation in lacustrine sediments as compared with those derived from plankton. These results indicate that stanols derived directly from organisms on land may contribute significantly to stanols found in lacustrine sediments which contain minor proportions of autochthonous organic materials.In order to express the relative autochthonous vs terrigenous contribution to organic matter in lacustrine sediments, the autochthonous contribution index (ACI) was defined based on the characteristic distribution of sterol in plankton and land plants. It systematically increased from river inlet towards lake center and correlated closely with the δ¹³C value in same sediments. This strongly indicates that ACI is a useful indicator providing informatiom on autochthonous vs terrigenous contribution to the organic material in lacustrine sediments.     

The occurrence of stanols in various living organisms and the behavior of sterols in contemporary sediments

Unsaturated sterols (stenols) and saturated sterols (stanols) in phytoplankton and Zooplankton from Lake Suwa and from higher plants around the lake were analyzed by combined GLC and MS. In all the organisms investigated, 5α-cholestanol, 24-methylcholestan-3β-ol and 24-ethyl-5α-cholestanol were found, although in low concentrations, together with large quantities of stenols. This strongly suggests the contribution of stanols from living organisms to recent sediments.Findings from incubation experiments of cholesterol and 5α-cholestanol in the surface sediment from Lake Suwa extending through 450 days suggest the following: (1) stanols are slowly degraded and tend to survive unaltered in sediments in comparison with stenols, (2) in a relatively oxidative depositional environment such as Lake Suwa, the greater part of the stanols in the surface sediment originates from living organisms, (3) the reduction zone in which the degradation of sterols is suppressed and the rapid hydrogenation of stenols takes place may be in the microbiologically active sediment from 1 cm to about 10 cm in Lake Suwa, and (4) the increase in the ratio of stanols to stenols with depth below the zone may be caused by the simultaneous progress of preferential degradation and slow hydrogenation of stenols during long-term preservation in sediments.