Late Miocene evaporite geochemistry of Lorca and Fortuna basins (Eastern Betics,SE Spain): Evidence of restriction and continentalization

The Lorca and Fortuna basins are two intramontane Neogene basins located in the eastern Betic Cordillera (SE Spain). During the Late Tortonian—Early Messinian, marine and continental evaporites precipitated in these basins as a consequence of increased marine restriction and isolation. Here we show a stratigraphic correlation between the evaporite records of these basins based on geochemical indicators. We use SO₄ isotope compositions and Sr isotopic ratios in gypsum, and halite Br contents to characterize these units and to identify the marine or continental source of the waters feeding the evaporite basins. In addition, we review the available chronological information used to date these evaporites in Lorca (La Serrata Fm), including a thick saline deposit, that we correlate with the First Evaporitic Group in Fortuna (Los Baños Fm). This correlation is also supported by micropalaeontological data, giving a Late Tortonian age for this sequence. The Second Evaporitic Group, (Chicamo Fm), and the Third Evaporitic Group (Rambla Salada Fm) developed only in Fortuna during the Messinian. According to the palaeogeographical scheme presented here, the evaporites of the Lorca and Fortuna basins were formed during the Late Tortonian—Early Messinian, close to the Betic Seaway closure. Sulphate isotope compositions and Sr isotopic ratios of the Ribera Gypsum Mb, at the base of the Rambla Salada Fm (Fortuna basin), match those of the Late Messinian selenite gypsum beds in San Miguel de Salinas, in the near Bajo Segura basin (40 km to the East), and other Messinian Salinity Crisis gypsum deposits in the Mediterranean. According to these geochemical indicators and the uncertainty of the chronology of this unit, the assignment of the Rambla Salada Fm to the MSC cannot be ruled out.     

The effect of chlorine and chlorine dioxide on pathogenic free‐living amoebae (PFLA) in simulated natural conditions: The presence of bacteria and organic matter

Bacteria and bovine faecal matter were introduced into cultures of pathogenic free‐living amoebae, with chlorine or chlorine dioxide. The bacteria and faeces were to simulate natural conditions for a more exacting test of disinfectant demand when compared to axenic conditions. Both chlorine and chlorine dioxide were effective disinfectants under all conditions tested. Axenically and monoxenically cultured amoebae were used, the latter exerted a greater disinfectant demand.     

Multibeam sonar backscatter data processing

Multibeam sonar systems now routinely record seafloor backscatter data, which are processed into backscatter mosaics and angular responses, both of which can assist in identifying seafloor types and morphology. Those data products are obtained from the multibeam sonar raw data files through a sequence of data processing stages that follows a basic plan, but the implementation of which varies greatly between sonar systems and software. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of this backscatter data processing chain, with a focus on the variability in the possible implementation of each processing stage. Our objective for undertaking this task is twofold: (1) to provide an overview of backscatter data processing for the consideration of the general user and (2) to provide suggestions to multibeam sonar manufacturers, software providers and the operators of these systems and software for eventually reducing the lack of control, uncertainty and variability associated with current data processing implementations and the resulting backscatter data products. One such suggestion is the adoption of a nomenclature for increasingly refined levels of processing, akin to the nomenclature adopted for satellite remote-sensing data deliverables.     

ENSO evolution asymmetry: EP versus CP El Niño

Through an oceanic mixed-layer heat budget analysis, the dominant processes contributing to the largest decay rate (− 0.37 °C/mon) in EP El Nino, the moderate delay rate (− 0.22 °C/mon) in CP El Nino and the smallest decay rate (0.13 °C/mon) in La Nina, are identified. The result shows that both dynamic (wind induced equatorial ocean waves and thermocline changes) and thermodynamic (net surface solar radiation and latent heat flux changes) processes contribute to a fast decay and thus phase transition in EP El Niño composite, whereas the thermodynamic process has less effect on the decay rate for both CP El Niño and La Niña due to the westward shift of sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) centers. Thus, the difference in surface wind stress forcing is critical in contributing to evolution asymmetry between CP El Niño and La Niña, while the difference in both the wind stress and heat flux anomalies contribute to evolution asymmetry between EP El Niño and La Niña. It is interesting to note that El Nino induced anomalous anticyclone over the western North Pacific is stronger and shifts more toward the east during EP El Niño than during CP El Niño, while compared to CP El Niño, the center of an anomalous cyclone during La Niña shifts further to the west. As a consequence, both EP and CP El Niño decay fast and transform into a La Niña episode in the subsequent year, whereas La Niña has a much slower decay rate and re-develops in the second year.

     

The impact of artisanal fishing on coral reef fish health in Hat Thai Mueang,Phang-nga Province,Southern Thailand

This study investigates whether there has been a decline in fish stocks of a coral reef in Thailand, and if so, whether that decline is due to small-scale fishing. The research methods used included fish sampling by UVC, interviews and questionnaires with key informants and artisanal fishers. The results confirmed that there has been a decline in piscivores and carnivores (though not herbivores), and the main perceived threat came not from artisanal but from commercial fishing. Recommendations are to replace the largely unrestricted fishery with a more regulated regime backed by effective enforcement.     

Approaches to knowledge sharing and capacity building: The role of local information systems in marine and coastal management

This paper explores how coastal data and information can be mobilised in information systems and applied in coastal management. The concept of an Information System is defined and described, and the potential role of Local Information System (LIS) in integrated coastal management (ICM) is considered. Three examples, from the Severn Estuary, UK the coast of the North West of England and North Wales, and the Fal and Helford estuaries, are used to demonstrate the requirements of a LIS for coastal areas. The role of GIS as part of the solution is considered in detail. The paper demonstrates how ideas from the disciplines of information systems and information science can be practically applied in coastal areas. The findings promote a holistic approach for those involved in the development of technologies and dealing with data and information about coasts and oceans.     

Mantle dynamics of the Paleoproterozoic North China Craton: A perspective based on seismic tomography

We investigate the mantle dynamics beneath the North China Craton (NCC) and surrounding regions based on a synthesis of recent P-wave mantle tomographic data down to depths of 600–800 km and their correlation with the surface geological features, with particular reference to the Paleoproterozoic tectonic events associated with the incorporation of the NCC within the Columbia supercontinent amalgam. From the tomographic images, we identify a hot corridor in the mantle transition zone beneath the central region of the Western Block of the NCC sandwiched between two cold corridors. This scenario is similar to the donut-shaped high-velocity anomaly surrounding a region of low-velocity anomaly in the lowermost mantle under the Pacific and suggests that the cold regions might represent slab graveyards which provide the fuel for the plumes rising from the center. A tomographic transect along the collisional suture of the NCC with the Columbia supercontinent, covering the Yinshan-Ordos Blocks in the Western Block through the Central Orogenic Belt and into the Eastern Block of the NCC reveals a ca. 250 km thick lithospheric keel below the Ordos Block defined by a prominent high-velocity anomaly. We identify slab break-off and asthenospheric upwelling in this region and suggest that this process probably initiated the thermal and material erosion of the tectosphere beneath the Eastern Block from the Paleoproterozoic, which was further intensified during the Mesozoic when a substantial part of the sub-continental mantle lithosphere was lost. We visualize heat input from asthenosphere and interaction between asthenosphere and overlying carbonated tectosphere releasing CO₂-rich fluids for the preservation of ultra-high temperature (ca. 1000 °C) metamorphic rocks enriched in CO₂ as well as high-pressure mafic granulites as a paired suite in this region. We also identify a hot swell of the asthenosphere rooted to more than 200 km depth and reaching up to the shallow mantle in the tomographic section along 35°N latitude at a depth of 800 km. This zone represents a cross-section through the southern part of the NCC. The surface distribution of Paleoproterozoic Xiong’er lavas and mafic dykes in this region would indicate that this region might have evidenced similar upwellings in the past. Our study has important implications in understanding the evolution of the NCC and suggests that the extensive modification of the mantle architecture and lithospheric structure beneath one of the fundamental Precambrian nuclei of Asia had a prolonged history probably dating from the Paleoproterozoic suturing of the NCC within the Columbia supercontinent amalgam.     

Wildfire preparedness,community cohesion and social–ecological systems

The consequences of wildfires are felt in susceptible communities around the globe on an annual basis. Climate change predictions in places like the south-east of Australia and western United States suggest that wildfires may become more frequent and more intense with global climate change. Compounding this issue is progressive urban development at the peri-urban fringe (wildland–urban interface), where continued infrastructure development and demographic changes are likely to expose more people and property to this potentially disastrous natural hazard. Preparing well in advance of the wildfire season is seen as a fundamental behaviour that can both reduce community wildfire vulnerability and increase hazard resilience – it is an important element of adaptive capacity that allows people to coexist with the hazardous environment in which they live. We use household interviews and surveys to build and test a substantive model that illustrates how social cohesion influences the decision to prepare for wildfire. We demonstrate that social cohesion, particularly community characteristics like ‘sense of community’ and ‘collective problem solving’, are community-based resources that support both the adoption of mechanical preparations, and the development of cognitive abilities and capacities that reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience to wildfire. We use the results of this work to highlight opportunities to transfer techniques and approaches from natural hazards research to climate change adaptation research to explore how the impacts attributed to the social components of social–ecological systems can be mitigated more effectively.     

Subduction and back-arc activity at the Hikurangi convergent Margin,New Zealand

The Hikurangi Margin is a region of oblique subduction with northwest-dipping intermediate depth seismicity extending southwest from the Kermadec system to about 42°S. The current episode of subduction is at least 16–20 Ma old. The plate convergence rate varies along the margin from about 60 mm/a at the south end of the Kermadec Trench to about 45 mm/a at 42°S. The age of the Pacific lithosphere adjacent to the Hikurangi Trench is not known.The margin divides at about latitude 39°S into two quite dissimilar parts. The northern part has experienced andesitic volcanism for about 18 Ma, and back-arc extension in the last 4 Ma that has produced a back-arc basin onshore with high heaflow, thin crust and low upper-mantle seismic velocities. The extension appears to have arisen from a seawards migration of the Hikurangi Trench north of 39°S. Here the plate interface is thought to be currently uncoupled, as geodetic data indicate extension of the fore-arc basin, and historic earthquakes have not exceededM _s=7.South of 39°S there is no volcanism and a back-arc basin has been produced by downward flexure of the lithosphere due to strong coupling with the subducting plate. Heatflow in the basin is normal. Evidence for strong coupling comes from historic earthquakes of up to aboutM _s=8 and high rates of uplift on the southeast coast of the North Island.The reason for this division of the margin is not known but may be related to an inferred increase, from northeast to southwest, in the buoyancy of the Pacific lithosphere.     

Calculated mineral equilibria in the greenschist-blueschist-eclogite facies in Na2O−FeO−MgO−Al2O3−SiO2−H2O

The new, greatly expanded internally-consistent dataset of Holland and Powell includes thermodynamic data for a wide range of mineral end-members in common rock-forming minerals, in particular, including FeMg_-1 substitutions in glaucophane, garnet, chloritoid and carpholite, and FeMg_-1 and MgSiAl_-1Al_-1 substitutions in talc and chlorite. Moreover, we have the uncertainties and correlations for these data. With the data, we have calculated the full pressure-temperature phase diagram for the system Na₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O (NFMASH) for quartz (or coesite) and H₂O in excess, in the range 300°–800°C and 5–50 kbars. By solving the set of non-linear equations formed by the equilibrium relationships for an independent set of equations between the end-members in an assemblage in NFMASH, the compositions of the minerals (and PT) can be calculated. Thus the changes in MgSiAl_-1Al_-1 along NMASH reactions, and FeSiAl_-1Al_-1 along NFASH reactions, are calculated, and the changes in FeMg_-1 and MgSiAl_-1Al_-1 along NFMASH reactions are calculated. From this information it is straightforward to generate PT diagrams for specific rock compositions. Mineral assemblages and mineral compositional changes in the phase diagram are discussed in relation to greenschist, blueschist and eclogite facies assemblages in metapelitic rocks. It is found that the correspondence between the predictions of the phase diagrams and the observations on rocks is remarkably good. When semiquantitative extensions of the phase diagram to include Ca(MgFe)_-1, NaSiCa_-1Al_-1, Fe³⁺Al_-1 and KNa_-1 substitutions are taken into account the agreement is essentially complete.