Late Paleozoic–Early Triassic magmatism on the western margin of Gondwana: Collahuasi area, Northern Chile

The basement in the ‘Altiplano’ high plateau of the Andes of northern Chile mostly consists of late Paleozoic to Early Triassic felsic igneous rocks (Collahuasi Group) that were emplaced and extruded along the western margin of the Gondwana supercontinent. This igneous suite crops out in the Collahuasi area and forms the backbone of most of the high Andes from latitude 20° to 22°S. Rocks of the Collahuasi Group and correlative formations form an extensive belt of volcanic and subvolcanic rocks throughout the main Andes of Chile, the Frontal Cordillera of Argentina (Choiyoi Group or Choiyoi Granite-Rhyolite Province), and the Eastern Cordillera of Peru.Thirteen new SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages from the Collahuasi area document a bimodal timing for magmatism, with a dominant peak at about 300 Ma and a less significant one at 244 Ma. Copper–Mo porphyry mineralization is related to the younger igneous event.Initial Hf isotopic ratios for the ~ 300 Ma zircons range from about − 2 to + 6 indicating that the magmas incorporated components with a significant crustal residence time. The 244 Ma magmas were derived from a less enriched source, with the initial Hf values ranging from + 2 to + 6, suggestive of a mixture with a more depleted component. Limited whole rock ¹⁴⁴Nd/¹⁴³Nd and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotopic ratios further support the likelihood that the Collahuasi Group magmatism incorporated significant older crustal components, or at least a mixture of crustal sources with more and less evolved isotopic signatures.     

Book reviews

AN INTRODUCTION TO URBAN GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS by W.E. Huxhold. 16 x 23 cm, xxiii and 337 pages. Oxford University Press, New York, 1991. (ISBN 0 19 506535 2) $44.95 (soft).

INDONESIA: resources, ecology and environment (Natural Resources of South‐East Asia Series) edited by J. Hardjono. 14 × 22 cm, xvi and 262 pages. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1991. (ISBN 0 19 588992 4) $39.95 (hard).

THE UNIQUE CONTINENT: an introductory reader in Australian environmental studies edited by J. Smith. 13 × 20 cm, vi and 282 pages. University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, 1992. (ISBN 0 7022 2475 8) $14.95 (soft).

SPECIAL INTEREST TOURISM edited by B. Weiler and C.M. Hall. 15 × 23 cm, xi and 214 pages. Belhaven, London, 1992. (ISBN 1 85293 072 1) £35.00 (hard).

REMOTE POSSIBILITIES: the Aboriginal domain and the administrative imagination by T. Rowse. 18 × 25 cm, viii and 117 pages. North Australian Research Unit, Australian National University, Darwin, 1992. (ISBN 0 7315 1345 2) $15.00 (soft).

ANTARCTICA: an economic history of the last continent by M. Wilder. 21 × 29 cm, viii and 155 pages. Department of Economic History, University of Sydney, Sydney, 1992. (ISBN 0 86758 616 8) $20.00 (soft).

AUSTRALIAN RAINFORESTS (Oxford Monographs on Biogeography No. 6) by P. Adam. 19 × 25 cm, xiv and 308 pages. Oxford Science Publications/Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1992. (ISBN 0 19 854223) $170.00 (hard).     

Stability of planetary orbits in binary systems

The possible existence of stable orbits is investigated in binary systems using Hill's method. Analytical stability conditions are established for satellites, for inner planets and for outer planets, allowing arbitrary values for the mass-ratio of the binary.Presented at the Symposium Star Catalogues, Positional Astronomy and Celestial Mechanics, held in honor of Paul Herget at the U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, November 30, 1978.     

On the feasibility of some photochemical reactions of iodide in seawater

Aerated solutions of potassium iodide in de-ionised water, of between 5–20% (w/v), were exposed to ambient spring sunlight to estimate the rate of photochemical production of molecular iodine from iodide and oxygen in seawater. This rate cannot be measured directly as other reactions, for example the reduction of molecular iodine by organic matter, interfere. Also, a parallel photo-oxidation, initiated by organic matter in real seawater, may also occur. The experiments yield a half-life for iodide in tropical surface waters of about 29 months suggesting that the reaction is insignificant. At this rate it will not compete effectively against the reduction of molecular iodine by organic matter, and hence molecular iodine should not appear. The experiments also consider the photo-oxidation by nitrate, and iodate, a combination of nitrite and oxygen, and eliminate significant interference by chloride, bromide and the phosphate buffer. The rate of photo-oxidation with each of the first three oxidations is found to be first order with respect to oxidant concentration. The variation of photo-oxidation rate with pH is also studied, with a brief investigation without conventional oxidant, where electron cage complexes still promote photo-oxidation. The photochemical action spectrum for these reactions in sunlight is shown to extend between 300 and 425 nm. The photo-oxidation of iodide by iodate is more interesting to marine chemistry as the photo-reduction of iodate. Nevertheless, the reduction-rate is judged to be several orders too low to be significant in seawater. The mechanism of the reactions are discussed and lessons drawn on the stability of potassium iodide solutions used in iodate analysis. The KI actinometer is recommended to those studying other photochemical systems activated by UV-A light as it is linear and very simple and reliable.     

Subcellular Distribution of Heavy Metals in Organs of BivalveModiolus Modiolus Living Along a Metal Contamination Gradient

Concentration and distribution of Fe, Zn, Cu, Cd, Mn, Pb, Ni among subcellular fractions (cellular membrane structures and cytosol) and Zn, Cu, Cd among cytoplasmic proteins in the kidney and digestive gland of musselModiolus modiolus living along a polymetallic concentration gradient were studied. It was found in the kidney ofM. modiolus from contaminated sites that the Fe percent increased in the “membrane” fraction, whereas Zn, Pb, Ni and Mn percent increased in the cytosol compared to the kidney of the control mussel. Note kidney cytosol ofM. modiolus from clean and contaminated sites sequestered major parts of Cu and Cd. In the digestive gland ofM. modiolus from contaminated sites Fe, Zn, Cd, Mn, Ni percent increased in the “membrane” fraction, whereas Cu, Pb percent increased in the cytosol compared to digestive gland of control mussel. Gel-filtration chromatography shows kidney ofM. modiolus contains increased metallothionein-like protein levels irrespective of ambient dissolved metal concentrations. It was shown that the metal detoxification system in the kidney and digestive gland ofM. modiolus was efficient under extremely high ambient metal levels. However, under complex environmental contamination in the kidney ofM. modiolus, the metal detoxification capacity of metallothionein-like proteins was damaged.     

Small waterplane area ship models: Re-analysis of test results based on scale effect and form drag

The first systematic model series of hulls with small waterplane area (both single hulls and twin-hulls) was designed and tested in Krylov Shipbuilding Research Institute in the middle of the 1980's. The series was intended to cover a broad range of Froude numbers, hull aspect ratios, design drafts, and spacing between hulls. In the present paper, these test results are re-analyzed by accounting for the scale effect in the form drag, obtained from the comparison with test data of larger out-of-series models. Illustrative results are also given for the influence of the cross-section hull shape, strut configuration, and shifted hulls on the residual resistance and for dynamic trim and draft. Some data are compared with those of the later series tests of twin-hull models with small waterplane area carried out in HSVA, Germany. Factors influencing the residual resistance of ships of this type are discussed.     

Remote acoustic sensing methods for studies in oceanology

In this paper, the lines of investigation on a problem of the development of remote acoustic sensing methods in oceanology are formulated. This paper summarizes the results of investigations into the possibilities for monitoring temperature and flow fields in shallow seas. In the discussed experiments, the instrumentation being constituents of the complex for longduration remote monitoring of marine medium climatic variability and that of the acoustic tomography of shallow sea dynamic processes is used. The acoustic instruments were located on the POI FEB RAS acousto-hydrophy sical polygon (Pacific Oceanological Institute, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy o f Sciences) near the Gamov Peninsula. Acoustic receiving and transmitting systems operating with multiplex phase-manipulated signals (of M-codes) at frequency range 250-2500 Hz form the basis for this complex.     

Sea-bottom classification across a shallow-water bar channel and near-shore shelf, using single-beam acoustics

An acoustic ground discrimination system (QTC VIEW, Series IV) was used to identify and map the bottom acoustic diversity in the bar channel of Ria de Aveiro, Western Portugal. The majority of the survey area presented shallow depth for this type of equipment, ranging mainly from 5 to 15 m. Depth occasionally reached 25 m in specific areas located across the entrance channel, dug by the strong tidal currents, reaching 3 m/s. The acoustic data were submitted to manual and auto-cluster and the results obtained from both procedures were coherent. Using aids to the acoustic classification and ground-truth sediment data, a final solution consisting of four acoustic classes was reached. Their geographical distribution was coincident with the spatial distribution of the major bottom types and sediment groups (hard bottom, coarse sand, medium sand and fine sand), identified through multivariate analysis of the grain-size data, and reflected the complex hydrodynamics of the entrance channel. The acoustic pattern was coincident at the intersections of the acoustic survey lines, assuring the repeatability of the acoustic procedure. Overall, the acoustic approach showed consistent results for the assessment and mapping of the benthic habitats in this shallow-water coastal area, providing a very valuable tool in an area where conventional sediment sampling is less favourable, namely due to strong tidal currents and frequent ship traffic, such as the entrance channel of Ria de Aveiro and the near-shore adjacent shelf.     

Reconstructions of the Mediterranean Outflow Water during the quaternary based on the study of changes in buried mounded drift stacking pattern in the Gulf of Cadiz

Contourite deposits in the central sector of the middle slope of the Gulf of Cadiz have been studied using a comprehensive acoustic, seismic and core database. Buried, mounded, elongated and separated drifts developed under the influence of the lower core of the Mediterranean Outflow Water are preserved in the sedimentary record. These are characterised by depositional features in an area where strong tectonic and erosive processes are now dominant. The general stacking pattern of the depositional system is mainly influenced by climatic changes through the Quaternary, whereas changes in the depositional style observed in two, buried, mounded drifts, the Guadalquivir and Huelva Drifts, are evidence of a tectonic control. In the western Guadalquivir Drift, the onset of the sheeted drift construction (aggrading QII unit) above a mounded drift (prograding QI unit) resulted from a new Lower Mediterranean Core Water hydrodynamic regime. This change is correlated with a tectonic event coeval with the Mid Pleistocene Revolution (MPR) discontinuity that produced new irregularities of the seafloor during the Mid- to Late-Pleistocene. Changes in the Huelva Drift from a mounded to a sheeted drift geometry during the Late-Pleistocene, and from a prograding drift (QI and most part of QII) to an aggrading one (upper seismic unit of QII), highlight a new change in oceanographic conditions. This depositional and then oceanographic change is associated with a tectonic event, coeval with the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 discontinuity, in which a redistribution of the diapiric ridges led to the development of new local gateways, three principal branches of the Mediterranean Lower Core Water, and associated contourite channels. As a result, these buried contourite drifts hold a key palaeoceanographic record of the evolution of Mediterranean Lower Core Water, influenced by both neotectonic activity and climatic changes during the Quaternary. This study is an example of how contourite deposits and erosive elements in the marine environment can provide evidence for the reconstruction of palaeoceanographic and recent tectonic changes.