Structural history of the Greenvale Province,north Queensland: Early Palaeozoic extension and convergence on the Pacific margin of Gondwana*

The southeastern Georgetown Inlier (Greenvale Province) consists of Early Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks in fault contact along the Lynd Mylonite Zone with the Palaeoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic craton of northeastern Australia. It has a central assemblage of metamorphosed silicic volcanic and sedimentary rocks considered equivalent to the Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician Seventy Mile Range Group that developed in an extensional backarc in the Charters Towers Province to the southeast. In the western part of the Greenvale Province, the Oasis Metamorphics have a U – Pb zircon SHRIMP metamorphic age of 476 ± 5 Ma and are intruded by the granodioritic Lynwater Complex with U – Pb zircon ages of 486 ± 5 Ma and 477 ± 6 Ma. These ages are consistent with these rocks forming basement and intrusive equivalents to the extensional volcanic basin. Existing geochronological constraints on the Halls Reward domain, located at the eastern margin of the province, are consistent with it being basement to the extensional basin. Several domains are recognised in the Greenvale Province with either dominantly steep or low to moderate dips of the main foliation, and each experienced multiple deformation with locally up to four overprinting structural phases. Steepening of foliation in several of the domains is attributed to contractional deformation in the Early Silurian that is inferred to have overprinted low-angle foliation developed during extensional tectonics in the backarc setting. Contractional deformation related to the Early Silurian Benambran Orogeny is considered responsible for multiple deformation in the Greenvale Province and reactivation of domain-bounding faults.     

Population ecology of Sinelobus stanfordi (Crustacea: Tanaidacea) in a temperate southern microtidal estuary

Sinelobus stanfordi is a tanaidacean of worldwide distribution of considerable significance within coastal ecosystems. The aim of this research was to provide essential information on the poorly-known population biology of this species. Benthic samples were taken seasonally from winter 2005 through summer 2007 along 155?km of shoreline within the Río de la Plata Estuary, Argentina. The density of this tanaidacean was higher in vegetated than in bare sediments. The smaller individuals flourished in spring and summer, whereas the larger mature members prevailed in the cooler seasons. Females were always twice as abundant as males. Copulatory females, with 18?±?8 eggs each, were collected during all the seasons. Five cohorts were distinguished by the von Bertalanffy growth function. This research represents a baseline investigation for future studies on the population dynamics of S. stanfordi both in this estuary and in other places where this species is found.     

Critical conditions for successful regeneration of an endangered annual plant,Cryptantha minima: A modeling approach

Tiny cryptanthe (Cryptantha minima Rydb.) is an endangered annual plant adapted to prairie sand dunes of Canada. Thermal time and hydrothermal time models were used to quantify the effect of temperature and water potential on seed germination and to relate it to field conditions. Tiny cryptanthe seeds had a base temperature of ?3.9 °C for germination. Final germination percentage was highest at temperatures near the freezing point. Seeds required approximately 130.6 °C d to reach 50% germination under optimal water conditions. Seed germination was sensitive to water stress and large seeds had lower germination than small ones especially at reduced water potentials and higher temperatures. The high potential germination and low seed dormancy indicate that tiny cryptanthe lacks a dormancy mechanism, but the unique germination response to temperature enables it to fully utilize water from spring snowmelt before drought in the summer. Future climate change with higher temperatures could reduce regeneration success of this species unless there is an associated increase in winter and spring precipitation.     

Geochronology of the Precambrian crust in the Mozambique belt in NE Mozambique, and implications for Gondwana assembly

Zircon and monazite U–Pb data document the geochronology of the felsic crust in the Mozambique Belt in NE Mozambique. Immediately E of Lake Niassa and NW of the Karoo-aged Maniamba Graben, the Ponta Messuli Complex preserves Paleoproterozoic gneisses with granulite-facies metamorphism dated at 1950 ± 15 Ma, and intruded by granite at 1056 ± 11 Ma. This complex has only weak evidence for a Pan-African metamorphism. Between the Maniamba Graben and the WSW–ENE-trending Lurio (shear) Belt, the Unango and Marrupa Complexes consist mainly of felsic orthogneisses dated between 1062 ± 13 and 946 ± 11 Ma, and interlayered with minor paragneisses. In these complexes, an amphibolite- to granulite-facies metamorphism is dated at 953 ± 8 Ma and a nepheline syenite pluton is dated at 799 ± 8 Ma. Pan-African deformation and high-grade metamorphism are more intense and penetrative southwards, towards the Lurio Belt. Amphibolite-facies metamorphism is dated at 555 ± 11 Ma in the Marrupa Complex and amphibolite- to granulite-facies metamorphism between 569 ± 9 and 527 ± 8 Ma in the Unango Complex. Post-collisional felsic plutonism, dated between 549 ± 13 and 486 ± 27 Ma, is uncommon in the Marrupa Complex but common in the Unango Complex. To the south of the Lurio Belt, the Nampula Complex consists of felsic orthogneisses which gave ages ranging from 1123 ± 9 to 1042 ± 9 Ma, interlayered with paragneisses. The Nampula Complex underwent amphibolite-facies metamorphism in the period between 543 ± 23 to 493 ± 8 Ma, and was intruded by voluminous post-collisional granitoid plutons between 511 ± 12 and 508 ± 3 Ma. In a larger context, the Ponta Messuli Complex is regarded as part of the Palaeoproterozoic, Usagaran, Congo-Tanzania Craton foreland of the Pan-African orogen. The Unango, Marrupa and Nampula Complexes were probably formed in an active margin setting during the Mesoproterozoic. The Unango and Marrupa Complexes were assembled on the margin of the Congo-Tanzania Craton during the Irumidian orogeny (ca. 1020–950 Ma), together with terranes in the Southern Irumide Belt. The distinctly older Nampula Complex was more probably linked to the Maud Belt of Antarctica, and peripheral to the Kalahari Craton during the Neoproterozoic. During the Pan-African orogeny, the Marrupa Complex was overlain by NW-directed nappes of the Cabo Delgado Nappe Complex before peak metamorphism at ca. 555 Ma. The nappes include evidence for early Pan-African orogenic events older than 610 Ma, typical for the Eastern Granulites in Tanzania. Crustal thickening at 555 ± 11 Ma is coeval with high-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism along the Lurio Belt at 557 ± 16 Ma. Crustal thickening in NE Mozambique is part of the main Pan-African, Kuunga, orogeny peaking between 570 and 530 Ma, during which the Congo-Tanzania, Kalahari, East Antarctica and India Cratons welded to form Gondwana. Voluminous post-collisional magmatism and metamorphism younger than 530 Ma in the Lurio Belt and the Nampula Complex are taken as evidence of gravitational collapse of the extensive orogenic domain south of the Lurio Belt after ca. 530 Ma. The Lurio Belt may represent a Pan-African suture zone between the Kalahari and Congo-Tanzania Craton.     

Compound specific δD values of long chain n-alkanes derived from terrestrial higher plants are indicative of the δD of meteoric waters: Evidence from surface soils in eastern China

The stable carbon and hydrogen isotope composition of higher plant-derived long chain n-alkanes (δ¹³C_n-alkanes and δD_n-alkanes) from 45 surface soil samples (within well characterized vegetation zones) from eastern China (18°N–50°N) are reported. The weighted average δD_n-alkanes value for n-C₂₇, n-C₂₉ and n-C₃₁ in the samples and the annual average δD of meteoric water recorded at 12 weather stations proximal to the sampling sites show similar spatial variations. The δD of n-alkanes shows a gradual depletion in value with increasing latitude. The results demonstrate that, on a large spatial scale, the δD values of long chain n-alkanes derived from higher plants have the potential to record the δD of meteoric water, although many other factors can also influence the isotope values. There appears to be no apparent relationship between the δD of the n-alkanes extracted from the surface soil and the overlying vegetation type (i.e. forest/grassland or C₃/C₄ composition). Therefore, palaeoenvironmental studies utilizing δD_n-alkanes from higher plant-derived material in geological samples have the potential to provide additional information with regard to the past hydrological cycle.     

The interstellar medium towards the Ara OB1 region

The forthcoming data expected from space missions such as CoRoT require the capacity of the available tools to provide accurate models whose numerical precision is well above the expected observational errors. In order to secure that these tools meet the specifications, a team has been established to test and, when necessary, to improve the codes available in the community. The CoRoT Evolution and Seismic Tool Activity (ESTA) has been set up with this mission. Several groups have been involved. The present paper describes the motivation and the organisation of this activity, providing the context and the basis for the presentation of the results that have been achieved so far. This is not a finished task as future even better data will continue to demand more precise and complete tools for asteroseismology.     

Bank erosion and channel width change in a tropical catchment

Catchment sediment budget models are used to predict the location and rates of bank erosion in tropical catchments draining to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, yet the reliability of these predictions has not been tested due to a lack of measured bank erosion data. This paper presents the results of a 3 year field study examining bank erosion and channel change on the Daintree River, Australia. Three different methods were employed: (1) erosion pins were used to assess the influence of riparian vegetation on bank erosion, (2) bench‐marked cross‐sections were used to evaluate annual changes in channel width and (3) historical aerial photos were used to place the short term data into a longer temporal perspective of channel change (1972–2000). The erosion pin data suggest that the mean erosion rate of banks with riparian vegetation is 6·5 times (or 85%) lower than that of banks without riparian vegetation. The changes measured from cross‐section surveys suggest that channel width has increased by an average of 0·74 (±0·47) m a^?1 over the study period (or ～0·8% yr^?1). The aerial photo results suggest that over the last 30 years the Daintree River has undergone channel contraction of the order of 0·25 m a^?1. The cross‐section data were compared against modelled SedNet bank erosion rates, and it was found that the model underestimated bank erosion and was unable to represent the variable erosion and accretion processes that were observed in the field data. The reach averaged bank erosion rates were improved by the inclusion of locally derived bed slope and discharge estimates; however, the results suggest that it will be difficult for catchment scale sediment budget models to ever accurately predict the location and rate of bank erosion due to the variation in bank erosion rates in both space and time. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浙江长兴煤山地区吴家坪阶-长兴阶界线地层的再认识

浙江长兴煤山的 D剖面经多年研究 ,已成为二叠系长兴阶的单位层型和二叠系 -三叠系全球界线层型 ,并被推荐为吴家坪阶 -长兴阶全球界线层型的候选剖面 ,因该剖面上龙潭组地层出露较少 ,以致国内对长兴组与龙潭组的接触关系存有不同意见 ,给层型剖面的建立带来不利影响。在清理和研究了 D剖面西侧 30 0 m处 C剖面的吴家坪阶 -长兴阶界线层段后 ,证实了煤山地区龙潭组与长兴组为整合接触 ,对相关化石的地层分布也获得进一步的认识     

Marine electrical resistivity imaging of submarine groundwater discharge: sensitivity analysis and application in Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts, USA

Electrical resistivity imaging has been used in coastal settings to characterize fresh submarine groundwater discharge and the position of the freshwater/salt-water interface because of the relation of bulk electrical conductivity to pore-fluid conductivity, which in turn is a function of salinity. Interpretation of tomograms for hydrologic processes is complicated by inversion artifacts, uncertainty associated with survey geometry limitations, measurement errors, and choice of regularization method. Variation of seawater over tidal cycles poses unique challenges for inversion. The capabilities and limitations of resistivity imaging are presented for characterizing the distribution of freshwater and saltwater beneath a beach. The experimental results provide new insight into fresh submarine groundwater discharge at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, East Falmouth, Massachusetts (USA). Tomograms from the experimental data indicate that fresh submarine groundwater discharge may shut down at high tide, whereas temperature data indicate that the discharge continues throughout the tidal cycle. Sensitivity analysis and synthetic modeling provide insight into resolving power in the presence of a time-varying saline water layer. In general, vertical electrodes and cross-hole measurements improve the inversion results regardless of the tidal level, whereas the resolution of surface arrays is more sensitive to time-varying saline water layer.     

Archean chemical weathering at three localities on the Canadian Shield

Sapropelite developed on a granodiorite basement below the Archean Steeprock Group in the western Superior Structural Province of Canada, weathered materials from a 3.15 Ga granitic basement to the Archean Yellowknife Supergroup in the Slave Structural Province, and weathered detritus from contemporaneous komatiites and gneissic basement of the Archean Prince Albert Group in northern Churchill Structural Province, have been analysed. The deviation of the weakly metamorphosed weathered material from the chemical composition of their precursors is comparable to that seen in more recent weathered profiles from similar source materials. This includes the enhancement of ferric to ferrous iron ratios, and potash to soda, lime and magnesia ratios. There is also an increase in lighter REE and a depletion of heavier REE. Quartz rich sediments immediately above the unconformity, derived from the basement granitoids, may be enriched in aluminum and iron, and yield chloritoid under proper metamorphic conditions. Sediments formed from mixed sources, such as weathered gneissic basement and contemporaneous komatiitic volcanics, yield anomalous resistate sedimentary mixtures such as chromiferous quartzites. Based on the data given here, there is no need to postulate that different weathering and/or ground water systems were operative during the Archean, compared to more recent times. On the other hand the complicated weathering and diagenetic history that altered material undergoes below a subsiding unconformity, relies as much or more on the buffering capacity of the enclosed rock mass as on the atmospheric conditions prevalent at the time of weathering. Hence weathering profiles, old and new, are more a response to local environmental conditions within the rock than the composition of the atmosphere.