Closing and continentalization of the South Pyrenean foreland basin (NE Spain): magnetochronological constraints

This paper presents new magnetostratigraphic results from a 1100‐m‐thick composite section across the marine to continental sediments of the central part of the SE margin of the Ebro basin (NE Spain). Integration with existing marine and continental biochronological data allows a robust correlation with the geomagnetic polarity time scale. The resulting absolute chronology ranges from 36.3 to 31.1 Ma (Priabonian to Rupelian), and yields an interpolated age of ～36.0 Ma (within chron C16n.2n) for the youngest marine sediments of the eastern Ebro basin. This age is in concordance with a reinterpretation of earlier magnetostratigraphic data from the western South Pyrenean foreland basin, and indicates that continentalization of the basin occurred as a rapid and isochronous event. The basin continentalization, determined by the seaway closure that resulted from the uplift of the western Pyrenees, was probably coincident with a mid‐amplitude eustatic sea level low with a maximum at 36.2 Ma. The base level drop that followed the basin closure and desiccation does not appear associated to a significant sedimentary hiatus along the margins, suggesting a late Eocene shallow marine basin that rapidly refilled and raised its base level after the seaway closing. Rapid basin filling following continentalization predates the phase of rapid exhumation of the Central Pyrenean Axial Zone from 35.0 to 32.0 Ma, determined from the thermochronology data. It is possible then that sediment aggradation at the front of the fold‐and‐thrust belt could have contributed to a decrease in the taper angle, triggering growth of the inner orogenic wedge through break‐back thrusting and underplating. Contrasting sedimentation trends between the western and eastern sectors of the South Pyrenean foreland indicate that basin closing preferentially affected those areas subjected to sediment bypass towards the ocean domain. As a result, sediment ponding after basin closure is responsible for a two‐fold increase of sedimentation rates in the western sector, while changes of sedimentation rates are undetected in the more restricted scenario of the eastern Ebro basin.     

Hydrodynamic conditions associated with the formation,maintenance and dissipation of a phytoplankton thin layer in a coastal upwelling system

During May–June 2005, a 17-d cruise was carried out in Ría de Pontevedra (Galician Rías Baixas) to study the physical–biological interactions that may lead to subsurface aggregations of phytoplankton organisms in thin layers (TLs). Physical processes governed the initiation and development, maintenance, and decline of a diatom (toxin producing Pseudo-nitzschia spp. and Chaetoceros socialis) TL during an upwelling relaxation-upwelling–downwelling sequence. Differences in shear profiles appeared to lead to the formation of a TL during upwelling events. These results reveal that the coupling between maximum values of shear and buoyancy frequency can shape a subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) into a TL. The effect of shear upon phytoplankton patches, which has been predicted on the basis of theoretical studies, has been corroborated in this study in which the vertical distribution of an observed TL was controlled by physical processes.     

Radial velocities in the open cluster Trumpler 14

Spatially-homogenous and anisotropic Bianchi type-II and III cosmological models are obtained in Barber's second self-creation theory of gravitation both in vacuum and in the presence of perfect fluid with pressure equal to energy density. Some properties of the models are discussed.     

Products and Mechanism of the NO<Subscript>3</Subscript> Reaction with Thiophene

Products of the gas-phase reaction of the NO₃ radical with thiophene have been investigated using different experimental systems. On the one hand, experiments have been conducted in our laboratory using two different methods, a Teflon static reactor coupled to a gas chromatograph combined with mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) and a discharge flow tube with direct MS spectroscopic detection. A qualitative analysis in these cases indicates that possible products for the reaction of thiophene+NO₃ at room temperature include: sulphur dioxide, acetic and formic acids, a short-chain aldehyde, 2-nitrothiophene and 3-nitrothiophene. On the other hand, quantitative experiments have been performed in the European Photoreactor (EUPHORE) in Valencia, Spain. In this case, the major products were: HNO₃ (≈80%), nitrothiophenes (≈30%), SO₂ (≈20%), propanal (3%) and a fraction of particles (≈10%). The results obtained indicate that at least 70% of the reaction of NO₃ with thiophene proceeds by an H-abstraction process at room temperature. The mechanism of the reaction studied is proposed on the basis of experimental results.     

Expected and observed late giant star counts in the Milky Way bulge

In this paper, late M giants star counts in the Milky Way central bulge are compared with those expected from the Hubble and de Vaucouleurs surface brightness distributions.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the U.S. National Science Foundation.     

Paleoecological and climatic changes of the Upper Lerma Basin, Central Mexico during the Holocene

The record of Almoloya Lake in the Upper Lerma basin starts with the deposition of the late Pleistocene Upper Toluca Pumice layer. The data from this interval indicate a period of climatic instability that lasted until 8500 cal yr B.P., when temperature conditions stabilized, although moisture fluctuations continued until 8000 cal yr B.P. Between 8500 and 5000 cal yr B.P. a temperate climate is indicated by dominance of Pinus. From 5000 to 3000 cal yr B.P. Quercus forest expanded, suggesting a warm temperate climate: a first indication of drier environmental conditions is an increase in grassland between 4200 and 3500 cal yr B.P. During the Late Holocene (3300 to 500 cal yr B.P.) the increase of Pinus and grassland indicates temperate dry conditions, with a considerable increase of Pinus between 1100 and 950 cal yr B.P. At the end of this period, humidity increased. The main tendency during the Holocene was a change from humid to dry conditions. During the Early Holocene, Almoloya Lake was larger and deeper; the changing humidity regime resulted in a fragmented marshland, with the presence of aquatic and subaquatic vegetation types.     

Burial metamorphic episodes in the Andean geosyncline,Central Chile

The burial metamorphism of the Andean geosynclinal deposits of Central Chile is studied. The stratigraphic units under consideration, Lower Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous and/or Lower Tertiary in age, have an accumulated thickness of 15,000 to 28,000 m, cover an area of nearly 2,500 km², and consist predominantly of basic and acid lavas, ignimbrites and volcanic-clastic sediments, deposited in marine and continental environments. Unconformities break up the sequence into several stratigraphic-structural units.A specific burial metamorphic pattern, or series, characterizes each of the units. Each series consists of a succession of mineral assemblages, the metamorphic grade increasing downwards. The isograds are essentially parallel to the bedding planes. The grade range in each series covers different intervals between the zeolite and greenschist facies. Each unconformity corresponds to a mineralogie break in the alteration, higher grade assemblages generally overlying lower grade assemblages. The downward increase in metamorphic grade as well as the mineralogie breaks seem to be unrelated to the volcanic versus sedimentary character and to the continental versus marine depositional environment of the rocks.The repeated pattern of burial metamorphism between unconformities suggests a history consisting of several burial metamorphic episodes, each taking place prior to a folding period and leaving unaffected the underlying units, which were apparently sealed up by the previous episode. This mechanism provides an explaination for the presence of such low-grade burial metamorphic facies at the bottom of a stratigraphic column as thick as that of the Andean Geosyncline.

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Zusammenfassung Die Auswirkungen der Versenkungsmetamorphose auf die Ablagerungen der andinen Geosynklinale in Mittel-Chile wurden untersucht. Die betrachteten stratigraphischen Einheiten, unterer Jura bis obere Kreide und/oder unteres Tertiär, haben eine kumulative Mächtigkeit von 15 000 bis 28 000 m; sie bedecken ein Gebiet von fast 2500 km² und bestehen in der Hauptsache aus basischen und sauren Laven, Ignimbriten und vulkanoklastischen Sedimenten, die unter marinen und kontinentalen Bedingungen abgelagert wurden. Diskordanzen unterteilen die Abfolge in mehrere stratigraphisch-strukturelle Einheiten.Jede Einheit ist in einer besonderen, für die Versenkungsmetamorphose typischen Abfolge von Mineralgesellschaften geprägt. Der Grad der Metamorphose steigt mit zunehmender Tiefe. Die Isograden verlaufen im wesentlichen parallel zu den Schichtflächen. Die Bandbreite jeder der metamorphen Mineralgesellschaften bedeckt verschiedene Intervalle zwischen der Zeolith- und Grünschiefer-Fazies. Jeder Diskordanz entspricht auch ein Sprung in der mineralogischen Zusammensetzung, wobei die höhergradigen Mineralgesellschaften in der Regel die tiefergradigen überlagern. Der mit der Tiefe zunehmende Grad der Metamorphose und die Sprünge in der mineralogischen Zusammensetzung scheinen von dem vulkanischen bzw. sedimentären Charakter der Gesteine ebenso unabhängig zu sein wie von deren marinen bzw. kontinentalen Bildungsbedingungen.Die sich wiederholenden Muster der Versenkungsmetamorphose zwischen den Diskordanzen lassen vermuten, daß mehrere Metamorphosen stattfanden, wobei jede einzelne Umwandlung vor einer Faltungsperiode ablief und die unterlagernden Einheiten unverändert ließ, die anscheinend durch die vorangegangene Metamorphose versiegelt wurden. Dieser Mechanismus liefert eine Erklärung für die niedriggradigen Fazies der Versenkungsmetamorphose im Liegenden einer so mächtigen stratigraphischen Abfolge wie der der andinen Geosynklinale.

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Resumen En este trabajo se describe el metamorfismo de sepultamiento en los depósitos del Geosinclinal Andino. Las unidades estratigráficas estudiadas son de edad jurásica inferior a cretácica superior y/o terciaria inferior, tienen un espesor acumulado de 15.000 a 28.000 m, cubren un area de aproximadamente 2.500 km² y consisten predominantemente de lavas básicas y ácidas, ignimbritas y rocas sedimentario-volcánicas, depositadas en ambiente marino y continental.Cada una de las unidades estratigráficas está caracterizada por una serie metamórfica de sepultamiento específica. Cada serie consiste de una sucesión de asociaciones minerales con un grado de metamorfismo que aumenta hacia abajo. Las isogradas son esencialmente paralelas a los planos de estratificación. El rango de grado metamórfico de cada serie abarca diferentes intervalos entre las facies de zeolita y esquistos verdes. Cada discordancia corresponde a una discontinuidad mineralógica en la alteración en la que generalmente las asociaciones de mayor grado metamórfico cubren asociaciones de menor grado. El aumento de grado hacia abajo, lo mismo que las discontinuidades mineralógicas, parecen ser independientes tanto del carácter sedimentario o volcánico como del ambiente continental o marino de la depositación.La repetición de series metamórficas de sepultamiento entre discordancias, indica varios episodios metamórficos, cada uno de ellos anterior al plegamiento de la unidad afectada; al mismo tiempo, cada episodio metamórfico dejó sin afectar las unidades subyacentes, las que aparentemente habrían sido selladas por el episodio anterior.Este mecanismo explicaría la presencia de una facies metamórfica tan baja como la que existe en el fondo de una columna estratigráfica tan potente como la del Geosinclinal Andino.

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Accumulation of lead and associated metals (Cu and Zn) at different growth stages of soybean crops in lead-contaminated soils: food security and crop quality implications

The Pb, Cu and Zn content, the physicochemical parameters in soils (EC, OM%, soil texture and pH) and the metal accumulation of Glycine max plants at different growth stages were evaluated. Topsoil and soybean samples were collected in the vicinity of a former battery-recycling plant, with the results showing that only the concentrations of Pb in soils corresponding to sites located near to the lead emission source were above the maximum permissible levels. However, soybean crops accumulated Pb above the permitted levels at all studied sites, revealing a potential toxicological risk for direct consumption. Thus, the accumulation of Pb in soybean was directly related to the translocation factor of the metal from roots to aerial parts of the plant. This was evidenced as a lower accumulation at early growth stages and a higher accumulation at maturity, with the distribution between organs coinciding with nutrient incorporation and remobilization in the plant. Moreover, the bioconcentration factor revealed that the bioaccumulation of lead in soybean was a consequence of the lead-recycling plant activity in the past. Taken together, results of the present study demonstrated that soybean crops can incorporate and accumulate potentially toxic metals, such as lead.