U-Th-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopic constraints on the evolution of sub-continental lithospheric mantle, French Massif Central

We have carried out a Pb double-spike and Lu-Hf isotope study of clinopyroxenes from spinel-facies mantle xenoliths entrained in Cenozoic intraplate continental volcanism of the French Massif Central (FMC). U-Th-Pb and Lu-Hf isotope systematics verify the existence of different lithospheric domains beneath the northern and southern FMC. Northern FMC clinopyroxenes have extreme Lu/Hf ratios and ultra-radiogenic Hf (ε_Hf = +39.6 to +2586) that reflect ∼15-25% partial melting in Variscan times (depleted mantle model ages ∼360 Ma). Zr, Hf and Th abundances in these clinopyroxenes are low and unaffected by hydrous/carbonatitic metasomatism that overprinted LILE and light REE abundances and caused decoupling of Lu/Hf-Sm/Nd ratios and Nd-Hf isotopes (ε_Nd = +2.1 to +91.2). Pb isotopes of northern FMC clinopyroxenes are radiogenic (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb > 19), and typically more so than the host intraplate volcanic rocks. ²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb ratios range from 17 to 68, and most samples have distinctively low ²³²Th/²³⁸U (<1) and ²³²Th/²⁰⁴Pb (3-22). Clinopyroxenes from southern FMC lherzolites are generally marked by overall incompatible trace element enrichment including Zr, Hf and Th abundances, and have Pb isotopes that are similar to or less radiogenic than the host volcanic rocks. Hf isotope ratios are less radiogenic (ε_Hf = +5.4 to +41.5) than northern FMC mantle and have been overprinted by silicate-melt-dominated metasomatism that affected this part of FMC mantle. Major element and Lu concentrations of clinopyroxenes from southern FMC harzburgites are broadly similar to northern FMC clinopyroxenes and suggest they experienced similar degrees of melt extraction as northern FMC mantle. ²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb (53-111) and ²³²Th/²⁰⁴Pb ratios (157-355) of enriched clinopyroxenes from the southern FMC are extreme and significantly higher than the intraplate volcanic rocks. In summary, mantle peridotites from different parts of the FMC record depletion at ∼360 Ma during Variscan subduction, followed by differing styles of enrichment. Northern FMC mantle was overprinted by a fluid/carbonatitic metasomatic agent that carried elements like U, Pb, Sr and light REE. In contrast, much of the southern FMC mantle was metasomatised by a small-degree partial silicate melt resulting in enrichment of all incompatible trace elements. The extreme mantle ²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb (northern and southern FMC), ²³²Th/²³⁸U (northern FMC) and ²³²Th/²⁰⁴Pb ratios (southern FMC), coupled with unremarkable present-day Pb isotope ratios, constrain the timing of enrichment. Mantle metasomatism is a young feature related to melting of the upwelling mantle responsible for Cenozoic FMC volcanism, rather than subduction-related metasomatism intimately associated with mantle depletion during the Variscan orogeny. The varying metasomatic styles relate to pre-existing variations in the thickness of the continental lithospheric lid, which controlled the extent to which upwelling mantle could ascend and melt. In the northern FMC, a thicker and more refractory lithospheric lid (?80 km) only allowed incipient degrees of melting resulting in fluid/carbonatitic metasomatism of the overlying sub-continental lithospheric mantle. The thinner lithospheric lid of the southern FMC (?70 km) allowed larger degrees of melting and resulted in silicate-melt-dominated metasomatism, and also focused the location of the volcanic fields of the FMC above this region.     

The ecological implications of a Yakutian mammoth's last meal

Part of a large male woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) was preserved in permafrost in northern Yakutia. It was radiocarbon dated to ca. 18,500 ¹⁴C yr BP (ca. 22,500 cal yr BP). Dung from the lower intestine was subjected to a multiproxy array of microscopic, chemical, and molecular techniques to reconstruct the diet, the season of death, and the paleoenvironment. Pollen and plant macro-remains showed that grasses and sedges were the main food, with considerable amounts of dwarf willow twigs and a variety of herbs and mosses. Analyses of 110-bp fragments of the plastid rbcL gene amplified from DNA and of organic compounds supplemented the microscopic identifications. Fruit-bodies of dung-inhabiting Ascomycete fungi which develop after at least one week of exposure to air were found inside the intestine. Therefore the mammoth had eaten dung. It was probably mammoth dung as no bile acids were detected among the fecal biomarkers analysed. The plant assemblage and the presence of the first spring vessels of terminal tree-rings of dwarf willows indicated that the animal died in early spring. The mammoth lived in extensive cold treeless grassland vegetation interspersed with wetter, more productive meadows. The study demonstrated the paleoecological potential of several biochemical analytical techniques.     

Globalisation and Border Dynamics: impacts on the urban development of Darwin,Australia

National boundaries and border cities have been transformed globally. This is partly due to neoliberal globalisation, the continuous formation of a ‘borderless world’ and partly to the global ‘war on terror’. Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory (NT), is on the northern coast of Australia, bordering its overseas Asian neighbours. Far away from the main Australian population centres in the south, the city grows slowly, relying mainly on Australian government investments, infrastructure, and the incorporation of defence programs in the north. The rise of Asia, as well as Australia's increasing economic reliance on Asia, has created new opportunities for Darwin's growth. The development of Asian economies has resulted in growing global investment in resource extraction in NT. Asia, though, has been seen as a key threat in the modern history of Australia. This national sensitivity is underpinned by the global ‘war on terror’ in which Australia is deeply involved. Australia has tight border control regimes and a growing military presence on the northern border area. This paper examines how these co-existing but contradictory dynamics have reshaped the urban development of Darwin City. The consequential social and spatial patterns are identified and discussed.     

Neogene-Quaternary contourite and related deposition on the West Shetland Slope and Faeroe-Shetland Channel revealed by high-resolution seismic studies

The Neogene and Quaternary sediments of the Faeroe-Shetland Channel and West Shetland shelf and slope rest upon a major regional unconformity, the Latest Oligocene Unconformity (LOU), and have been deposited through the interaction of downslope and parallel-to-slope depositional processes. The upper to middle continental slope is dominated by mass-transport deposits (debris flows), which progressively diminish downslope, and were largely generated and deposited during glacial cycles when ice sheets supplied large quantities of terrigeneous sediment to the upper slope and icebergs scoured sea-floor sediments on the outer shelf and uppermost slope. Large-scale sediment failures have also occurred on the upper slope and resulted in deposition of thick, regionally extensive mass-transport deposits on portions of the lower slope and channel floor. In contrast, large fields of migrating sediment waves and drift deposits dominate most of the middle to lower slope below 700 m water depth and represent deposition by strong contour currents of the various water masses moving northeastward and southwestward through the channel. These migrating sediment waves indicate strong northeastward current flow at water depths shallower than 700 m and strong southwestward current flow at water depths from 700 to >1,400 m. These flow directions are consistent with present-day water-mass flow through the Faeroe-Shetland Channel. The Faeroe-Shetland Channel floor is underlain by thin conformable sediments that appear to be predominantly glacial marine and hemipelagic with less common turbidites and debris flows. No evidence is observed in seismic or core data that indicates strong contour-current erosion or redistribution of sediments along the channel floor.     

Spatial Discontinuities in Support for Hydraulic Fracturing: Searching for a “Goldilocks Zone”

Recent research suggests that those located closer to energy development are, on average, more supportive of this development. However, case studies in specific locations reveal additional nuance. In a case study of Bakken Shale residents, Junod et al. identified a “Goldilocks Zone” of unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) acceptance—an area on the periphery of development that is “just right” because residents feel close enough to receive economic benefits but far enough away to avoid negative impacts. We explore whether this Goldilocks Zone extends nationally by combining geocoded public opinion data (N?=?23,154) with UOGD locations. Using multilevel regression modeling, we find that respondents located within 115?km of newly active UOGD are more supportive of hydraulic fracturing while those located within 115–305?km are comparatively less supportive. While we do not uncover a national-level Goldilocks Zone, our work highlights innovative approaches for examining spatial relationships in energy development opinion.     

Paleomagnetic estimate of the emplacement temperature of the long-runout Nevado de Colima volcanic debris avalanche deposit, Mexico

Stoopes and Sheridan have mapped a volcanic debris avalanche of Nevado de Colima which has an exceptionally long runout (120 km) and low fall-height to length ratio (H/L = 0.04). We present paleomagnetic results from this volcanic debris avalanche deposit which provide evidence that this avalanche was emplaced at elevated temperatures. The majority of samples, collected from lithic clasts in the volcanic debris avalanche deposit, exhibit two-component remanent magnetizations with a low-temperature component (25–350°C) which is well grouped about the geomagnetic field direction at Colima and a high-temperature component (350–580°C) which is randomly oriented. Although the temperature of the deposit most likely varied with distance from the volcanic source and the thickness of the deposit, our results suggest an emplacement temperature of approximately 350°C at intermediate distances (18–26 km) from the source. In order for the rock clasts (20–40 cm diameter) to be heated to these temperatures, the avalanche was most likely the results of a magmatic, Bezymianny-type eruption. The mixing of hot, juvenile gases with the clasts provides an explanation for the high degree of fluidization of this material, as evidenced by the long runout of this avalanche deposit.     

Panta Rhei 2013–2015: global perspectives on hydrology,society and change

ABSTRACT

In 2013, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) launched the hydrological decade 2013–2022 with the theme “Panta Rhei: Change in Hydrology and Society”. The decade recognizes the urgency of hydrological research to understand and predict the interactions of society and water, to support sustainable water resource use under changing climatic and environmental conditions. This paper reports on the first Panta Rhei biennium 2013–2015, providing a comprehensive resource that describes the scope and direction of Panta Rhei. We bring together the knowledge of all the Panta Rhei working groups, to summarize the most pressing research questions and how the hydrological community is progressing towards those goals. We draw out interconnections between different strands of research, and reflect on the need to take a global view on hydrology in the current era of human impacts and environmental change. Finally, we look back to the six driving science questions identified at the outset of Panta Rhei, to quantify progress towards those aims.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor not assigned     

An interpolation method taking into account inequality constraints: I. Methodology

Several kinds of data can provide information about a variable measured on a one- or two-dimensional space; at some points, the value is known to be equal to a certain number. At other points, the only information may be that the variable is greater or smaller than a given value. The theory of splines provides interpolating functions that can take into account both equality and inequality data. These interpolating functions are presented. The parallel between splines and kriging is reviewed, using the formalism of dual kriging. Coefficients of dual kriging can be obtained directly by minimizing a quadratic form. By adding some inequality constraints to this minimization, an interpolating function may be calculated which takes into account inequality data and is more general than a spline. The method is illustrated by some simple one-dimensional examples.Work performed at Sohio Petroleum Company     

Assimilating altimetric data to control the tropical instability waves: an observing system simulation experiment study

Tropical instability waves (TIWs) are not easily simulated by ocean circulation models primarily because such waves are very sensitive to wind forcing. In this study, we investigate the impact of assimilating sea surface height (SSH) observations on the control of TIWs in an observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) context based on a regional model configuration of the tropical Atlantic. A Kalman filtering method with suitable adaptations is found to be successful when altimetric data are assimilated in conjunction with sea surface temperature and some in situ temperature/salinity profiles. In this rather realistic system, the TIW phase is roughly controlled with a single nadir observing satellite. However, a right correction of the TIW structure and amplitude requires at least two nadir observing satellites or a wide swath observing satellite. The significant impact of orbital parameters is also demonstrated: in particular, the Jason or GFO satellite orbits are found to be more suitable than the ENVISAT orbit. More generally, it is found that as soon as adequate sub-sampling exists (with periods of 5–10?days), the length of the repetitivity cycle of orbits does not have a significant impact.     

Trends in Extreme Precipitation Events in the Indus River Basin and Flooding in Pakistan

In the absence of a sufficiently dense network of climate stations covering all topographic regions of the Indus River basin and delivering high quality data over the last 30 years or more, daily precipitation data were obtained from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-Department of the Enviornment (NCEP-DOE) Reanalysis 2 dataset for the period 1979 to 2011. The daily precipitation data were transformed into time series of frequency of extreme precipitation events of 1-day and 10-day durations defined in terms of 90th and 99th percentile threshold exceedances. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall trend test was applied to determine whether statistically significant changes in precipitation extremes occurred over time, in due consideration of autocorrelation in the data.

Extreme precipitation showed a high spatial variability, with the highest daily and 10-day precipitation totals, and thus highest 90th and 99th percentiles, in the southeastern lowlands at the foot of the Himalayas and the lowest in the Karakorum. Significantly decreasing trends in extreme precipitation were observed in the western part of the Indus River basin; significantly increasing trends were mainly detected in the very high mountainous regions in the east (Transhimalaya and Himalayas) and in the north (Hindu Kush and Karakorum) of the Indus basin. High precipitation rates are not common in the arid climate of these high mountainous regions. Future flood management plans need to consider the increasing trends in extreme precipitation events in these areas.