How can asymmetric detachment faults generate symmetric Ocean Continent Transitions?

Asymmetry or symmetry of magma‐poor rifted margins refers commonly to the crustal architecture and the occurrence or absence of large‐scale extensional detachment faults. While distal parts of magma‐poor rifted margins are often considered to be asymmetric, the observation of downlapping sedimentary sequences over exhumed mantle domains at conjugate margins suggests a symmetric evolution during mantle exhumation. On the basis of seismic observations along the Iberia–Newfoundland and Australia–Antarctica margins, we propose that their most distal parts show evidence for the development of multiple, out‐of‐sequence asymmetric detachment faults. We present evidence for cyclic delocalization and re‐localization of deformation, resulting in an apparent symmetry of the exhumed mantle domain. The interaction between out‐of‐sequence detachment systems and the successive rise of the asthenosphere may explain the observed transition from fault‐controlled to magma‐controlled strain accommodation and the transition to more symmetric and localized accretion associated with the formation of a stable spreading center.     

LEGRI Science Operation Center. Architecture and Operations

The LEGRI Science Operation Center (SOC) is the single contact pointbetween the MINISAT-01 Centro de Operaciones Científicas (COC)located at Villafranca del Castillo (Madrid) and the LEGRI Consortium.Its architecture, operational procedures and associated software hasbeen developed at the Universities of Valencia and Birmingham on thescope to define a integrated Data Analysis System, able to perform thedaily follow-up of the instrument health, raw data files decompressionand archiving activities (on-line and historical). Pointing and telecommandfiles generation is also a SOC responsibility.The aim of this paper is to report the SOC activities during the two yearsof LEGRI operations. Conclusions about the SOC architecture and proceduresevolution on how to handle the operations for space-borne instrumentation,are also presented.Special attention has been paid to the operative evaluation of the pointingreconstruction solutions from the MINISAT-01 Attitude Control System bycomparing them with those obtained with the LEGRI Star Sensor. The analysisof one year of observations shows the good agreement between both sets ofdata. No systematic deviations have been found with an averaged standarddeviation of 1 degree in alpha and delta coordinates. For most of the timethe MINISAT pointing system is working slightly better than expected andwithin specifications.     

Eclogites of the Snowbird tectonic zone: petrological and U-Pb geochronological evidence for Paleoproterozoic high-pressure metamorphism in the western Canadian Shield

Eclogite occurs within the southern domain of the East Athabasca mylonite triangle in northern Saskatchewan. Situated at the boundary between the Archean Rae and Hearne Provinces of the western Canadian Shield, the East Athabasca mylonite triangle is a fundamental exposure of the ~3,000-km-long Snowbird tectonic zone. The eclogite occurs in association with a variety of lower crustal high-pressure granulites that record a complex metamorphic history from 2.6 to 1.9 Ga. Temperatures of the eclogite facies metamorphism are constrained by garnet-clinopyroxene exchange thermometry at 920–1,000 °C. Minimum pressure conditions are recorded by the jadeite+quartz=albite geobarometer at 1.8–2.0 GPa. A near-isothermal decompression path to granulite facies conditions is inferred from retrograde reaction textures involving the formation of granulite facies assemblages such as orthopyroxene-plagioclase and pargasite-plagioclase. U-Pb IDTIMS zircon geochronology of the eclogite yields a weighted mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb date of 1,904.0±0.3 Ma, which we interpret as the time of peak eclogite facies metamorphism. SHRIMP in situ analyses of metamorphic zircons included within omphacitic clinopyroxene support this interpretation with a weighted mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb date of 1,905±19 Ma. Inclusion suites of high-pressure phases and the petrographic setting of zircon are a direct link between zircon growth and eclogite facies metamorphism. Zircon from one eclogite sample has older cores that are 2.54 Ga, which is a minimum age for the emplacement or earliest metamorphism of the gabbroic protolith. U-Pb rutile data indicate slow cooling at ~1°C/Ma below ~500 °C from 1.88 to 1.85 Ga. The formation and exhumation of the eclogites at ca.1.9 Ga has important implications for the tectonic significance of the Snowbird tectonic zone during the Paleoproterozoic. The eclogites described here are consistent with transport of continental crust to mantle depths during the Paleoproterozoic, followed by rapid buoyancy-driven exhumation to normal lower crustal depths.Editorial responsibility: T.L. Grove     

Oxidative stress in two populations of killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) with differing contaminant exposure histories

A population of killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) inhabiting a creosote-polluted inlet of the Elizabeth River demonstrates tolerance to the acute toxic effects exerted by contaminated sediments on reference site killifish. Previous data have suggested that upregulated antioxidant defenses contribute to short-term tolerance in killifish exposed to Elizabeth River sediments. This study investigated population differences in antioxidant defenses from wild caught Elizabeth River and reference population killifish in different seasons, and after being held in the laboratory. Parameters measured in the killifish were total glutathione concentrations (GSH_T), activities of glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and lipid peroxidation (LPO), all in adult hepatic tissues. The Elizabeth River population exhibited greater GSH_T, higher GPx activities, and increased LPO as compared to the reference population. Sex specific population differences were also observed in GSH_T and GPx. Both populations displayed decreased GSH_T and increased GR from early to late summer, as well as after being held in the laboratory. This study indicates that there are many factors that may contribute to differences in levels of antioxidant defenses in addition to exposure to contaminants, including reproductive status and environmental conditions.     

Picard iterations for a finite element shallow water equation model

ADCIRC, a finite element circulation model for shelves, coasts and estuaries, will be used for variational data assimilation. The nonlinear Euler–Lagrange (EL) problem will be solved using the iterated indirect representer algorithm. This algorithm makes such large, nonlinear but functionally smooth optimization problems feasible by iterating on linear approximations of the nonlinear problem (Picard iterations) and by making preconditioned searches in the “data subspace” at each iterate. Before solving the nonlinear EL using such Picard iterations, it essential that the iteration scheme be carefully examined within the framework of the nonassimilative or forward problem.The purpose of this paper is (1) to detail a Picard iteration procedure for ADCIRC, including the problematic bottom friction term; (2) to examine the ability of the iteration scheme to recover the nonlinear forward solution from deficient background fields; and (3) to present a study of different interpolation methods for reducing the memory/disk requirements of the iteration scheme. The iteration scheme is shown to be quite robust in its ability to recover the nonlinear solution from a variety of deficient background fields. A new cubic Hermitian interpolation method is shown to be a more effective alternative to standard linear interpolation for reducing memory/disk requirements, especially for high frequency overtides.     

Responses of the chaetognath, Sagitta elegans, and larval Pacific hake, Merluccius productus, to spring diatom and copepod blooms in a temperate fjord (Dabob Bay, Washington)

As part of a broader field study examining the potentially deleterious effects of diatoms on planktonic food webs, we examined the abundance, stage composition, diet, and feeding success of the chaetognath, Sagitta elegans, and the abundance and morphometric condition of larval Pacific hake, Merluccius productus. Our objective was to look for a relationship between spring phytoplankton blooms and planktonic predators, as mediated by their copepod prey, with special reference to possible deleterious effects of diatoms. Zooplankton were collected weekly during February–May and in mid-summer of 2002 and 2003 in Dabob Bay, Washington State, USA. S. elegans abundance was high in summer of both years and was higher in spring 2003 than spring 2002. Larval chaetognaths dominated the population in early spring and remained present throughout sampling. S. elegans consumed mostly copepods. The abundance of larval S. elegans was correlated with the abundance of copepodites, although no relationship between chaetognath feeding success and prey abundance was found. Larval Pacific hake abundance was high (1200 larvae per square meter) in late February and early March of 2002 and 2003 and decreased rapidly in late spring. The morphometric condition of M. productus was not significantly related to copepod abundance. These results indicate that any deleterious effects of diatoms on copepod abundance, at the scale seen during spring 2002 and 2003 in Dabob Bay, did not greatly affect the next higher trophic level.     

Decadal changes in distribution and frequency of wood in a free meandering river,the Ain River,France

This study examined the temporal dynamics and longitudinal distribution of wood over a multi‐decadal timescale at the river reach scale (36 km) and a meander bend scale (300–600 m) in the Ain River, a large gravel‐bed river flowing through a forested corridor, and adjusting to regulation and floodplain land‐use change. At the 36 km scale, more wood was recruited by bank erosion in 1991–2000 than since the 1950s. The longitudinal distribution of accumulations was similar between 1989 and 1999, but in both years individual pieces occurred homogeneously throughout the reach, while jam distribution was localized, associated with large concave banks. A relationship between the mean number of pieces and the volume recruited by bank erosion (r² = 0·97) indicated a spatial relationship between areas of wood production and storage. Wood mass stored and produced and channel sinuosity increased from 1993 to 2004 at three meander bends. Sinuosity was related to wood mass recruited by bank erosion during the previous decade (r² = 0·73) and both of these parameters were correlated to the mean mass of wood/plot (r² = 0·98 and 0·69 respectively), appearing to control wood storage and delivery at the bend scale. This suggests a local origin of wood stored in channel, not input from upstream trapped by preferential sites. The increase in wood since 1950 is a response to floodplain afforestation, to a change from braided to meandering channel pattern in response to regulation, and to recent large floods. We observed temporal stability of supply and depositional sectors over a decade (on a reach scale). Meander bends were major storage sites, trapping wood with concave banks, also delivering wood. These results, and the link between sinuosity and wood frequency, establish geomorphology as a dominant wood storage and recruitment control in large gravel‐bed rivers. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.