Mid Campanian‐Lower Maastrichtian magnetostratigraphy of the James Ross Basin,Antarctica: Chronostratigraphical implications

The James Ross Basin, in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, exposes which is probably the world thickest and most complete Late Cretaceous sedimentary succession of southern high latitudes. Despite its very good exposures and varied and abundant fossil fauna, precise chronological determination of its infill is still lacking. We report results from a magnetostratigraphic study on shelfal sedimentary rocks of the Marambio Group, southeastern James Ross Basin, Antarctica. The succession studied covers a ~1,200 m‐thick stratigraphic interval within the Hamilton Point, Sanctuary Cliffs and Karlsen Cliffs Members of the Snow Hill Island Formation, the Haslum Crag Formation, and the lower López de Bertodano Formation. The basic chronological reference framework is given by ammonite assemblages, which indicate a Late Campanian – Early Maastrichtian age for the studied units. Magnetostratigraphic samples were obtained from five partial sections located on James Ross and Snow Hill islands, the results from which agree partially with this previous biostratigraphical framework. Seven geomagnetic polarity reversals are identified in this work, allowing to identify the Chron C32/C33 boundary in Ammonite Assemblage 8‐1, confirming the Late Campanian age of the Hamilton Point Member. However, the identification of the Chron C32/C31 boundary in Ammonite Assemblage 8‐2 assigns the base of the Sanctuary Cliffs Member to the early Maastrichtian, which differs from the Late Campanian age previously assigned by ammonite biostratigraphy. This magnetostratigraphy spans ~14 Ma of sedimentary succession and together with previous partial magnetostratigraphies on Early‐Mid Campanian and Middle Maastrichtian to Danian columns permits a complete and continuous record of the Late Cretaceous distal deposits of the James Ross Basin. This provides the required chronological resolution to solve the intra‐basin and global correlation problems of the Late Cretaceous in the Southern Hemisphere in general and in the Weddellian province in particular, given by endemism and diachronic extinctions on invertebrate fossils, including ammonites. The new chronostratigraphic scheme allowed us to calculate sediment accumulation rates for almost the entire Late Cretaceous infill of the distal James Ross Basin (the Marambio Group), showing a monotonous accumulation for more than 8 Myr during the upper Campanian and a dramatic increase during the early Maastrichtian, controlled by tectonic and/or eustatic causes.     

Understanding how environmental heterogeneity and elevation drives the distribution of woody communities across vegetation types within the campo rupestre in South America

The campo rupestre sensu lato is a vegetation type that occurs in South American mountains, supports a distinctive flora characterized by high rates of endemism, high herbaceous species richness and often-neglected but also species-rich of the arboreal stratum. We aimed to investigate how environmental factors and elevation are associated with the distribution and diversity of woody species in different rupestrian vegetation types across South America. Using a database of 2,049 woody species from 185 sites across four vegetation types within the campo rupestre, we assessed how the vegetation types were grouped according to their floristic composition and number of shared indicator species, as well as by using different beta diversity indices. The most important variables from a set of 27 variables(e.g. altitude, geo-edaphic and climatic) explaining species distribution were identified using redundancy analysis(RDA) and variation partitioning methods. The distribution of vegetation types was related to both environmental and spatial fractions, with a set of 17 variables retained(e.g. rockiness, grass cover and temperature seasonality as the most important variables). There was an association between the floristic composition of each vegetation type and the elevation range. Although the identified vegetation types are floristically related, they are distinguished by exclusive and habitat-specialist woody species. This uniqueness of vegetation types should be considered in terms of complementarity for the conservation of campos rupestres.     

Seasonal and inter-annual variability of water quality in the Uruguay River,Argentina

Abstract

Water quality of the Uruguay River was evaluated with multi-parametric (temperature, turbidity, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen) and sediment trap data (particle flux, total organic carbon and nitrogen contents) and correlated to precipitation, river discharge and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices for the period 2006–2011. Hydro-meteorological parameters averaged 24–85% variability with coincident precipitation (200–400 mm month^-1), discharge (7000–28 000 m³ s^-1) and turbidity peaks (50–80 NTU) in the austral spring, and absolute maxima during the El Niño 2009 episode. Spectral analysis of discharge and sea-surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) showed consistent variance maxima at approx. 3 and 1.5 years. Deseasonalized discharge was significantly correlated to SSTA. During river floods, pH decreased (from 7.5 to 6.6) and particle dynamics peaked (turbidity: 15–80 NTU; vertical fluxes: 20–200 g m^-2 d^-1; total solid load: <1000 to 100 000 t d^-1),whereas TOC remained stable (3.2 ± 0.8%) and C/N ratios increased (10–12) due to the higher contribution of terrestrial detritus.     

Potential of the LASH model for water resources management in data-scarce basins: a case study of the Fragata River basin,southern Brazil

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to evaluate, based on a data-scarce basin in southern Brazil, the potential of the Lavras Simulation of Hydrology (LASH) model for estimating daily streamflows, annual streamflow indicators and the flow–duration curve. It was also used to simulate the different runoff components and their consistency with the basin physiographical characteristics. The statistical measures indicated that LASH can be considered suitable according to widely used classifications and when compared with other studies involving hydrological models. LASH also showed satisfactory results for annual indicators, especially for maximum and average annual streamflows, as well as for the flow–duration curve. It was found that the model was consistent with the basin characteristics when simulating runoff components. The results obtained in this study allowed us to conclude that the LASH model has the potential to aid practitioners in water resources management of basins with scarce data and similar soil and land-use conditions.

Editor A. Castellarin; Associate editor Y. Gyasi-Agyei     

Gillnet fisheries as a major mortality factor of Magellanic penguins in wintering areas

The incidental capture in fisheries is probably the main conservation problem affecting seabirds. While the capture of albatrosses and petrels on longline hooks is well-known worldwide, the bycatch of diving seabirds in gillnets is an overlooked conservation problem. During a winter coastal fishing trip, the capture of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) was recorded in driftnet and bottom setnet fisheries for the first time in southern Brazil. The highest captures rates were found in driftnets, from 146.5 to 545.5 penguins/km² of net and a total of 56 dead penguins were recorded. In the bottom gillnet, a total of 12 birds were killed and the capture rates varied from 41.7 to 125.0 penguins/km² of net. Although preliminary, the results presented in this paper were consistent between sets. If we consider the magnitude of driftnet and setnet fishing fleets, and that most dead penguins were adults, the impact upon Magellanic penguin populations is probably significant.     

A study on using wide‐flange section web under out‐of‐plane flexure for passive energy dissipation

It is not common to purposely subject the web of wide‐flange or I‐sections to out‐of‐plane bending. However, yielding the web under this loading condition can be a stable source of energy dissipation as the transition at the corner from the web to the flanges is smooth and weld‐free; this prevents stress concentrations causing premature failure and eliminates uncertainties and imperfections associated with welding. Further, short segments of wide‐flange or I‐sections constitute a simple and inexpensive energy dissipating device as minimum manufacturing is required and leftovers not useful for other structural purposes can be re‐utilized. This paper proposes a new type of seismic damper in the form of braces based on yielding the web of short length segments of wide‐flange or I‐shaped steel sections under out‐of‐plane bending. The hysteretic behavior and ultimate energy dissipation capacity is investigated via component tests under cyclic loads. The experimental results indicate that the damping device has stable restoring force characteristics and a high energy dissipation capacity. Based on these results, a simple hysteretic model for predicting the load–displacement curve of the seismic damper is proposed, along with a procedure for predicting its ultimate energy dissipation capacity and anticipating its failure under arbitrarily applied cyclic loads. The procedure considers the influence of the loading path on the ultimate energy dissipation capacity. Finally, shaking table tests on half‐scale structures are conducted to further verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the new damper, and to assess the accuracy of the hysteretic model and the procedure for predicting its failure. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stability analysis and morphometric characterization of palaeo-lakes of the Benjamin Matienzo basin, Las Cuevas River, Argentina

Natural dams are caused by the blockage of streams as a result of the sudden arrival of detritus material during a glacial surge advance or fast slope collapse threatening downstream populations. Nevertheless, origin, morphological characteristics and stability of dammed lakes are frequently ignored. Six impounded palaeo-lakes were geomorphologically studied in the Benjamin Matienzo gully (32°14′ S–70°02′ W), denominated, from north to south: Goyete, Negro, Casa de Piedra, Lagunita, Susanita and Matienzo. We determined the origin, morphometric parameters, stability index and rate of streamflow rupture for these dammed ancient lakes in order to shed light on the potential outburst flood hazard in this Andean mountain region. According to our findings, we concluded that palaeo-lakes would have had a short life as they turned out to be unstable, except for the Goyete Lake, matching with the lack of fine lacustrine sediments in all river blockages. We also estimated the maximum peak discharge of a probable outburst flow generated during a drastic collapse of these dams. Obtained values range between 22 and 151 m³/s being notably higher than the average annual streamflow of Las Cuevas River (6.6 m³/s), but similar to the instantaneous streamflow of this river (157 m³/s, 2-year recurrence time).     

First record of stereospondyls (Tetrapoda,Temnospondyli) in the Upper Triassic of Southern Brazil

Stereospondyls survived the Permo-Triassic extinctions in a refuge probably located in the landmass that nowadays comprises Australia. Subsequently, they radiated to other parts of Pangaea, reaching their highest distribution and diversification during the Early Triassic. An incomplete interclavicle from the Caturrita Formation represents their first record in the Upper Triassic of Brazil. Previously, Upper Triassic South American stereospondyls were restricted to Argentina. This new record reinforces a former hypothesis that suggests the presence of a more diverse stereospondyl fauna in South America during the Late Triassic than previously assumed. Additionally, the presence of a stereospondyl and a phytosaur in the Caturrita Formation reinforces the hypothesis of a change to more humid climatic conditions in the Paraná Basin during the Upper Triassic. The record of Early Triassic stereospondyls in South America suggests that they first colonized Brazil and/or Uruguay, spreading from South Africa during the Early Triassic, subsequently reaching Argentina. Up till now, there is no record of Middle Triassic stereospondyls in either Argentina and Brazil, probably due to either taphonomic bias or insufficient prospecting. Despite the lack of direct evidence, one should not dismiss an earlier stereospondyl colonization of Argentina still during the Early or Middle Triassic.     

Geologic and tectonic setting of Deseado Massif epithermal deposits, Argentina, based on El Dorado-Monserrat

Middle–Late Jurassic bimodal volcanism, typical of a retroarc setting, developed during widespread extensional tectonism within the Deseado Massif, southern Argentina. This geologic environment led to the formation of numerous low-sulfidation epithermal deposits that are spatially and temporally related to the volcanic activity. The lack of significant high-sulfidation epithermal deposits may be because the tectonic and volcanic settings do not favor the formation of these types of deposits. El Dorado-Monserrat is a low-sulfidation epithermal prospect located near the southern boundary of the Deseado Massif. Mineralization is genetically linked to the Late Jurassic Chon Aike Formation and hosted by volcanic rocks of the middle Late Jurassic Bajo Pobre Formation. Two different mineralization areas have been identified. The Monserrat area is the most important, with veins hosted in a north-striking, left-lateral shear zone. The average thickness is 0.85 m, and the average metal content is 6.2 ppm gold and 153 ppm silver. The El Dorado area has discontinuous echelon veins within a right-lateral shear zone with low gold and silver grades. Hydrothermal alteration of the host rocks includes an inner zone of quartz-adularia and illite alteration and an outer zone of propylitic alteration. The main gangue mineral is quartz, which formed in successive pulses, plus adularia, pyrite, hematite, magnetite, and barite. Precious metals occur as zoned electrum. Ore mineral precipitation took place between 200 and 280 °C from low salinity fluids due to boiling.