Calc-Alkaline Magmatism at the Archean Proterozoic Transition: the Caico Complex Basement (NE Brazil)

The Paleoproterozoic metaplutonic rocks of the CaicóComplex Basement (Seridó region, NE Brazil) provide importantand crucial insights into the petrogenetic processes governingcrustal growth and may potentially be a proxy for understandingthe Archean–Proterozoic transition. These rocks consistof high-K calc-alkaline diorite to granite, with Rb–Sr,U–Pb, Pb–Pb and Sm–Nd ages of c. 2·25–2·15Ga. They are metaluminous, with high Yb_N, K₂O/Na₂O and Rb/Sr,low I_Sr ratios, and are large ion lithophile elements (LILE)enriched. Petrographic and geochemical data demonstrate thatthey belong to differentiated series that evolved by low-pressurefractionation, thus resulting in granodioritic liquids. We proposea model in which the petrogenesis of the Caicó Complexorthogneisses begins with partial melting of a metasomaticallyenriched spinel- to garnet-bearing lherzolite (with high-silicaadakite melt as the metasomatic agent), generating a basic magmathat subsequently evolved at depth through fractional crystallizationof olivine, followed by low-pressure intracrustal fractionation.A subduction zone setting is proposed for this magmatism, toaccount for both negative anomalies in high field strength elements(HFSE) and LILE enrichment. Mantle-derived juvenile magmatismwith the same age is also known in the São Franciscoand West Africa cratons, as well as in French Guyana, and thusthe Archean–Proterozoic transition marks a very importantcontinental accretion event. It also represents a transitionfrom slab-dominated (in the Archean) to wedge-dominated post-Archeanmagmatism. KEY WORDS: calc-alkaline; magmatism; NE Brazil; Paleoproterozoic; petrogenesis     

Adamantinasuchus navae: A new Gondwanan Crocodylomorpha (Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil

A new Late Cretaceous Mesoeucrocodylian from the Adamantina Formation (Bauru Basin), São Paulo State, Brazil is described. The main features of this new species are the short, high oreinirostral rostrum, the large laterally positioned orbital notches and external nares in the anteriormost portion of the rostrum. The mandible is robust and concave-shaped in relation to the skull. The dentition is highly specialized, with two prominent incisiform teeth, a hypertrophied caniniform, and seven molariform teeth. The molariform teeth are ornamented with denticles in their lingual surface and are smooth on their labial surface. The molariforms are elliptical in cross-section, presenting the largest axis in the labial-lingual direction. Such dental characteristics are unique among the terrestrial crocodylomorphs of the Gondwana.     

Tectonic, sea-level, and climatic controls on Late Paleozoic sedimentation in the western basins of Argentina

Tectonic activity, sea-level changes, and the climate controlled sedimentation in Late Paleozoic basins of western Argentina. The role of each factor is investigated from the geologic record of the Río Blanco and Paganzo basins using three hierarchical orders of stratigraphic bounding surfaces. First-order surfaces correspond to regional unconformities, second-order ones to local unconformities with a lesser regional extent, and third-order surfaces represent locally extended sedimentary truncation. Using this methodology, the Carboniferous–Permian record of the Paganzo and Río Blanco basins may be divided into two megasequences, four sequences, and 12 stratigraphic sections. Megasequences are bounded by regional unconformities that result from tectonic events important enough to cause regional paleogeographic changes. Sequences are limited by minor regional extension surfaces related to local tectonic movements or significant sea-level falls. Finally, stratigraphic sections correspond to extended sedimentary truncations produced by transgressive events or major climatic changes. Sequence I is mainly composed of marine deposits divided into basal infill of the basin (Section 1) and Tournaisian–Visean transgressive deposits (Section 2). Sequence II is bounded by a sharp erosional surface and begins with coarse conglomerates (Section 3), followed by fluvial and shallow marine sedimentary rocks (Section 4) that pass upward into shales and diamictites (Section 5). The base of Sequence III is marked by an extended unconformity covered by Early Pennsylvanian glacial sedimentary rocks (Section 6) that represent the most important glacial event along the western margin of Gondwana. Postglacial deposits (Section 7) occur in the two basins and comprise both glaciolacustrine (eastern region) and transgressive marine (central and western regions) deposits. By the Moscovian–Kasimovian, fluvial sandstones and conglomerates were deposited in most of the Paganzo Basin (Section 8), while localized volcanic activity took place in the Río Blanco Basin. Near the end of the Carboniferous, an important transgression is recorded in the major part of the Río Blanco Basin (Section 9), reaching the westernmost portion area of the Paganzo Basin. Finally, Sequence IV shows important differences between the Paganzo and Río Blanco basins; fluvial red beds (Section 10), eolian sandstones (Section 11), and low-energy fluvial deposits (Section 12) prevailed in the Paganzo Basin whereas volcaniclastic sedimentation and volcanism dominated in the Río Blanco Basin. Thus, tectonic events, sea-level changes and climate exerted a strong and complex control on the evolution of the Río Blanco and Paganzo basins. The interaction of these allocyclic controls produced not only characteristic facies association patterns but also different kinds of stratigraphic bounding surfaces.     

The Santa Filomena meteorite shower: Trajectory,classification, and opaque phases as indicators of metamorphic conditions

On August 19, 2020, at 13:18—UTC, a meteor event ended as a meteorite shower in Santa Filomena, a city in the Pernambuco State, northeast Brazil. The heliocentric orbital parameters resulting from images by cameras of the weather broadcasting system were semimajor axis a = 2.1 ± 0.1 au, eccentricity e = 0.55 ± 0.03, and inclination i = 0.15^o ± 0.05. The data identified the body as an Apollo object, an Earth-crossing object with a pericenter interior to the Earth's orbit. The chemical, mineralogical, and petrological evaluations, as well as the physical analysis, followed several traditional techniques. The meteorite was identified as a H5-6 S4 W0 ordinary chondrite genomict breccia. The large amount of metal in the meteorite made a metallographic evaluation based on the opaque phases possible. The monocrystalline kamacite crystals suggest a higher petrological type and the distorted Neumann lines imply at least two different shock events. The absence of the plessite phase shows that the meteorite did not reach the highest shock levels S5 and S6. The well-defined polycrystalline taenite is indicative of petrologic types 4 and 5 due to the conserved internal tetrataenite rim at the boundaries. The presence of polycrystalline taenites and the characteristics of the Agrell Effect suggest that the Santa Filomena meteorite did not reheat above 700°C. The absence of martensite confirms reheating temperatures <800°C and a slow cooling rate. The Ni contents and sizes of the zoned taenite particles indicate a slow cooling rate ranging from 1 to 10 K Myr⁻¹.     

Abundance,distribution and habitat preference of Hippocampus guttulatus and Hippocampus hippocampus in a semi‐enclosed central Mediterranean marine area

Population abundance, distribution and habitat preference of the Mediterranean sympatric seahorses Hippocampus guttulatus and Hippocampus hippocampus were investigated in a semi‐enclosed sea system (Apulian coast, Ionian Sea). A total of 242 individuals of seahorses were sighted in the 11 transects surveyed in summer 2011. Hippocampus guttulatus (n = 225) were 14 times more abundant than H. hippocampus (17). The mean abundance of H. guttulatus for all the pooled sites was 0.018 m^?2 (SE ± 0.003) ranging from a maximum of 0.035 (SE ± 0.007) to a minimum of 0.008 (SE ± 0.002). The size structure of long‐snouted seahorse shows a population ranging from 7 to 14 cm (SL) with a peak at 10 cm (TL). Juveniles (96.0 ± 8.0 mm) represent a significant fraction of the population, accounting more than 21% of the sighted individuals. In Mar Piccolo, H. guttulatus is able to shelter both in monotonous habitats, including the algal beds, and diversified ones, such as the rich filter‐feeder communities that colonize hard substrates. By contrast, H. hippocampus is mainly associated with habitats of low complexity. Today, the Mar Piccolo di Taranto is among the most heavily polluted water bodies in South Italy, with trace metals, hydrocarbons, pesticides and organic wastes affecting both biotic and abiotic matrices. However, despite the high level of degradation, the presence of a large mussel farm has avoided the impact of towed fishing gears, and eutrophication of water bodies has ensured a high trophic level that supports large crustacean populations, potential prey for seahorses.     

Habitat use of inter‐tidal chitons – role of colour polymorphism

This study presents a new approach to examining European chiton habitat use according to morphological characteristics. Time‐search transects were conducted on four Portuguese rocky shores at two shore levels. The chiton species, abundance and individual morphometric features were recorded and related to the substratum dominant epiphytes and surface roughness. The chiton Lepidochitona cinerea (Linnaeus 1767) was the dominant species (77%), followed by Leptochiton algesirensis (Capellini 1859) (15%) and Acanthochitona crinita (Pennant 1777) (8%). Species abundance did not vary significantly with shore level or amongst shores. Six colour morphs were considered for Lepidochitona cinerea, four for A. crinita and one for Lepidochiton algesirensis. Substratum characteristics significantly explained the variation in species and colour morph distribution. There was a high correlation between the presence/absence and type of epiphytic algae and the substratum surface roughness level. We hypothesize that three mechanisms operating either independently or in interaction may explain the non‐random distribution of colour polymorphisms according to their habitat characteristics: (i) presence of algae that are part of their diet; (ii) use of rock as shelter – for instance, crevices and cover resulting from algae fronds and; (iii) morph–rock colour matching as a camouflage mechanism to reduce predation pressure.     

P-T conditions of earliest Late Cretaceous metamorphism in the Western Sonobari Complex,northwestern Mexico: tectonic implications

The Western Sonobari Complex in northwestern Mexico consists of metamorphosed rocks mostly derived from Palaeozoic (?) sedimentary and Mesozoic igneous protoliths. Rocks of this complex display amphibolite facies orogenic metamorphism, pervasive foliation, migmatization, and four folding phases. These features are ascribed to a contractional tectonic event with NNW–SSE shortening direction, which caused thrusting, thickening of the crust, and sinking of the lithological units. U–Pb geochronology of migmatitic leucosome bands indicates that peak metamorphic conditions were reached between ~93 and 89 Ma. Post-tectonic Late Cretaceous peraluminous aplite-pegmatite dikes transect the metamorphic foliation. Traditional thermobarometry in the metamorphic rocks yields average pressures and temperatures of 9.0–7.1 kbar and 745–663°C, typical of intermediate P/T Barrovian metamorphism. On the basis of its age and contractional character, the thickening event originating the metamorphism may be related to collision of the Alisitos island arc against crustal blocks of Mexico. Thermobarometric data of post-tectonic intrusives including Late Cretaceous granodiorite and Eocene gabbro indicate emplacement within an overthickened crust, while P-T conditions of post-tectonic dikes point towards an almost isothermal decompression path along the amphibolite facies field. Rock units of similar age and metamorphic character are discontinuously exposed from the Islas Marias offshore the Nayarit coast to the Peninsular Ranges batholith of Baja California, and even extend north into the Sierra Nevada batholith and the Sevier hinterland. This extensive belt of Barrovian metamorphic rocks thus provides a record of middle Cretaceous shortening and crustal thickening related to arc-continent collision followed by subduction resuming.