Elements in fish of Malibu Creek and Malibu Lagoon near Los Angeles,California

Our aim was to assess whether past discharges from a wastewater treatment plant increased metal pollutant loads in stream mobile species in a one-day baseline sampling study that included a coastal wetland. Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) of two sizes, black bullhead (Ameiurus melas), and crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) were collected from Malibu Creek, and California killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis) of three sizes, as well as arroyo chub (Gila orcutti) were sampled from Malibu Lagoon near Los Angeles, California. Species from each locality were pooled by length, homogenized, digested by microwave wet ashing, and analyzed by simultaneous inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy for 27 elements. Lagoon killifish 2.0-3.5 cm long contained levels of arsenic and lead above the levels for 95% of California fish, the EDL95. Black bullhead upstream of the discharge contained elevated levels of As, Cr and Se. Young mosquitofish <3 cm in length upstream of the discharge differed greatly in the order of abundance of their elements relative to larger mosquitofish and to other species collected. More sampling than this baseline study allowed was needed to determine if the wastewater treatment plant was a pollution source.     

The time-space distribution of Eocene to Miocene magmatism in the central Peruvian polymetallic province and its metallogenetic implications

Eocene to late Miocene magmatism in the central Peruvian high-plain (approx. between Cerro de Pasco and Huancayo; Lats. 10.2–12°S) and east of the Cordillera Occidental is represented by scattered shallow-level intrusions as well as subaerial domes and volcanic deposits. These igneous rocks are calc-alkalic and range from basalt to rhyolite in composition, and many of them are spatially, temporally and, by inference, genetically associated with varied styles of major polymetallic mineralization. Forty-four new ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar and three U/Pb zircon dates are presented, many for previously undated intrusions. Our new time constraints together with data from the literature now cover most of the Cenozoic igneous rocks of this Andean segment and provide foundation for geodynamic and metallogenetic research.The oldest Cenozoic bodies are of Eocene age and include dacitic domes to the west of Cerro de Pasco with ages ranging from 38.5 to 33.5 Ma. South of the Domo de Yauli structural dome, Eocene igneous rocks occur some 15 km east of the Cordillera Occidental and include a 39.34 ± 0.28 Ma granodioritic intrusion and a 40.14 ± 0.61 Ma rhyolite sill, whereas several diorite stocks were emplaced between 36 and 33 Ma. Eocene mineralization is restricted to the Quicay high-sulfidation epithermal deposit some 10 km to the west of Cerro de Pasco.Igneous activity in the earliest Oligocene was concentrated up to 70 km east of the Cordillera Occidental and is represented by a number of granodioritic intrusions in the Milpo–Atacocha area. Relatively voluminous early Oligocene dacitic to andesitic volcanism gave rise to the Astabamba Formation to the southeast of Domo de Yauli. Some stocks at Milpo and Atacocha generated important Zn–Pb (–Ag) skarn mineralization. After about 29.3 Ma, magmatism ceased throughout the study region. Late Oligocene igneous activity was restricted to andesitic and dacitic volcanic deposits and intrusions around Uchucchacua (approx. 25 Ma) and felsic rocks west of Tarma (21–20 Ma). A relationship between the Oligocene intrusions and polymetallic mineralization at Uchucchacua is possible, but evidence remains inconclusive.Widespread magmatism resumed in the middle Miocene and includes large igneous complexes in the Cordillera Occidental to the south of Domo de Yauli, and smaller scattered intrusive centers to the north thereof. Ore deposits of modest size are widely associated with middle Miocene intrusions along the Cordillera Occidental, north of Domo de Yauli. However, small volcanic centers were also active up to 50 km east of the continental divide and include dacitic dikes and domes, spatially associated with major base and precious metal mineralization at Cerro de Pasco and Colquijirca. Basaltic volcanism (14.54 ± 0.49 Ma) is locally observed in the back-arc domain south of Domo de Yauli approximately 30 km east of the Cordillera Occidental.After about 10 Ma intrusive activity decreased throughout Central Perú and ceased between 6 and 5 Ma. Late Miocene magmatism was locally related to important mineralization including San Cristobal (Domo de Yauli), Huarón and Yauricocha.Overall, there is no evidence for a systematic eastward migration of the magmatic arc through time. The arc broadened in the late Eocene to early Oligocene, and thereafter ceased over wide areas until the early Miocene, when magmatism resumed in a narrow arc. A renewed widening and subsequent cessation of the arc occurred in the late middle and late Miocene. The pattern of magmatism probably reflects two cycles of flattening of the subduction in the Oligocene and late Miocene. Contrasting crustal architecture between areas south and north of Domo de Yauli probably account for the differences in the temporal and aerial distribution of magmatism in these areas.Ore deposits are most abundant between Domo de Yauli and Cerro de Pasco and were generally emplaced in the middle and late Miocene during the transition to flat subduction and prior to cessation of the arc. Eocene to early Oligocene mineralization also occurred, but was restricted to a broad east–west corridor from Uchucchacua to Milpo–Atacocha, indicating a major upper-plate metallogenetic control.     

Modern analogues for Miocene to Pleistocene alkali basaltic phreatomagmatic fields in the Pannonian Basin: “soft-substrate” to “combined” aquifer controlled phreatomagmatism in intraplate volcanic fields Research Article

The Pannonian Basin (Central Europe) hosts numerous alkali basaltic volcanic fields in an area similar to 200 000 km². These volcanic fields were formed in an approximate time span of 8 million years producing smallvolume volcanoes typically considered to be monogenetic. Polycyclic monogenetic volcanic complexes are also common in each field however. The original morphology of volcanic landforms, especially phreatomagmatic volcanoes, is commonly modified. by erosion, commonly aided by tectonic uplift. The phreatomagmatic volcanoes eroded to the level of their sub-surface architecture expose crater to conduit filling as well as diatreme facies of pyroclastic rock assemblages. Uncertainties due to the strong erosion influenced by tectonic uplifts, fast and broad climatic changes, vegetation cover variations, and rapidly changing fluvio-lacustrine events in the past 8 million years in the Pannonian Basin have created a need to reconstruct and visualise the paleoenvironment into which the monogenetic volcanoes erupted. Here phreatomagmatic volcanic fields of the Miocene to Pleistocene western Hungarian alkali basaltic province have been selected and compared with modern phreatomagmatic fields. It has been concluded that the Auckland Volcanic Field (AVF) in New Zealand could be viewed as a prime modern analogue for the western Hungarian phreatomagmatic fields by sharing similarities in their pyroclastic successions textures such as pyroclast morphology, type, juvenile particle ratio to accidental lithics. Beside the AVF two other, morphologically more modified volcanic fields (Pali Aike, Argentina and Jeju, Korea) show similar features to the western Hungarian examples, highlighting issues such as preservation potential of pyroclastic successions of phreatomagmatic volcanoes.     

Heterogeneous andesite–dacite ejecta in 26–16.6 ka pyroclastic deposits of Tongariro Volcano,New Zealand: the product of multiple magma-mixing events

The previously poorly documented 26–16.6 ka interval of pyroclastic volcanism from Tongariro Volcano is marked by three distal lapilli fall units (Rt1-3) exposed in ring-plain deposits. The distal Rt1-3 units are tentatively correlated to proximal scoria deposits on the upper slopes of North Crater based on their dispersal patterns, petrography and geochemistry. Lapilli in each of the Rt1-3 deposits are characterised by variable groundmass crystallinity, vesicularity and colour within individual clasts. Matrix glasses are mostly microlite-free, and compositionally diverse across the deposits (SiO₂ = 62–75 wt%), with wide composition ranges occurring within single clasts. The glasses represent different melts that were mingled and mixed shortly before eruption; a finding supported by widely variable Fe–Ti oxide equilibrium temperature estimates (∼830–1,200°C). Ranges of 30–160°C (typically 70°C) occur within individual clasts. Some clinopyroxene crystals display Mg-rich (∼Mg #88) rim zones around homogeneous low-Mg (∼Mg #68) cores, with abrupt transition zones. This zoning is interpreted as resulting from the injection of a more mafic melt into a stagnating, resident magma. Crystal-melt equilibria indicate that several episodes of mafic intrusion occurred, to produce hybrid melts with zoned crystals forming isolated ponds within the resident magma. Variable mixing from the percolation of melts and the coalescence of melt ponds would explain the wide range of melt compositions and equilibrium temperatures observed in the ejecta. The magma heterogeneity was preserved by quenching on prompt eruption, with much of the short-duration chaotic mixing of melts and crystals occurring in the conduit. The Rt1-3 eruptions were from an open magmatic system consisting of one or more long-lived stagnant crystal mush zones, from which eruptions were rapidly triggered by new injections of mafic magmas from greater depths. A similar pattern of magmatic dynamics was observed in the much smaller 1995 eruptions of the neighbouring Ruapehu Volcano.     

Biotite composition as a tool for the identification of Quaternary tephra beds

Stratigraphically important Quaternary rhyolitic tephra deposits that erupted from the Okataina and Taupo volcanic centers in New Zealand can be geochemically identified using the FeO and MgO contents of their biotite phenocrysts. The FeO/MgO ratio in biotite does not correlate with FeO/MgO in the coexisting glass phase so that tephra beds with similar glass compositions can be discriminated by their different biotite compositions. Some individual tephra deposits display sequential changes in biotite composition that allow separate phases of the eruption to be identified, greatly increasing the potential precision for correlation. In addition, devitrified lavas that are unsuitable for glass analysis can be correlated to coeval tephra deposits by their biotite compositions. Biotite is common in high-K₂O (>4 wt%) tephra beds and is widely dispersed in ash plumes because of its platy form, thus making it important in correlation studies.     

Modeling sublimation of ice exposed by new impacts in the martian mid-latitudes

New impacts in the martian mid-latitudes have exposed near-surface ice. This ice is observed to slowly fade over timescales of months. In the present martian climate, exposed surface ice is unstable during summer months in the mid-latitudes and will sublimate. We model the sublimation of ice at five new impact sites and examine the implications of its persistence. Even with generally conservative assumptions, for most reasonable choices of parameters it is likely that over a millimeter of sublimation occurred in the period during which the ice was observed to fade. The persistence of visible ice through such sublimation suggests that the ice is relatively pure rather than pore-filling. Such ice could be analogous to the nearly pure ice observed by the Phoenix Lander in the “Dodo-Goldilocks” trench and suggests that the high ice contents reported by the Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer at high latitudes extend to the mid-latitudes. Our observations are consistent with a model of the martian ice table in which a layer with high volumetric ice content overlies pore-filling ice, although other structures are possible.     

Constraining recycled detritus in quartz‐rich sandstones: Insights from a multi‐proxy provenance study of the Mid‐Carboniferous,Clare Basin,western Ireland

Quartz‐rich sandstones can be produced through multiple sedimentary processes, potentially acting in combination, such as extensive sedimentary recycling or intense chemical weathering. Determining the provenance of such sedimentary rocks can be challenging due to low amounts of accessory minerals, the fact that the primary mineralogy may have been altered during transport, storage or burial and difficulties in the recognition of polycyclic components. This study uses zircon and apatite U‐Pb geochronology, apatite trace elements, zircon‐tourmaline‐rutile indices and petrographic observations to investigate the sedimentary history of mineralogically mature mid‐Carboniferous sandstones of the Tullig Cyclothem, Clare Basin, western Ireland. The provenance data show that the sandstones have been dominantly and ultimately sourced from three basement terranes: older Laurentian‐ associated rocks (ca. 900–2500 Ma) which lay to the north of the basin, peri‐Gondwanan terranes (ca. 500–700 Ma) to the south and igneous intrusive rocks associated with the Caledonian Orogenic Cycle (ca. 380–500 Ma). However, the multi‐proxy approach also helps constrain the sedimentary history and suggests that not all grain populations were derived directly from their original source. Grains with a Laurentian or a Caledonian affinity have likely been recycled through Devonian basins to the south. Grains with a peri‐Gondwanan affinity appear to be first cycle and are potentially derived from south/southwest of the basin. Taken as a whole, these data are consistent with input into the basin from the south and southwest, with the reworking of older sedimentary rocks, rather than intensive first‐cycle chemical weathering, likely explaining the compositional maturity of the sandstones. This study highlights the need for a multi‐proxy provenance approach to constrain sedimentary recycling, particularly in compositionally mature sandstones, as the use of zircon geochronology alone would have led to erroneous provenance interpretations. Zircon, together with U‐Pb geochronology from more labile phases such as apatite, can help distinguish first‐cycle versus polycyclic detritus.     

Denitrification in a Laurentian Great Lakes coastal wetland invaded by hybrid cattail (Typha × glauca)

Wetland ecosystems maintain and improve water quality through the process of denitrification, an increasingly important ecosystem service due to global N pollution. Invasive plants have the potential to disrupt denitrification by altering the environmental conditions that facilitate this process. Great Lakes coastal wetlands are experiencing widespread invasion by highly productive hybrid cattail with largely uncertain biogeochemical effects. Through field and controlled mesocosm studies, we sought to determine the effects of cattail invasion through time on denitrification rates and associated environmental factors in a Great Lakes coastal wetland. In the field, we found that cattail density correlated with increased denitrification and a suite of environmental and plant community characteristics and denitrification rates were positively correlated with NH₄ ⁺, sediment organic matter, reduced water levels, and cattail stand age. Through our controlled mesocosm study, we documented conditions 1- and 5-year following invasion and found that denitrification rates and soil organic matter increased in year 5, and cattail and year-since-invasion altered plant communities and soil NH₄ ⁺. Only a weak correlation between denitrification rates and cattail treatments was noted, however, owing to high replicate variability. Our results indicate that with increasing cattail residence time, one ecosystem service, biodiversity, was negatively impacted, while two other services, denitrification and sediment carbon accumulation, were enhanced. Thus, this highly invaded wetland still provides valuable services to aquatic ecosystems and to society. A holistic perspective is therefore critical when evaluating invasive species impacts in which negative impacts are weighed against other ecosystem services, which may be stimulated.