Neogene tectonostratigraphic history of the southern Neuquén basin (39°–40°30′S,Argentina): implications for foreland basin evolution

Although the Neuquén basin in Argentina forms a key transitional domain between the south‐central Andes and the Patagonian Andes, its Cenozoic history is poorly documented. We focus on the sedimentologic and tectonic evolution of the southern part of this basin, at 39–40°30′S, based on study of 14 sedimentary sections. We provide evidence that this basin underwent alternating erosion and deposition of reworked volcaniclastic material in continental and fluvial settings during the Neogene. In particular, basement uplift of the Sañico Massif, due to Late Miocene–Pliocene intensification of tectonic activity, led to sediment partitioning in the basin. During this interval, sedimentation was restricted to the internal domain and the Collon Cura basin evolved towards an endorheic intermontane basin. From stratigraphic interpretation, this basin remained isolated 7–11 Myr. Nevertheless, ephemeral gateways seem to have existed, because we observe a thin succession downstream of the Sañico Massif contemporaneous with the Collon Cura basin‐fill sequence. Comparisons of stratigraphic, paleoenvironmental and tectonic features of the southern Neuquén basin with other foreland basins of South America allow us to classify it as a broken foreland with the development of an intermontane basin from Late Miocene to Late Pliocene. This implies a thick‐skinned structural style for this basin, with reactivation of basement faults responsible for exhumation of the Sañico Massif. Comparison of several broken forelands of South America allows us to propose two categories of intermontane basins according to their structural setting: subsiding or uplifted basins, which has strong implications on their excavation histories.     

Determination of Mercury in One Hundred and Sixteen Geological and Environmental Reference Materials Using a Direct Mercury Analyser

The mercury content of 116 reference materials (RMs) from ten international organisations was determined in this study, which focused on variability within and between batches of RMs. Direct mercury analysis (DMA) was applied to RMs having Hg contents between 1 and 6300 ng g^?1 and provided good precision and accuracy. Accuracy was demonstrated by the agreement of our results with certified values, while replicates were made to establish the precision. Low within‐batch variability was noted, with precision from 0.1 to 23% (n = 3–5) apparently depending on Hg content and homogeneity, whereas systematic offsets were detected among several batches. Thanks to the analysis of different batches; the homogeneity or heterogeneity of several RMs was shown, and thus, suitable RMs for quality control for Hg determinations could be recommended.     

Ocean change around Greenland under a warming climate

Climate Dynamics - The impact of climate warming on the ocean near Greenland is investigated with a high resolution coupled global climate model. The ocean around Greenland exhibits a strong...     

Evaluating the genetic effects of the invasive Ocenebra inornata on the native oyster drill Ocenebra erinacea

Studies focusing on the effect of invasive species on the genetic diversity of native marine invertebrates remain scant. Here we report diversity among French populations of the intertidal gastropod Ocenebra erinacea (Linnaeus, 1758) sampled in the presence and absence of the invasive Ocenebra inornata (Recluz, 1851). Between 1999 and 2004, a total of 352 individuals of O. erinacea was collected from 15 sites (five of which had the invasive present) and was genotyped at the mitochondrial locus Cytochrome Oxidase 1 (cox1). No statistical difference was observed between polymorphism levels recorded within native populations exposed to the invasive, compared with populations sampled in the absence of O. inornata. No sign of native population decline was detected in response to the invader. While significant shifts in native O. erinacea population sizes have previously been reported in the literature, genetic effects may take longer to accumulate, or may be undetectable without a larger panel of genetic markers. By contrast, large genetic distances and significant population differentiation were recorded between Atlantic and Mediterranean O. erinacea samples, suggesting that these populations have distinct evolutionary histories. Comparison of genetic divergence within the closely related genus Nucella suggests that the Atlantic populations of O. erinacea and those from Thau Lagoon in the Mediterranean may belong to different species or subspecies.     

Cloud optical thickness and albedo retrievals from bidirectional reflectance measurements of POLDER instruments during ACE‐2

The POLDER instrument is devoted to global observations of the solar radiation reflected by the Earth–atmosphere system. The airborne version of the instrument was operated during the ACE‐2 experiment, more particularly as a component of the CLOUDYCOLUMN project of ACE‐2 that was conducted in summer 1997 over the subtropical northeastern Atlantic ocean. CLOUDYCOLUMN is a coordinated project specifically dedicated to the study of the indirect effect of aerosols. In this context, the airborne POLDER was assigned to remote measurements of the cloud optical and radiative properties, namely the cloud optical thickness and the cloud albedo. This paper presents the retrievals of those 2 cloud parameters for 2 golden days of the campaign 26 June and 9 July 1997. Coincident spaceborne ADEOS‐POLDER data from 2 orbits over the ACE‐2 area on 26 June are also analyzed. 26 June corresponds to a pure air marine case and 9 July is a polluted air case. The multidirectional viewing capability of airborne POLDER is here demonstrated to be very useful to estimate the effective radius of cloud droplet that characterizes the observed stratocumulus clouds. A 12 μm cloud droplet size distribution appears to be a suitable cloud droplet model in the pure marine cloud case study. For the polluted case the mean retrieved effective droplet radius is of the order of 6–10 μm. This only preliminary result can be interpreted as a confirmation of the indirect effect of aerosols. It is consistent with the significant increase in droplet concentration measured in polluted marine clouds compared to clean marine ones. Further investigations and comparisons to in‐situ microphysical measurements are now needed.     

2D modelling of a dry joint masonry wall retaining a pulverulent backfill

This work focuses on an analysis of dry joint retaining structures based on yield design theory: the stability of the masonry is assessed using rigid block and shear failure mechanisms in the wall and its backfill. An application of this simulation on 2D scale‐down brick and wood models is then addressed, showing close agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results. Further development on this work, including application of this theory on dry‐stone retaining walls, is discussed as a conclusion. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cenozoic denudation in the Marrakech High Atlas,Morocco: insight from apatite fission‐track thermochronology

In North Africa, the High Atlas belt culminates at more than 4000 m. In Morocco, recent work shows that a lithospheric thinning explains about 1000 m of the mean topography, the remaining topography being related to crustal shortening. We combine regional geology with new apatite fission‐track (AFT) ages to constrain the timing of these events in the Marrakech High Atlas (MHA). In the inner belt, 10 AFT ages are comprised between 9 ± 1 and 27 ± 3 Ma. These Neogene ages indicate that the MHA underwent significant denudation during that time. In the southern foreland domain of the belt, three samples give scattered AFT ages between 27 ± 2 and 87 ±5 Ma. Geological evidences allow us to constrain the age of a major denudation event during Middle Miocene age. We propose that it is linked to the thermal doming highlighted in the whole Moroccan Atlas domain.     

Preface

Identification of Seismic Sources—Earthquake or Underground Explosion Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute held at Voksenåsen, Oslo, Norway, September 8–18, 1980, edited by E. S. Husebye and S. Mykkeltveit. (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: D. Reidel Publishing Company, published in cooperation with NATO Scientific Affairs Division, NATO Advanced Study Institute, Series C, Vol. 74, 1981), 876 p.

Current Research in Earthquake Prediction I edited by T. Rikitake, Report No. 2, Developments in Earth and Planetary Sciences, Centre for Academic Publications, Tokyo, (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1981), 383 p.

Air‐Sea Interaction: Instruments and Methods edited by F. Dobson, L. Hasse, and R. Davis. (New York: Plenum Press, 1980), 692 p.

Structure of Transition Zone edited by S. Asano. Published by Center for Academic Publications Japan, Tokyo. (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: D. Reidel Publishing Company. 1980.

The Sea Floor: An Introduction to Marine Geology by E. Seibold and W. H. Berger (Berlin: Springer‐Verlag, 1982), 288 p. $20.00.

Reference Coordinate Systems for Earth Dynamics Proceedings of the 56th Colloquium of the International Astronomical Union held in Warsaw, Poland, September 8–12, 1980, edited by E. M. Gaposchkin, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A., and B. Kolaczek, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland (D. Reidel Publishing Company Dordrecht, the Netherlands/Boston, U.S.A./London, England, 1981) 414 p. hard cover.

The Geomorphology of the Great Barrier Reef by David Hopley (New York; John Wiley &; Sons, 1982) $59.95.     

Albatross predation of juvenile southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) on the Campbell Plateau

Dietary samples collected at Campbell Island in summer 1997 indicate that southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) formed the bulk of the food of black‐browed albatrosses (Diomedea melanophrys impavida) during the chick‐rearing period. Birds preyed upon a single size class of fish with a mode at 80–90 mm standard length; fish were 4–5 months old and belonged to the 0+ age group. Satellite tracking showed that, when performing trips of short duration, adult albatrosses foraged within the 1000 m depth contour in the subantarctic zone north of Campbell Island. The feeding ecology of albatrosses thus suggests that juvenile (0+) southern blue whiting are pelagic and occur in dense schools in the top 5 m of the water column over the Campbell Plateau during the summer months. The high reliance of birds on juvenile southern blue whiting during the chick‐rearing period has implications for the management of the southern blue whiting fishery and the conservation of black‐browed albatrosses and other marine predators occurring in the New Zealand subantarctic area.     

Geology and metamorphism of the Ladakh Terrane and Shyok Suture Zone in the Chogo Lungma – Turmik area (northern Pakistan)

Abstract

Metamorphism of the Askore Amphibolite, metabasaltic and metasedimentary medium-grade hornblendebearing schists at the northernmost portion of the Ladakh Terrane and of the Shyok Suture Zone, mainly a low-grade volcano-sedimentary series, has been studied in the area between the Chogo Lungma glacier and the Indus river halfway between Skardu and Rondu.

In the Askore Amphibolite the peak assemblage in the amphibolite facies defines the regional metamorphic foliation, and is overprinted by a later static recrystallization at comparable P-T conditions. In spite of similar peak temperatures (630–650°C), geobarometry based on amphibole composition reveals a marked difference between garnet – epidote – andesine amphibolites exposed just above the Main Mantle Thrust at the head of Turmik valley, which equilibrated at high pressures (about 10 kbar) in late Miocene (Tortonian), and biotite – epidote – oligoclase amphibolites outcropping at the mouth of Turmik valley, which equilibrated at pressures of c. 6 kbar before late Eocene (Priabonian).

The Dasu Ultramafite and other smaller lens-shaped bodies of low- to medium-grade metaperidotite separate the Ladakh Terrane from the Shyok Suture Zone. They are antigorite serpentinites, often with talc and magnesite, in which relict cumulitic structures are locally recognisable. The ultramafites may represent remnants of oceanic lithosphere separating the Ladakh-Kohistan island arc from the Asian plate, or they may be deep crustal rocks stripped from the basement of the arc.

The mostly greenschist-facies Shyok Suture Zone shows the lithology of a calc-alkaline volcano-sedimentary series. It is supposed to be a remnant of a back arc basin of early Cretaceous age, separating the arc from the southern margin of Asia. Chloritoid, kyanite and biotite have been found in individual thrust sheets occurring at different structural levels and totally subordinate in volume to very low- and low-grade rocks. Such sharp differences in mineral paragenesis, together with field evidence of local shear, suggest a complex internal structure for the Shyok Suture Zone. From the head of Chogo Lungma glacier to the Basha valley, close to the contact with the Karakorum Metamorphic Complex, the rocks of the Shyok Suture Zone record a late Miocene metamorphic event at medium pressures and temperatures. Thermobarometric and geochronological evidence suggests that this event can be related to the exhumation and thrusting of the Karakorum metamorphic core over the Shyok Suture Zone.