A comparison of five range condition assessment techniques used in the semi-arid western grassland biome of southern Africa

Five techniques that are generally used in the western part of the grassland biome of southern Africa were evaluated. The techniques were tested on the mid-slopes (high species diversity) and pediments (low species diversity). The techniques were tested particularly with regard to their sensitivity for monitoring range condition changes. The Degradation Gradient Technique, as well as the Weighted Key Species Technique (to a lesser degree), appear to be the techniques best suited to this region at present.     

New age constraints on metamorphism,metasomatism and gold mineralisation at Plutonic Gold Mine,Marymia Inlier,Western Australia

The Plutonic Well Greenstone Belt (PWGB) is located in the Marymia Inlier between the Yilgarn and Pilbara cratons in Western Australia, and hosts a series of major Au deposits. The main episode of Au mineralisation in the PWGB was previously interpreted to have either accompanied, or shortly followed, peak metamorphism in the late Archean at ca 2650 Ma with a later, minor, event associated with the Capricorn Orogeny. Here we present new Pb isotope model ages for sulfides and Rb–Sr ages for mica, as well as a new ²⁰⁷Pb–²⁰⁶Pb age for titanite for samples from the Plutonic Gold Mine (Plutonic) at the southern end of the PWGB. The majority of the sulfides record Proterozoic Pb isotope model ages (2300–2100 Ma), constraining a significant Au mineralising event at Plutonic that occurred >300 Myr later than previously thought. A Rb–Sr age of 2296 ± 99 Ma from muscovite in an Au-bearing sample records resetting or closure of the Rb–Sr system in muscovite at about the same time. A younger Rb–Sr age of 1779 ± 46 Ma from biotite from the same sample may record further cooling, or resetting during a late-stage episode of metasomatism in the PWGB. This could have been associated with the 1820–1770 Ma Capricorn Orogeny, or a late-stage hydrothermal event potentially constrained by a new ²⁰⁷Pb–²⁰⁶Pb age of 1725 ± 26 Ma for titanite in a chlorite–carbonate vein. This titanite age correlates with a pre-existing age for a metasomatic event dated at 1719 ± 14 Ma by U–Pb ages of zircon overgrowths in a sample from the Marymia Deposit. Based on the Pb-isotope data presented here, Au mineralising events in the PWGB are inferred to have occurred at ca 2630, 2300–2100 Ma, during the Glenburgh and Capricorn orogenies, and 1730–1660 Ma. The 2300–2100 Ma event, which appears to have been significant based on the amount of sulfide of this age, correlates with the inferred age for rifting of the Marymia Inlier from the northern margin of the Yilgarn Craton. The texturally-later visible Au may have been deposited during the Glenburgh and Capricorn orogenies.     

现代海底烟囱中流体包裹体的研究

大洋中脊的海底块状硫化物矿床是当前地球科学的一个热点。因为他不仅具有经济效益,而且可以直接观测到这些矿床的形成过程。这些矿床均有许多黑烟囱和白烟囱。在这些烟囱中成矿流体不断地流过,并同时沉淀出Cu,Pb,Zn硫化物和脉石矿物。本研究的样品是取自北纬21°N的太平洋洋脊中现代大洋海底的Zn(Cu)型硫化物烟囱。对这些烟囱的矿物共生组合进行研究发现其矿物组合相当简单,分硫化物和脉石矿物两种。硫化物中以其含量多少排列为闪锌矿,黄铁矿,黄铜矿和磁黄铁矿。脉石矿物以硬石膏为主,见少量重晶石。在烟囱中这些硫化物和脉石矿物的分布是有分带性的。从外到内为硬石膏带,黄铁矿带,闪锌矿带。闪锌矿带向里可见到少量黄铜矿和磁黄铜矿,及硬石膏,但它们尚未构成一个带。烟囱的中心常常是空的,因为是原来的热液通道。 发现两类流体包裹体:一类为水溶液相包裹体。另一类为CH_4的包裹体。其均一温度是从180～265℃。最外面的硬石膏带,均一温度从180～245℃(平均212℃)。黄铁矿带均一温度从185～260℃(平均218℃)。闪锌矿带均一温度从190～265℃(平均229℃)。从平均的均一温度看似乎从边上到中心从212—218—229℃向上升,说明一个趋势,中间的温度较高,边上的较低。成矿溶液的盐度与海水相差不大,但略大於海水     

Ability of a dual polarized X-band radar to estimate rainfall

The aim of this study is to assess rainfall estimates by a dual polarized X-band radar. This study was part of the European project FRAMEA (Flood forecasting using Radar in Alpine and Mediterranean Areas). Two radars were set up near the small town of Collobrières in South Eastern France. The first radar was a dual polarized X-band radar (Hydrix^®) associated with a ZPHI^® algorithm while the second one was an S-band radar (Météo France). We compared radar rainfall data with measurements obtained by two rain gauge networks (Météo France and Cemagref). During the experiments from February 2006 to June 2007, four significant rainfall events occurred. The accuracy of the rain rate obtained with both S-band and X-band radars decreased significantly beyond 60 km, in particular for the X-band radar. At closer ranges, such as 30–60 km from the radars, the X-band and the S-band radar retrievals showed similar performance with Nash criteria around 0.80 for the X-band radar and 0.75 for the S-band radar. Furthermore, the X-band radar did not require calibration on rainfall records, which tends to make it a useful method to assess rainfall in areas without a rain gauge network.     

The contribution of the ARIEL space mission to the study of planetary formation

The study of extrasolar planets and of the Solar System provides complementary pieces of the mosaic represented by the process of planetary formation. Exoplanets are essential to fully grasp the huge diversity of outcomes that planetary formation and the subsequent evolution of the planetary systems can produce. The orbital and basic physical data we currently possess for the bulk of the exoplanetary population, however, do not provide enough information to break the intrinsic degeneracy of their histories, as different evolutionary tracks can result in the same final configurations. The lessons learned from the Solar System indicate us that the solution to this problem lies in the information contained in the composition of planets. The goal of the Atmospheric Remote-Sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey (ARIEL), one of the three candidates as ESA M4 space mission, is to observe a large and diversified population of transiting planets around a range of host star types to collect information on their atmospheric composition. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres, which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials and thus reveal their bulk composition across all main cosmochemical elements. In this work we will review the most outstanding open questions concerning the way planets form and the mechanisms that contribute to create habitable environments that the compositional information gathered by ARIEL will allow to tackle.     

Is feeding behaviour related to glass eel propensity to migrate?

Several studies have shown that eel diadromy is facultative and that migratory divergences may appear during glass eel estuarine migration. The origin of the differences in migratory behaviour among glass eels remains unclear but initial evidence supports the role of individual energetic and thyroidal status. Even if starvation is usually associated with glass eel migration, feeding does seem to occur in some glass eels. The aim of the present study was to investigate feeding behaviour and glass eel growth in relation to the propensity to migrate. Feeding rate and weight gain were higher in fish having a high propensity to migrate (M⁺ fish) than in fish having a low propensity to migrate (M⁻ fish) in fed glass eels, whereas no clear difference in the variation in body weight was observed among unfed fish (controls). M⁻ fish initially had lower percent dry weight than M⁺ fish, which suggests a link between appetite, propensity to migrate, and energy content. We discuss the role played by endocrine signals on these processes. In fish, thyroid hormones contribute to the control of growth and development. In addition, they play a role in flatfish and leptocephalus metamorphosis and appear to be involved in smolt and glass eel migratory behaviour. As such, they represent a good candidate which would promote the propensity to migrate as well as digestive system development. Their role in the hormonal control of food intake however remains vague.     

Metabolic loss of mass in glass eels at different salinities according to their propensity to migrate

Eel facultative catadromy is not clearly understood. Initial work suggested a possible control by energy content and energy expense in young stages. The present work aimed to better understand the mechanisms involved, by studying the influence of the salinity rearing environment in the loss of mass and therefore on fish energy and migration. Glass eels (Anguilla anguilla L.) caught on the Atlantic coast were identified according to their rheotactic response to the dusk signal, and thus to their propensity to migrate which can be low (sedentary, M⁻ fish) or high (flow-wise catches in early night, M⁺ fish). M⁺ and M⁻ fish were individually placed at different salinities (0, 10 or 30) for 28 days in small containers equipped with shelters. Individual wet mass and pigmentary stage were determined on Day 1 and Day 28. In addition, dry mass and percent dry mass were measured on a sub-sample of 30 fish randomly chosen on Day 1, and on all fish on Day 28. There was no difference in the loss of mass linked to their adaptation to salinity between M⁻ and M⁺ fish, and so the results do not support the link between migratory behaviour and salinity tolérance (or to a larger extent osmoregulation). However, M⁻ fish lost more wet mass than M⁺ fish irrespective of the salinity, maybe because of a higher standard metabolism, which suggests that glass eels prone to loose more energy might choose to settle at sea or in estuary. In addition, the highest percent dry mass after 28 days in seawater associated to the highest loss of mass in 28 days in seawater does not support a higher energy cost of osmoregulation at sea.