Mineralization and deformation of the Malanjkhand terrane (2,490–2,440 Ma) along the southern margin of the Central Indian Tectonic Zone

The Malanjkhand Cu–Mo–Au deposit, located near the northwest margin of the Malanjkhand batholith (terrane), is a strategic and significant porphyry-style deposit that experienced a protracted 50 m.y. deformational history shortly after its formation at 2,490±8 Ma (Stein et al. 2004). In a recent study, Panigrahi et al. (2004) averaged U–Pb SHRIMP zircon data from a pooled set of samples from the Malanjkhand batholith to advocate a meaningless intermediate age of ~2,476 Ma for the Malanjkhand granitoid and its Cu–Mo–Au deposit. In the northwest part of the Malanjkhand batholith, Re–Os dating of occurrence-specific molybdenite captures not only the age of porphyry-style mineralization and associated magmatism, but also elucidates a complex deformational history that extends to ~2,450 Ma. In the central part of the Malanjkhand batholith, Re–Os dating of delicate spindles of accessory molybdenite occurring with pristine muscovite in miarolitic cavities within the undeformed microgranitoid at the Devgaon Mo prospect unequivocally shows that deformation ceased at this location no later than 2,470–2,465 Ma. The deformational history recorded at the Malanjkhand deposit in the northwest most likely reflects prolonged transpressive convergence and docking of the Malanjkhand terrane with units in the poorly understood (proto) Central Indian Tectonic Zone (CITZ) along its southern margin, the Central Indian shear zone. The timing for this convergence is Late Archean–Early Paleoproterozoic.Comment on “Age of granitic activity associated with copper–molybdenum mineralization at Malanjkhand, Central India” by Panigrahi MK et al. (Mineralium Deposita 39:670–677)     

Structural controls on groundwater flow in a fractured bedrock aquifer underlying an agricultural region of northwestern New Brunswick,Canada

A hydrogeological study was conducted in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada, to improve the predictability of fracture-dominated groundwater flow within folded bedrock composed of fine-grained turbidites. Borehole televiewer logging and outcrop mapping, integrated with hydraulic packer tests revealed enhanced hydraulic conductivity associated with northeasterly striking bedding-plane fractures formed during folding and flexural slip. These fractures impart azimuthal anisotropy to the aquifer because of moderately dipping fold limbs. High-angle fractures form a well-developed non-stratabound network, comprising two open fracture sets striking NNE parallel to the current direction of principal stress, and WNW parallel to the direction of principal stress that dominated during the Acadian orogeny. The subset of fractures showing significant oxidation, deemed most important to the groundwater flow system, is dominated by bedding-plane and high-angle fractures striking near-parallel to the maximum principal stress direction, resulting in extensional opening and enhanced hydraulic conductivities. An equivalent porous media model, incorporating anisotropy and varying hydraulic conductivity with depth, indicates that horizontal flow dominates the aquifer with relatively minor exchange between different model layers. These findings have implications for understanding flow directions in the Black Brook Watershed and elsewhere in the Matapédia Basin where fractures formed under similar stress conditions.     

Nanogeochemistry of hydrothermal magnetite

Magnetite from hydrothermal ore deposits can contain up to tens of thousands of parts per million (ppm) of elements such as Ti, Si, V, Al, Ca, Mg, Na, which tend to either structurally incorporate into growth and sector zones or form mineral micro- to nano-sized particles. Here, we report micro- to nano-structural and chemical data of hydrothermal magnetite from the Los Colorados iron oxide–apatite deposit in Chile, where magnetite displays both types of trace element incorporation. Three generations of magnetites (X–Z) were identified with concentrations of minor and trace elements that vary significantly: SiO₂, from below detection limit (bdl) to 3.1 wt%; Al₂O₃, 0.3–2.3 wt%; CaO, bdl–0.9 wt%; MgO, 0.02–2.5 wt%; TiO₂, 0.1–0.4 wt%; MnO, 0.04–0.2 wt%; Na₂O, bdl–0.4 wt%; and K₂O, bdl–0.4 wt%. An exception is V₂O₃, which is remarkably constant, ranging from 0.3 to 0.4 wt%. Six types of crystalline nanoparticles (NPs) were identified by means of transmission electron microscopy in the trace element-rich zones, which are each a few micrometres wide: (1) diopside, (2) clinoenstatite; (3) amphibole, (4) mica, (5) ulvöspinel, and (6) Ti-rich magnetite. In addition, Al-rich nanodomains, which contain 2–3 wt% of Al, occur within a single crystal of magnetite. The accumulation of NPs in the trace element-rich zones suggest that they form owing to supersaturation from a hydrothermal fluid, followed by entrapment during continuous growth of the magnetite surface. It is also concluded that mineral NPs promote exsolution of new phases from the mineral host, otherwise preserved as structurally bound trace elements. The presence of abundant mineral NPs in magnetite points to a complex incorporation of trace elements during growth, and provides a cautionary note on the interpretation of micron-scale chemical data of magnetite.     

Producers'' organizations and devolved fisheries management in the United Kingdom: Collective and individual quota systems

In the United Kingdom responsibility for the management of national catch quotas has since 1984 been extensively devolved to producers' organizations, Institutions created by the European Community in order to implement the common organization of the Community market for fish. The paper describes the development of the UK quota management system and the approaches adopted by different producers' organizations to the internal management of their quota allocations. Because of changes in the UK fishing vessel licensing rules as well as developments in the quota allocation system, there is an emerging market in quotas at both individual and collective levels. The implications of these developments are discussed, including the possible evolution, largely through industry-led innovation, of some sort of individual transferable quota (ITQ) system for the UK.     

Survey of stable isotope values in Irish surface waters

We present a study of the spatial distribution of δ¹⁸O and δD values of lake and river waters from 144 locations in Ireland. Before we can gain a better understanding of paleoclimate records derived from lacustrine carbonate minerals we must understand mechanisms that produce variation in isotope values of modern surface waters. The focus of this study is to provide insight into the behavior of lakes and rivers in Ireland, including source, recycling and loss through evapotranspiration. The short duration of sampling in this project provides a snapshot of modern isotope variability to be applied towards long-term climate change in Ireland and provides a basis of comparison for other proxy records.Electronic supplementary material to this article is available at and accessible for authorized users.     

Ironies of Consociation: Forest and Natural Resource Governance in Post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina

ABSTRACT

The nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), on southeastern Europe’s Balkan Peninsula, is a unique product of international peace building based on a consociational model of ethnic power sharing. Organized around protection of “vital interests” of its constituent ethnic communities, the BiH state is radically decentralized. In forest administration, national government is practically nonexistent; multiple substate entities including cantons and municipalities operate as autonomous, self-governing units. This paper finds that the politics of accommodation, ironically couched in the language of rights, creates conditions of illiberal dissociation which block consensual natural resource governance. Conservation policies which require political compromise, thus, face a challenge in BiH’s illiberal consociation. Through policy analysis and interviews with representatives of key organizations affected by the 2008 Law on Una National Park, this study finds that when policies are implemented at levels of expected cooperation, the resultant needs are to reconcile rifts of interpretation and coordinate competencies vertically among dissociative bureaucracies.     

Performance Assessment of Pump‐and‐Treat Systems

Pump‐and‐treat (P&T) is a widely applied remedy for groundwater remediation at many types of sites for multiple types of contaminants. Decisions regarding major changes in the remediation approach are an important element of environmental remediation management for a site using P&T. While existing guidance documents provide information on design, operation, and optimization for P&T systems, these documents do not provide specific technical guidance to support remedy decisions regarding when to transition to a new remedy or to initiate closure of the P&T remedy. A structured approach for P&T performance assessment was developed and is described herein, using analysis of three example P&T systems. These examples highlight key aspects of the performance assessment decision logic and represent assessment outcomes associated with optimizing the P&T system, transitioning from P&T to natural attenuation, and supplementing P&T with another technology to hasten transition to natural attenuation.     

Seismic markers of the Messinian salinity crisis in the deep Ionian Basin

We conduct the seismic signal analysis on vintage and recently collected multichannel seismic reflection profiles from the Ionian Basin to characterize the deep basin Messinian evaporites. These evaporites were deposited in deep and marginal Mediterranean sedimentary basins as a consequence of the “salinity crisis” between 5.97 and 5.33 Ma, a basin-wide oceanographic and ecological crisis whose origin remains poorly understood. The seismic markers of the Messinian evaporites in the deep Mediterranean basins can be divided in two end-members, one of which is the typical “trilogy” of gypsum and clastics (Lower Unit – LU), halite (Mobile Unit – MU) and upper anhydrite and marl layers (Upper Unit – UU) traced in the Western Mediterranean Basins. The other end-member is a single MU unit subdivided in seven sub-units by clastic interlayers located in the Levant Basin. The causes of these different seismic expressions of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) appear to be related to a morphological separation between the two basins by the structural regional sill of the Sicily Channel. With the aid of velocity analyses and seismic imaging via prestack migration in time and depth domains, we define for the first time the seismic signature of the Messinian evaporites in the deep Ionian Basin, which differs from the known end-members. In addition, we identify different evaporitic depositional settings suggesting a laterally discontinuous deposition. With the information gathered we quantify the volume of evaporitic deposits in the deep Ionian Basin as 500,000 km³ ± 10%. This figure allows us to speculate that the total volume of salts in the Mediterranean basin is larger than commonly assumed. Different depositional units in the Ionian Basin suggest that during the MSC it was separated from the Western Mediterranean by physical thresholds, from the Po Plain/Northern Adriatic Basin, and the Levant Basin, likely reflecting different hydrological and climatic conditions. Finally, the evidence of erosional surfaces and V-shaped valleys at the top of the MSC unit, together with sharp evaporites pinch out on evaporite-free pre-Messinian structural highs, suggest an extreme Messinian Stage 3 base level draw down in the Ionian Basin. Such evidence should be carefully evaluated in the light of Messinian and post-Messinian vertical crustal movements in the area. The results of this study demonstrates the importance of extracting from seismic data the Messinian paleotopography, the paleomorphology and the detailed stratal architecture in the in order to advance in the understanding of the deep basins Messinian depositional environments.