The origin of Lake Cheko and the 1908 Tunguska Event recorded by forest trees

Several lines of evidence indicate that Cheko, a small lake close to the epicentre of the 1908 Tunguska Event (TE), fills a crater left behind by a fragment of the Tunguska Cosmic Body that impacted the ground downrange of the main explosion. It is thought that over 80 million trees were flattened or burnt as a consequence of the TE. However, a small number of trees in the devastated area survived the explosion and recorded in their growth‐ring patterns the environmental changes that followed this event. Some of those trees were found around Lake Cheko, ~10 km NW of the inferred TE epicentre. We analysed new data from the floor of Lake Cheko, including seismic‐reflection profiles, side‐scan sonar and video images, as well as dendrochronological evidence in tree samples collected along the shores, to test the hypothesis of a 1908 formation of the lake.     

Geology of the Murcia Valley and Flood Plain Modifications in the Construction of the Circus Maximus,Rome, Italy

This paper presents a morphological and hydrogeological reconstruction of the Murcia Valley at the location of the great Roman stadium Circus Maximus in Rome. We reconstruct a valley segment using ERT (electrical resistivity tomography) and geoarchaeological drilling data that identified three main layers. The basal layer, with high resistivity values and convex shapes, is correlated to alluvial gravel and lithified silt‐clay sediments. The middle layer shows low‐to‐medium resistivity values extending to concavities between the basal convex shapes. The very low resistivity values of this middle layer characterize elliptical to circular morphologies and have been ascribed to the presence of water‐saturated clay‐silt and peaty sediments. The surface layer is characterized by widespread lateral inhomogeneity interpreted as anthropogenic fill. The data indicate a pre‐Roman anastomosed alluvial plain subsequently modified by human intervention. In an effort to reclaim the valley for construction of the Circus, the Romans utilized the natural topography and created a central embankment, later becoming the Spina, by filling depressions with sand taken from adjacent bars. Our study contributes to (1) knowledge of the pre‐Roman landscape, (2) understanding anthropogenic modification of the Murcia Valley flood plain, and (3) archaeological interpretation of the monument.     

Arenig trace fossils from the Salamanca area,western Spain

Trace fossils are recorded at two localities from the ‘Armorican Quartzite’ (Lower Ordovician) in the Salamanca area, western Spain. Sixteen ichnospecies, belonging to twelve ichnogenera, are described; all ichnospecies occur in the upper part of the unit, only four in the lower part. The ichnogenera comprise Arthrophycus, Cruziana, Daedalus, Didymaulichnus, Diplichnites, Diplocraterion, cf. Gor-. dia, Monomorphichnus, Muensteria, Palaeophycus, Planolites, and Rusophycus. The presence of Cruziana furcifera, C. goldfussi, C. rugosa, and C? cf. imbricata indicate that the upper part of the unit is of Arenig age. The lower part has yielded only the two former ichnospecies and may extend down into the Tremadoc. The species of Cruziana and their stratigraphical significance are discussed.     

The caradoc rocks around llyn cowlyd,North Wales

A thick succession of Middle Caradoc sediments (Glanrafon Beds) with occasional volcanic horizons is described. Faunas found within the succession prove a Soudleyan to Lower Longvillian age for these sediments. Detailed mapping has shown the presence of an unconformity between the Glanrafon Beds and the overlying Lower Rhyolite Tuff of the Snowdon Volcanic Series. A new fauna from the sediments within the Capel Curig Volcanic Series proves a Soudleyan (?Lower) age for this period of vulcanicity.