Geochemical Correlation Between Metasediments of the Mfongosi Group of the Natal Sector of the Namaqua-Natal Metamorphic Province, South Africa and the Ahlmannryggen Group of the Grunehogna Province, Antarctica

The whole-rock geochemistry of metamorphosed greywackes, arenites and arkoses within the Mesoproterozoic Namaqua-Natal-Maudheim Province is interpreted with the aim of establishing geochemical correlations and defining common sediment source terrains. Metasediments of the Mfongosi Group of the Natal Sector of the Namaqua-Natal Metamorphic Province were sampled from their type area in the Mfongosi Valley. Metagreywackes from the northern limits of the Mfongosi Valley, directly adjacent to the Kaapvaal Craton, show ocean island arc signatures while metagreywackes from the southern limits of the Mfongosi Valley, near the contact with the Madidima Thrust of the Natal nappe zone, show mainly active continental margin signatures. Interleaved, geochemically distinct low-Ca+Na, high-K metamorphosed arkoses to lithic arkoses indicate a minor passive margin sediment component. Geochemical classification of low-grade Ahlmannryggen Group greywackes, arenites and arkoses of the Grunehogna Province, Antarctica, indicates both active and passive continental margin sediment sources. An oceanic island arc signature is not evident in Ahlmannryggen Group data. The active continental margin signature in both Natal Sector and Grunehogna Province metasediments potentially provides for a common link between these terranes. Discriminant Function Analysis, using three pre-defined provenance sub-sets within the Mfongosi Group and two pre-defined provenance sub-sets within the Ahlmannryggen Group, indicate that metasediments with active continental margin signatures from both groups are geochemically identical, implying that the active continental margin of the Grunehogna Province shed immature sediments westwards (African azimuths) into the developing, narrow or restricted Mesoproterozoic ‘Mfongosi Basin.’ This was accompanied by minor sediment influx from a stable continental platform, potentially the Kaapvaal Craton. Oblique and diachronous collision, initiated in the southwestern portions of the combined Natal Sector/Grunehogna Province system produced a laterally variable Mfongosi Group, which formed in the ‘Mfongosi Basin’. Coarse-grained sediments dominated in its eastern portions while basalts with thin sapropelite units dominated in its western portions.     

Marine and limnic radiocarbon reservoir corrections for studies of late- and postglacial environments in Georgia Basin and Puget Lowland, British Columbia, Canada and Washington, USA

Models of late-glacial environmental change in coastal areas are commonly based on radiocarbon ages on marine shell and basal lake sediments, both of which may be compromised by reservoir effects. The magnitude of the oceanic reservoir age in the inland waters of the Georgia Basin and Puget Lowland of northwestern North America is inferred from radiocarbon ages on shell-wood pairs in Saanich Inlet and previously published estimates. The weighted mean oceanic reservoir correction in the early and mid Holocene is −720±90 yr, slightly smaller than, but not significantly different from, the modern value. The correction in late-glacial time is −950±50 yr. Valley-head sites yield higher reservoir values (−1200±130 yr) immediately after deglaciation. The magnitude of the gyttja reservoir effect is inferred from pairs of bulk gyttja and plant macrofossil ages from four lakes in the region. Incorporation of old carbon into basal gyttja yields ages from bulk samples that are initially about 600 yr too old. The reservoir age declines to less than 100 yr after the first millennium of lake development. When these corrections are accounted for, dates of deglaciation and late-glacial sea-level change in the study area are pushed forward in time by more than 500 yr.     

Frequency dependence of elastic wave speeds at high temperature: a direct experimental demonstration

At sufficiently high temperatures and/or long periods, the elastic behaviour of crystalline material gives way progressively to viscoelastic behaviour associated with the stress-induced migration of crystal defects. This transition is marked by the onset of appreciable strain energy dissipation accompanied by frequency dependence (dispersion) of the shear modulus and elastic wave speeds. Ultrasonic interferometry and torsional forced-oscillation techniques can be used to probe the low-amplitude stress-strain behaviour of fine-grained polycrystalline material in two very different frequency ranges, respectively 10-100 MHz and 1 mHz-1 Hz. Here we demonstrate and apply these two complementary methods in a study of the high-temperature mechanical behaviour of a fine-grained synthetic olivine polycrystal. At the high frequencies of ultrasonic interferometry, the shear wave speed varies linearly with temperature between room temperature and the highest experimentally accessible temperature (1300 °C) in close accord with expectations based on similarly high-frequency studies of the elastic behaviour of single-crystal olivine. However, at teleseismic frequencies (<1 Hz) and temperatures >900 °C, the shear wave speed becomes much more strongly temperature-sensitive reflecting markedly viscoelastic behaviour. Newly emerging laboratory-derived constraints on this viscoelastic enhancement of the temperature sensitivity of seismic wave speeds and its grain-size dependence will provide a more robust interpretation of seismological models for the variation of wave speeds and attenuation within the Earth's interior.     

‘Committing to Place’ at the Local Scale: the potential of youth education programs for promoting community participation in regional natural resource management

Emerging approaches to environmental governance require a greater level of community participation than did previous approaches in which these responsibilities largely rested with government agencies. There is consequently a need for increased engagement with NRM among a broad community sector. This paper examines initiatives by two prominent government agencies, the Murray–Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) and the National Museum of Australia (NMA), to engage school children from regional communities using education programs that focus on place and environmental health. We focus on the MDBC's International Riverhealth Conference held in Mildura in 2003 and the associated Murray–Darling Basin TalkBack Classroom sponsored by the NMA and the Parliamentary Education Office (PEO). We explore how key themes of local scale, place-based identities, youth voice and critical engagement are developed in these programs and consider how they relate to the environmental agency of children. We then reflect on the potential for the kinds of environmental agency promoted through these programs to help build the capacity of local communities to progress larger goals of environmental restoration and sustainability in the Murray–Darling Basin. The evaluation research reported here forms part of the Committing to Place research project, an Australian Research Council Linkage grant involving the University of Tasmania, the National Museum of Australia and the Murray–Darling Basin Commission.     

February floods in the lower North Island, 2004: Catastrophe – causes and consequences

Abstract: The February 2004 Manawatu floods in New Zealand were the result of a naturally occurring, although unusual, storm. Up to 300 mm of rain fell on the already saturated ground of the lower North Island over two days, generating substantial and rapid runoff from catchment slopes. Rivers rose quickly, inundating unprotected farmland and properties and in places breaching stopbanks. There was widespread slope failure in the hill country of the lower North Island, affecting an area of ca. 7500 km². Slopes under scrub, plantation forest and native bush were not as badly affected as those under pasture, where slopes typically failed by shallow translational landsliding. Flooding caused catastrophic channel change in a number of small to medium sized channel systems in the upland fringes. Whilst the occurrence of landsliding and channel changes during an extreme event such as this is natural, the intensity of both landsliding and channel erosion was exacerbated by human activity within the catchments.     

Magmatic zircon oxygen isotopes of 1.88–1.87 Ga orogenic and 1.65–1.54 Ga anorogenic magmatism in Finland

Summary Oxygen isotope ratios of igneous zircon from magmatic rocks in Finland provide insights into the evolution and growth of the Precambrian crust during the Svecofennian orogeny. These data preserve magmatic δ¹⁸O values and correlate with major discontinuities in the lower crust. Oxygen isotope ratios of zircon across the 1.88–1.87 Ga Central Finland granitoid complex (CFGC) range from 5.50‰ to 6.84‰, except for three plutons in contact with the adjacent greenstone and metasedimentary belts (δ¹⁸O(Zrc) = 7.60‰–7.78‰). There is a systematic variation in δ¹⁸O(Zrc) with respect to geographic location in the CFGC, ranging from 6.60±0.23‰ (σ) in the northeast to 5.90±0.40‰ in the west-southwest. These values correlate with a change in crustal thickness and shift in geochemical composition. The oxygen isotope composition of the 1.65–1.54 Ga rapakivi granites and related rocks in southern Finland show a decreasing trend from north to south, independent of their emplacement age. The southern anorogenic granite group has an average δ¹⁸O in zircon of 6.14±0.07‰ and the northern anorogenic group has an average δ¹⁸O in zircon of 8.14±0.59‰. This difference reflects the boundary between island arc terrains accreted during the Paleoproterozoic. Deceased     

Comparison of the effects of unidirectional and sign‐alternating temperature gradients on the sintering of ice spheres

To simplify the complex snow structures that occur in nature, polycrystalline ice spheres were produced and arranged vertically to model the sintering process. By controlling the temperatures on both the top and bottom of the ice sphere array, the effect of upward and downward vapor transfers was examined. The evolution of the neck areas between ice spheres was observed using X‐ray computed microtomography. As frequently observed under the basal part of a snow layer and previous experiments of snow temperature gradient metamorphism, depth hoar structures were formed along neck areas and their formation was found to be directly related to the vapor transfer direction. To model the temperature gradient inversion that can be induced in nature by daily cycles of radiative heating and cooling, we also performed sign‐alternating temperature gradient experiments on the ice sphere arrays. The morphological evolution of the neck and the associated vapor transfer were examined through image analysis and 2D modeling. The final microstructures of the neck area turned out to be a symmetrical distribution of ice protrusions bridging neighboring ice spheres.