Description de deux nouvelles Cyclotelles (Bacillariophyceae) de milieux alcalins et eutrophes:Cyclotella costei nov. sp. etCyclotella wuethrichiana nov. sp.

Two new species of the genus Cyclotella are presented which have been discovered during ecological and paleoecological research studies in the littoral zone of two small alkaline eutrophic lakes in France (Lake Paladru) and in Switzerland (Lake Le Loclat). These new species are namedCyclotella costei nov. sp. andCyclotella wuethrichiana nov. sp.     

Seismically reactivated Hattian slide in Kashmir, Northern Pakistan

The Pakistan 2005 earthquake, of magnitude 7.6, caused severe damage on landscape and infrastructure, in addition to numerous casualties. The event reactivated Hattian Slide, creating a rock avalanche in a location where earlier mass movements had happened already, as indicated by satellite imagery and ground investigation. The slide originated on Dana Hill, in the upper catchment area of Hattian on Karli Stream, a tributary of Jhelum River, Pakistan, and buried the hamlet Dandbeh and several farms nearby. A natural dam accumulated, impounding two lakes, the larger one threatening parts of downstream Hattian Village with flooding. An access road and artificial spillways needed to be constructed in very short time to minimize the flooding risk. As shown by this example, when pointing out the risk of large-scale damage to population and infrastructure by way of hazard indication maps of seismically active regions, and preparing for alleviation of that risk, it is advisable to consider the complete Holocene history of the slopes involved.     

Uptake of macroelements by the helophytePhalaris arundinacea L.

Helophytes are often incorporated into biological wastewater treatment plants. In favourable situations, they can take up large amounts of nutrients. One helophyte, the reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.), is fast growing when supplied with sufficient light and nutrients. Experiments were carried out under natural climatic conditions in small plastic tanks filled with sand with regular additions of a balanced and concentrated nutrient solution. In the growing season (May–October), plant production reached 10.5 kg m^–2 of dry biomass, of which 66% was in the aerial parts. Maximum nutrient uptake capacity was reached just after flowering and before senescence (beginning of October): 49% N, 34% P, 52% K and 34% Mg of the input was fixed in the aerial parts, which are easily harvestable. The corresponding values for the below ground parts were 12%, 10%, 11% and 11% respectively. Excretion of K and Mg has been observed when nutrients are translocated to the storage organs.     

Analysis of the interannual variability of annual daily extreme water levels in the St Lawrence River and Lake Ontario from 1918 to 2010

We compared the interannual variability of annual daily maximum and minimum extreme water levels in Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River (Sorel station) from 1918 to 2010, using several statistical tests. The interannual variability of annual daily maximum extreme water levels in Lake Ontario is characterized by a positive long‐term trend showing two shifts in mean (1929–1930 and 1942–1943) and a single shift in variance (in 1958–1959). In contrast, for the St Lawrence River, this interannual variability is characterized by a negative long‐term trend with a single shift in mean, which occurred in 1955–1956. As for annual daily minimum extreme water levels, their interannual variability shows no significant long‐term change in trend. However, for Lake Ontario, the interannual variability of these water levels shows two shifts in mean, which are synchronous with those for maximum water levels, and a single shift in variance, which occurred in 1965–1966. These changes in trend and stationarity (mean and variance) are thought to be due to factors both climatic (the Great Drought of the 1930s) and human (digging of the Seaway and construction of several dams and locks during the 1950s). Despite this change in means and variance, the four series are clearly described by the generalized extreme value distribution. Finally, annual daily maximum and minimum extreme water levels in the St Lawrence and Lake Ontario are negatively correlated with Atlantic multidecadal oscillation over the period from 1918 to 2010. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large-scale Mechanical Redistribution of Orthopyroxene and Plagioclase in the Basement Sill, Ferrar Dolerites, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: Petrological, Mineral-chemical and Field Evidence for Channelized Movement of Crystals and Melt

The Jurassic Ferrar dolerite sills of the McMurdo Dry Valleys,Antarctica represent the plumbing system for flood basalt eruptionsassociated with the breakup of Gondwana. Among the Ferrar sills,the 350–450 m thick cumulate-textured Basement Sill isdifferentiated into a Lower Marginal Zone (LMZ) gabbronorite,a thick Lower Zone (LZ) orthopyroxene–plagioclase orthocumulatepyroxenite, a strongly layered mela- to leuco-gabbronorite MiddleZone (MZ), a thick Upper Zone (UZ) gabbronorite with ferrogabbroicpods, and an Upper Marginal Zone (UMZ) gabbronorite. Texturesand mineral compositions in the LZ pyroxenite and MZ–UZgabbronorites are nearly identical, the main distinction beingthe greater relative proportion of plagioclase in the MZ–UZgabbronorites, and of pigeonite in the UZ. Most orthopyroxenein the LZ, MZ and UZ occurs as sub-euhedral, normally zonedprimocrysts, commonly with rounded plagioclase inclusions. Plagioclaseis usually sub-euhedral and normally zoned, but can containsodic cores interpreted to be xenocrystic. Orthopyroxene andfeldspar compositions thoughout the sill are generally fairlyuniform, and resemble the compositions of micro-phenocrystsin the chilled margins. We infer that the sill was filled bya c. 1250°C slurry of orthopyroxene + plagioclase phenocrystsor primocrysts that subsequently unmixed in response to buoyancyforces. The LZ websterite contains numerous anorthosite to gabbronoriteschlieren, veins and pipes (< 2 m diameter), which we interpretas fossil segregation channels. Textures and mineral compositionsin these felsic channels are very similar both to UZ and MZgabbronorites, and to the groundmass separating accumulatedorthopyroxene primocrysts in the LZ and MZ. We infer that plagioclase-charged,hydrous pore melt from the pyroxenite may have segregated, pooledand ascended through these conduits to feed growth of the UZgabbronorite. Detailed mapping shows that the pipes are separatedby about 15 m on average. Calculations suggest that this numberdensity of conduits could have drained the LZ cumulates of theirinterstitial melt + plagioclase in about 8 days. Sequences (eachc. 5–10 m thick) of layered leuco-gabbronorite in theMZ could represent intra-cumulate sills that formed from plagioclase-richslurries ascending in segregation channels. Fe–Ti-richpyroxenitic veins and pods (some pegmatitic) and an unusualcoarse-grained plagioclase facies occur at the contacts betweenmassive leuco-gabbronorite layers in the MZ. Discordant ferro-pegmatitepods and dykes occur throughout the UZ. We interpret these Fe-richpegmatoidal rocks as evolved residual melts expelled from thecompacting gabbronoritic cumulates of the MZ and UZ. KEY WORDS: Ferrar; cumulates; differentiation; Antarctica; layering     

Estimating Crustal Heterogeneity from Double-difference Tomography

Seismic velocity parameters in limited, but heterogeneous volumes can be inferred using a double-difference tomographic algorithm, but to obtain meaningful results accuracy must be maintained at every step of the computation. MONTEILLER et al. (2005) have devised a double-difference tomographic algorithm that takes full advantage of the accuracy of cross-spectral time-delays of large correlated event sets. This algorithm performs an accurate computation of theoretical travel-time delays in heterogeneous media and applies a suitable inversion scheme based on optimization theory. When applied to Kilauea Volcano, in Hawaii, the double-difference tomography approach shows significant and coherent changes to the velocity model in the well-resolved volumes beneath the Kilauea caldera and the upper east rift. In this paper, we first compare the results obtained using MONTEILLER et al.'s algorithm with those obtained using the classic travel-time tomographic approach. Then, we evaluated the effect of using data series of different accuracies, such as handpicked arrival-time differences (``picking differences'), on the results produced by double-difference tomographic algorithms. We show that picking differences have a non-Gaussian probability density function (pdf). Using a hyperbolic secant pdf instead of a Gaussian pdf allows improvement of the double-difference tomographic result when using picking difference data. We completed our study by investigating the use of spatially discontinuous time-delay data.     

Defining organominerals: Comment on ‘Defining biominerals and organominerals: Direct and indirect indicators of life’ by Perry et al. (2007, Sedimentary Geology, 201, 157–179)

The paper by Perry et al. (2007, Defining biominerals and organominerals: Direct and indirect indicators of life, Sedimentary Geology, 201, 157–179) proposes to introduce “the new term ‘organomineral’” to describe mineral products whose formation is induced by by-products of biological activity, dead and decaying organisms, or nonbiological organic compounds, to be distinguished from the biomineral components of living organisms. The substantive ‘organomineral’, however, is not new: it was first introduced in 1993, with basically the same definition and distinction from biominerals, at the 7th International Symposium on Biomineralization (Défarge and Trichet, 1995, From biominerals to ‘organominerals’: The example of the modern lacustrine calcareous stromatolites from Polynesian atolls, Bulletin de l'Institut Océanographique de Monaco, n° spéc. 14, vol. 2, pp. 265–271). Thereafter, more than twenty-five papers by various authors have been devoted to organominerals and organomineral formation (‘organomineralization’) processes. Only two of these papers are cited by Perry et al., and without any reference to the definitions, or even the terms ‘organomineral’ or ‘organomineralization’, which they included. Moreover, Perry et al. tend to enlarge the original concept of organomineral to encompass all minerals containing organic matter, whether these organic compounds are active or passive in the mineralization, which introduces ambiguities detrimental to a fine understanding of present and past geobiological processes. Finally, Perry et al. propose to consider organominerals as indirect biosignatures that could be used in the search for evidence of life in the geological record and extraterrestrial bodies. This latter proposition also is problematical, in that organominerals may be formed in association with prebiotic or abiotic organic matter.     

The interaction between a manmade lake and groundwater: an example site in the Aurku area,Chiayi County,Taiwan

The objectives of this study are (1) to understand the subsurface hydrology in the Aurku area, Chiayi County, southern Taiwan, and (2) to determine the interaction between the manmade lake and groundwater level through the recharge produced by infiltration by on‐site investigation and laboratory sand tank simulation. The manmade lake was selected as the field site for groundwater recharge effect so as to assess the role of infiltration from the aquaculture ponds in this area. These results can be used as reference for future application of constructing a series of manmade lakes. The field experiment was performed to measure the infiltration rate of the manmade lake by using the water balance method and double‐ring infiltration test. The results demonstrated that the manmade lake had helped the recharge of the groundwater. Raising or maintaining a higher water level of the manmade lake can promote higher infiltration. When the groundwater level is equal to or higher than the bottom of the manmade lake, infiltration will slow or cease. The field experiment and laboratory sand tank simulation demonstrated that the infiltration rate increased with the higher storage depth of the manmade lake. The laboratory simulation also indicated that while the groundwater level was lower than the bottom of manmade lake (i.e. the reference level) and the initial water depth (3 cm) was equal to or greater than 50% of the full water storage depth, the infiltration depth increased with time. However, the infiltration depth would be very small or nearly zero when the groundwater level was higher than the bottom of the manmade lake. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.