Reef development on a deepening platform: two Early Cretaceous coralgal patch reefs (Catí, Llàcova Formation, eastern Spain) compared

Two coralgal patch reefs of the Hauterivian Llàcova Formation (Maestrat Basin, eastern Spain), exposed at two consecutive stratigraphic levels within a single section, have been studied to document taxonomic implications of a changing environment. These two reefal palaeocommunities differ substantially in coral taxonomic composition, microbialite formation pattern and in abundance and composition of encrusters and bioeroders. Of a total of 14 coral species, just one (Stylina parvistella) occurs in both reefs, yet is abundant in the (lower) reef A and rare, occurring near the reef base, in the reef B assemblage. Reef A is dominated by a phototrophic fauna and coral species with small corallites and imperforate septa (a stylinid-thamnasteriid-heterocoeniid-actinastreid association), along with an encruster association dominated by Bacinella and Lithocodium. Reef B is characterised by a balanced phototrophic-heterotrophic fauna that gradually passes into a heterotrophic-dominated assemblage. During this latest growth stage, microsolenid corals dominated the assemblage. The encruster fauna is characterised by sponges, polychaetes and bryozoans. Moderate deepening during a transgressive systems tract (TST) depositional sequence and elevated nutrient supply are interpreted to represent the driving environmental parameters that caused faunal compositions to differ between these two reefal palaeocommunities. Nine coral taxa, previously known only from younger (Barremian–Cenomanian) strata, have been identified, namely Dimorphocoenia? rudis, Eocomoseris raueni, Eocomoseris sp., Holocoenia jaccardi, Latusastrea irregularis, Mesomorpha sp., Microsolena kugleri, Polyphylloseris mammillata and Polyphylloseris sp. This observation emphasises the importance of the Hauterivian Stage as a period of evolutionary transition in Late Jurassic–Cretaceous coral faunas.     

Greigite: a true intermediate on the polysulfide pathway to pyrite

The formation of pyrite (FeS₂) from iron monosulfide precursors in anoxic sediments has been suggested to proceed via mackinawite (FeS) and greigite (Fe₃S₄). Despite decades of research, the mechanisms of pyrite formation are not sufficiently understood because solid and dissolved intermediates are oxygen-sensitive and poorly crystalline and therefore notoriously difficult to characterize and quantify.     

八臂仙母虫(Eoandromeda octobrachiata)新材料及其意义

在中国贵州江口地区陡山沱组新发现的化石材料表明,伊迪卡拉/震旦纪(Ediacaran/Sinian)的宏体化石——八臂仙母虫Eoandromeda octobrachiata的原始生活状态可能为一个较高的圆锥形生命体,具有沿着侧面锥状螺旋排列的八条旋臂.旋臂表面保存有与栉水母动物的栉板可能同源的横向有机质条带,规则排列...     

An east–west‐trending Quaternary tunnel valley in the south‐eastern North Sea and its seismic–sedimentological interpretation

A combination of a dense reflection seismic grid and up to 50‐m‐long records from sediment cores and cone penetration tests was used to study the geometry and infill lithology of an E–W‐trending buried tunnel valley in the south‐eastern North Sea. In relation to previously known primarily N–S‐trending tunnel valleys in this area, the geometry and infill of this 38‐km‐long and up to 3‐km‐wide valley is comparable, but its E–W orientation is exceptional. The vertical cross‐section geometry may result from subglacial sediment erosion of advancing ice streams and secondary incision by large episodic meltwater discharges with high flow rates. The infill is composed of meltwater sands and reworked till remnants on the valley flanks that are overlain by late Elsterian rhythmic, laminated, lacustrine fine‐grained sediments towards the centre of the valley. A depression in the valley centre is filled with sediments most likely from the Holsteinian transgression and a subsequent post‐Holsteinian lacustrine quiet‐water setting. The exceptional axis orientation of this tunnel valley points to a regional N–S‐oriented ice front during the late Elsterian. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new temperature based method to separate rain and snow

This paper presents the development and testing of a new method to estimate daily snowfall from precipitation and associated temperature records. The new method requires two variables; the threshold mean daily air temperature at which 50% of precipitation is considered snow, and the temperature range within which mixed precipitation can occur. Sensitivity analyses using 15 climate stations across south‐western Alberta, Canada, and ranging from prairie to alpine regions investigates the sensitivity of those two variables on mean annual snowfall (MAS), the coefficient of determination, and the MAS‐weighted coefficient of determination. Existing methods, including the static threshold method, one linear transition method used by Quick and Pipes, and the Leavesley method employed in the PRMS hydrological modelling system are compared with the new method, using a total of 963 years of daily data from the 15 climate stations used for the sensitivity analyses. Four different approaches to using the two input variables (threshold temperature and range) were tested and statistically compared: mean annual variables based on the 15 stations, mean annual variables for each station, mean monthly variables for each station, and a sine curve representing seasonal variation of the variables. In almost all cases the proposed new method resulted in higher MAS‐weighted coefficients of determination, and, on average, they were significantly different from those of other methods. The paper concludes with a decision tree to help decide which method and approach to apply under a variety of data availabilities. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Observational and modelling studies of Amazonia interannual climate variability

The interannual variability of climate in the Amazon basin is studied using precipitation and river level anomalies observed near the March/April rainy season peak for the period 1980–86, supported by satellite imagery of tropical convection. Evaluation of this data in conjunction with the corresponding circulation and sea-surface temperature (SST) anomaly patterns indicates that abundant rainy seasons in Northern Amazonia are characterized by anomalously cold surface waters in the tropical eastern Pacific, and negative/positive SST anomalies in the tropical North/South Atlantic, accelerated Northeast trades and a southward displaced Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) over the Atlantic sector. Years with deficient rainfall show broadly opposite patterns.General circulation model (GCM) experiments using observed SST in three case studies were aimed at testing the teleconnections between SST and Amazon climate implied by the empirical analysis. The GCM-generated surface fields resemble the corresponding observers fields most closely over the tropical Pacific and, with one exception, over the tropical Atlantic as well. The modeled precipitation features, along the Northwest coast of South America, anomalies of opposite sign to the North and South of the equator, in agreement with observations and results from a different GCM. Similarities in simulations run from different initial conditions, but using the same global SST, indicate broad consistency in response to common boundary forcing.     

北京市PM_(2.5)中主要重金属元素污染特征及季节变化分析

利用2005年4月18日—2008年9月27日北京市中国地质大学(东门)采样点的PM2.5质量浓度变化与重金属Cd、Pb、As、Cu及Zn等污染特征,结合最新发布的《环境空气质量标准》(GB3095—2012),初步分析了近4年时间里北京市单点PM2.5的污染水平及主要重金属污染元素的变化特征,得出了一些有意义的认识。2005年春季—2008年春季期间PM2.5质量浓度为13.1～171μg/m3之间变化,平均浓度为65.6μg/m3,超过最新环境空气质量标准制定的PM2.5年平均浓度限值35μg/m3,北京市PM2.5污染形势依然严峻。奥运会及残奥会期间PM2.5的24 h质量浓度平均值为40.7μg/m3,没有超标。北京市PM2.5中的重金属元素含量及富集特征随着不同年份不同季节差别较大,典型的城市污染元素As在冬季质量浓度最高。对比环境空气质量标准的参考浓度限值发现,As元素的质量浓度在研究期间的年均值均超过了年平均浓度参考限值0.006μg/m3。化学分析结果显示人为污染是PM2.5中Cu、Cd、Pb、Zn、As重金属污染的主要来源,其中As污染需要引起足够重视。研究结果对于北京市大气污染防治具有一定的借鉴意义。