The East Greenland Coastal Current: Structure, variability, and forcing

The subtidal circulation of the southeast Greenland shelf is described using a set of high-resolution hydrographic and velocity transects occupied in summer 2004. The main feature is the East Greenland Coastal Current (EGCC), a low-salinity, high-velocity jet with a wedge-shaped hydrographic structure characteristic of other surface buoyancy-driven currents. The EGCC was observed along the entire Greenland shelf south of Denmark Strait, while the transect north of the strait showed only a weak shelf flow. This observation, in conjunction with water mass considerations and other supporting evidence, suggests that the EGCC is an inner branch of the East Greenland Current (EGC) that forms south of Denmark Strait. It is argued that bathymetric steering is the most likely reason why the EGC apparently bifurcates at this location. Repeat sections occupied at Cape Farewell between 1997 and 2004 show that the alongshelf wind stress can have an influence on the structure and strength of the EGCC and EGC on timescales of 2-3 days. Accounting for the wind-induced effects, the volume transport of the combined EGCC/EGC system is roughly constant (∼2 Sv) over the study domain, from 68°N to Cape Farewell near 60°N. The corresponding freshwater transport increases by roughly 60% over this distance (59-96 mSv, referenced to a salinity of 34.8). This trend is consistent with a simple freshwater budget of the EGCC/EGC system that accounts for meltwater runoff, melting sea-ice and icebergs, and net precipitation minus evaporation.     

Phase relations in the greenschist-blueschist-amphibolite-eclogite facies in the system Na2O-CaO-FeO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O (NCFMASH), with application to metamorphic rocks from Samos, Greece

Calculated phase equilibria among the minerals sodic amphibole, calcic amphibole, garnet, chloritoid, talc, chlorite, paragonite, margarite, omphacite, plagioclase, carpholite, zoisite/clinozoisite, lawsonite, pyrophyllite, kyanite, sillimanite, quartz and H₂O are presented for the model system Na₂O-CaO-FeO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O (NCFMASH), which is relevant for many greenschist, blueschist, amphibolite and eclogite facies rocks. Using the activity-composition relationships for multicomponent amphiboles constrained by Will and Powell (1992), equilibria containing coexisting calcic and sodic amphiboles could be determined. The blueschist–greenschist transition reaction in the NCFMASH system, for example, is defined by the univariant reaction sodic amphibole + zoisite = calcic amphibole + chlorite + paragonite + plagioclase (+ quartz + H₂O) occurring between approximately 420 and 450 °C at 9.5 to 10 kbar. The calculated petrogenetic grid is a valuable tool for reconstructing the PT-evolution of metabasic rocks. This is shown for rocks from the island of Samos, Greece. On the basis of mineral and whole rock analyses, PT-pseudosections were calculated and, together with the observed mineral assemblages and reaction textures, are used to reconstruct PT-paths. For rocks from northern Samos, pseudomorphs after lawsonite preserved in garnet, the assemblage sodic amphibole-garnet-paragonite-chlorite-zoisite-quartz and the retrograde appearance of albitic plagioclase and the formation of calcic amphibole around sodic amphibole constrain a clockwise PT-path that reaches its thermal maximum at some 520 °C and 19 kbar. The derived PT-trajectory indicates cooling during exhumation of the rocks and is similar to paths for rocks from the western part of the Attic-Cycladic crystalline complex. Rocks from eastern Samos indicate lower pressures and are probably related to high-pressure rocks from the Menderes Massif in western Turkey. Received: 8 July 1997 / Accepted: 11 February 1998     

One-photon and two-photon annihilation of positronium in strong magnetic fields

In the presence of a strong magnetic field (such as those believed to be characteristic of neutron stars:B-10¹² Gauss) positronium may annihilate through the emission of a single photon, the magnetic field providing the photon momentum. We report on calculations of the one-photon and two-photon annihilation rates for the ground state of positronium, for magnetic fields in the range (1–44)×10¹² Gauss, and give, in the two-photon case, the minimum energy half-width of the emission line due to the momentum contributions from the magnetic field. We find that unless neutron stars have magnetic fields in excess of 10¹³ Gauss, it is unlikely that the one-photon process will be observable.Research supported in part by the National Research Council of Canada.     

Age and origin of gem corundum and zircon megacrysts from the Mercaderes–Rio Mayo area, South-west Colombia, South America

Potential sources for alluvial gem corundum and zircon from the Rio Mayo area, near Mercaderes, Colombia are reviewed, based on U–Pb dating of syngenetic and protogenetic mineral inclusions in corundum samples and on a zircon megacryst. Corundum recovered from the region (approx. 99% sapphire, 1% ruby) commonly shows growth banding, includes colour change stones and exhibits overlaps in colour ranges and inclusion characteristics. This suggests a contiguous genetic suite. The U–Pb dating used laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) techniques. Because of the young ages and low-U contents of the dated zircons, the acquired data required a special statistical treatment. The results from zircon, fluorapatite and allanite-(Ce) inclusions provide a corundum crystallization age of 8 to 11 Ma, in relation to northern Andean Miocene uplift and magmatism. The zircon megacryst gave a younger crystallization age of c. 0.6 Ma, unrelated to the corundum genesis. Geochemical parameters (trace element and O isotope ranges) for corundum samples suggest a metamorphic/metasomatic origin. The age data rules out corundum genesis during the Late Cretaceous ophiolitic generation, but leave open possible later metasomatic interactions with this substrate. The Cr/Ga and Ga/Mg ratios and O isotope range for the corundum fall within the known limits for metasomatic, desilicated felsic/ultramafic ‘plumasitic’ associations, suggesting a possible parental source. Allanite, extremely rare as an inclusion in corundum elsewhere, may prove a characteristic inclusion for Rio Mayo corundum.     

Collaborative geomatics and the Mushkegowuk Cree First Nations: Fostering adaptive capacity for community-based sub-arctic natural resource management

The remote First Nation (FN) communities of the Mushkegowuk Territory on the west coast of James Bay, Ontario, Canada are currently facing increased development pressures and the imposition of a government land use planning process. The land use planning process is mandated in the Far North Act (received Royal Assent on September 23, 2010). There is a need for capacity enhancement for community-based natural resource planning and management in the Territory. A number of frameworks are emerging for addressing change brought on by resource development and building resilience to such change at the community level. Among these include the concept of adaptive capacity. In collaboration with FN community leaders, we explored the use of “collaborative geomatics” tools to foster adaptive capacity. Our action research suggests that collaborative geomatics technologies should enhance the Mushkegowuk First Nations’ adaptive capacity to address environmental and policy change by allowing them to collect and manage data collaboratively (e.g., traditional environmental knowledge, western science) to create opportunities for innovative community development, including natural resource development and management.