Eruptive history and petrologic evolution of the Albano multiple maar (Alban Hills, Central Italy)

A comprehensive volcanological study of the Albano multiple maar (Alban Hills, Italy) using (i) ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology of the most complete stratigraphic section and other proximal and distal outcrops and (ii) petrographic observations, phase analyses of major and trace elements, and Sr and O isotopic analyses of the pyroclastic deposits shows that volcanic activity at Albano was strongly discontinuous, with a first eruptive cycle at 69±1 ka producing at least two eruptions, and a second cycle with two peaks at 39±1 and 36±1 ka producing at least four eruptions. Contrary to previous studies, we did not find evidence of magmatic or hydromagmatic eruptions younger than 36±1 ka. The activity of Albano was fed by a new batch of primary magma compositionally different from that of the older activity of the Alban Hills; moreover, the REE and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr data indicate that the Albano magma originated from an enriched metasomatized mantle. According to the modeled liquid line of descent, this magma differentiated under the influence of magma/limestone wall rock interaction. Our detailed eruptive and petrologic reconstruction of the Albano Maar evolution substantiates the dormant state of the Alban Hills Volcanic District. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at Editorial responsibility: J. Donnelly-Nolan An erratum to this article can be found at     

Fracture in Westerly Granite under AE Feedback and Constant Strain Rate Loading: Nucleation, Quasi-static Propagation, and the Transition to Unstable Fracture Propagation

New observations of fracture nucleation are presented from three triaxial compression experiments on intact samples of Westerly granite, using Acoustic Emission (AE) monitoring. By conducting the tests under different loading conditions, the fracture process is demonstrated for quasi-static fracture (under AE Feedback load), a slowly developing unstable fracture (loaded at a `slow' constant strain rate of 2.5 × 10<sup>−6</sup> /s) and an unstable fracture that develops near instantaneously (loaded at a `fast' constant strain rate of 5 × 10⁻⁵ /s). By recording a continuous ultrasonic waveform during the critical period of fracture, the entire AE catalogue can be captured and the exact time of fracture defined. Under constant strain loading, three stages are observed: (1) An initial nucleation or stable growth phase at a rate of ~ 1.3 mm/s, (2) a sudden increase to a constant or slowly accelerating propagation speed of ~ 18 mm/s, and (3) unstable, accelerating propagation. In the ~ 100 ms before rupture, the high level of AE activity (as seen on the continuous record) prevented the location of discrete AE events. A lower bound estimate of the average propagation velocity (using the time-to-rupture and the existing fracture length) suggests values of a few m/s. However from a low gain acoustic record, we infer that in the final few ms, the fracture propagation speed increased to 175 m/s. These results demonstrate similarities between fracture nucleation in intact rock and the nucleation of dynamic instabilities in stick slip experiments. It is suggested that the ability to constrain the size of an evolving fracture provides a crucial tool in further understanding the controls on fracture nucleation.     

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.     

Spatial and temporal variability and drivers of net ecosystem metabolism in western Gulf of Mexico estuaries

Net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) is becoming a commonly used ecological indicator of estuarine ecosystem metabolic rates. Estuarine ecosystem processes are spatially and temporally variable, but the corresponding variability in NEM has not been properly assessed. Spatial and temporal variability in NEM was assessed in four western Gulf of Mexico shallow water estuaries. NEM was calculated from high-frequency dissolved oxygen measurements. Interbay, intrabay, and water column spatial scales were assessed for NEM, gross primary production (GPP), and respiration (R) rate variability. Seasonal, monthly, and daily temporal scales in NEM, GPP, and R were also assessed. Environmental conditions were then compared to NEM to determine which factors were correlated with each temporal and spatial scale. There was significant NEM spatial variability on interbay, intrabay, and water column spatial scales. Significant spatial variability was ephemeral, so it was difficult to ascertain which environmental conditions were most influential at each spatial scale. Significant temporal variability in NEM on seasonal, monthly, and daily scales was found and it was correlated to temperature, salinity, and freshwater inflow, respectively. NEM correlated strongly with dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity, but the relationships where different in each bay. The dynamics of NEM on daily scales indicate that freshwater inflow events may be the main driver of NEM in the semiarid estuaries studied. The variable nature of NEM found here is further evidence that it is not valid to use single station monitoring deployments for assessment of whole estuarine ecosystem metabolic rates in large ecosystems. The relationship between NEM and temperature, salinity, and freshwater inflow events could drive predictive models assessing the potential influence of projected climate change and watershed development scenarios on estuarine metabolic rates.     

Post-collisional transition from calc-alkaline to alkaline magmatism during transcurrent deformation in the southernmost Dom Feliciano Belt (Braziliano–Pan-African, Uruguay)

In the southernmost Dom Feliciano Belt of Uruguay, highly fractionated calc-alkaline granites, mildly alkaline granites, shoshonitic volcanics, and peralkaline intrusions and volcanics are spatially and temporal associated with the evolution of shear zones. Four representative magmatic unites of this diverse association were petrographic and geochemically investigated: the Solís de Mataojo Complex, a medium to high K2O calc-alkaline granite with signature typical of mature continental arcs and post-collisional settings; the Maldonado granite, highly fractionated calc-alkaline to alkaline, with characteristics that are transitional between both types of series; the Pan de Azúcar Pluton, with characteristics typical of post-collisional alkaline granites and the Las Flores shoshonitic basalts.

Geochemistry and geotectonic setting point out that slab breakoff was most likely the mechanism associated with the generation of high-K calc-alkaline magmas (Solís de Mataojo and Maldonado) shortly after collision. Extension associated to the formation of molassic basins and emplacement of dolerites and basalt flows with shoshonitic affinity (Las Flores) 15and finally a shift to magmas with alkaline signatures (Pan de Azúcar) simultaneous with a second transpressional phase were probably linked with lithospheric thinning through delamination. This evolution took place between 615 and 575 Ma, according to available data. Contrary to previous proposals, which considered this magmatism to represent the root of a continental magmatic arc, a post-collisional environment, transitional from orogenic to anorogenic, during transcurrent deformation is proposed.     

Morphology and paleoclimatic significance of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville spits

Pleistocene Lake Bonneville of western Utah contains a variety of spits associated with shorelines and other features that formed between 21,000 and 12,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. Field studies in the low-lying mountain ranges of the central portion of Lake Bonneville identified 17 spits of various types. The spits are connected to small mountain ranges and islands, vary in size from 0.02 to 0.5 km², and are composed of coarse-grained, well-rounded, poorly-sorted sedimentary material. Sixteen of the 17 spits have a northeasterly to southwesterly orientation implying that winds were from the northwest to northeast, approximately 180° out of phase with modern winds in the eastern Great Basin. Lake Bonneville spit orientation is best explained as the result of persistent northerly winds caused by the high atmospheric pressure cell of the continental ice sheet and passage of low pressure extratropical storms south of the lake. Similar, strong persistent winds are a common feature of modern continental ice sheets and passing low pressure systems. If so, the North American jet stream tracked south of Lake Bonneville as recently as 12,000 ¹⁴C yr BP, well past the height of the last glacial maximum.     

The Alleret maar (Massif Central, France): A new lacustrine sequence of the early Middle Pleistocene in western Europe

The Alleret maar (Massif Central, France) provides a long lacustrine sequence (40.6 m) attributed to the early Middle Pleistocene. Sediment, pollen and diatoms analysis of its upper part (AL2 core, 14.6 m) indicates two temperate phases marked by high lake levels, forest development and vegetation expansion. They are separated by a cold period during which lake level drops, coarse sediment input increases and steppic and xerophilous plants develop. Pollen data suggests that this sequence belongs to the upper part of the Cromerian complex. These results are in agreement with the 557 ± 3 ka (±12 ka, including all errors) ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age obtained from an interbedded tephra layer emitted by the Mont-Dore/Sancy strato-volcano and establish that this sequence probably covers the MIS 15 substages.     

Links Between Dust Disks and Exoplanets

Since 1984, roughly 100 main sequence stars within 50 parsecs of the Sun have been identified as possibly possessing replenished, circumstellar dust disks. Optical to submillimeter imaging has resolved disk-like structure around 7 main sequence stars. We review these results, and discuss how they elucidate the existence and properties of exoplanetary systems.     

HST UV measurements of wind structure and velocities in Local Group OB stars

Archival HST FOS and GHRS data sets have been used to collect ultraviolet evidence for large- and small-scale stellar wind structure in extragalactic Local Group OB stars (i.e. SMC, LMC including R136, M31, M33 and NGC 6822). By comparison with previous studies of Galactic OB stars, wind activity is principally diagnosed in individual spectrograms via the presence of 'narrow absorption components' and saturated 'black' absorption troughs in the resonance line doublets. Their characteristics broadly suggest that these stars share the same physical mechanisms for perturbing the winds as those that act in Galactic stars. Both of these spectral indicators are also used to provide reliable measures of wind terminal velocities. These velocities are directly compared with previously published Galactic values, without reliance on model profile fitting. Relative to Galactic OB stars, the most discrepant terminal velocities (and wind line profiles) result from main-sequence early O-type stars in the SMC.