He,Sr and Nd isotopic variations in lavas from the juan fernandez archipelago,SE pacific

Helium, Sr, and Nd isotopic ratios and major and trace element compositions have been measured on a suite of lavas from the intra-plate volcanos of the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile. Lavas from the islands of Mas Afuera and Mas a Tierra and from Monte Alpha and Friday seamounts have Sr and Nd isotopic ratios lying on the low¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd side of the mantle array (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr:0.7034–0.7037;¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd:0.51281–0.51289). The homogeneity of these tracers suggests the involvement of a restricted range of mantle source compositions throughout Juan Fernandez volcanism. In marked contrast is the large range in³He/⁴He, from 7.8 to 18.0 R_A. A bimodal³He/⁴He distribution on Mas a Tierra is associated with two distinct volcanic lineages;³He/⁴He ratios of 14.5–18.0 R_A (n=15) occur in alkalic and tholeiitic shield basalts, whereas post-shield basanites range from 11.2 to 13.6 R_A (n=12). Elemental and isotopic systematics demonstrate a transition from an enriched (Loihi-like) plume source in the shield lavas to a more MORB-like source in the post-shield volcanics. The transition between these sources is much more pronounced in³He/⁴He than in the other isotopic tracers. The predominantly tholeiitic basalts of Mas Afuera have exceptionally uniform isotopic and elemental characteristics; Sr and Nd ratios are similar to those of Mas a Tierra, but³He/⁴He ratios are lower and more uniform at 8.3±0.5 R_A (n=17). The dramatic distinction between Mas Afuera and Mas a Tierra helium is surprising given the great similarity between the two islands in other geochemical characteristics. Both the Mas Afuera and Mas a Tierra results demonstrate that helium records systematic processes not readily apparent from other isotopic or elemental indicators. Neither magma chamber degassing nor local metasomatic events are likely to be responsible. We suggest that the observed variations may be attributed to mixing of plume and asthenospheric sources in which the plume component is characterized by a heterogeneous distribution of volatiles or has suffered extraction of small degree partial melts prior to mixing.     

Inheritance of smolting phenotypes in backcrosses of hybrid stream-type × ocean-type chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are ecologically and geographically differentiated into two life history types: “ocean-type,” which enter estuaries as fry or fingerlings in the first year of life and rear there for up to 6 wk before migrating to sea, and “stream-type,” which migrate seaward as smolts after one or more years in fresh water and are only transient residents in the outer portion of estuaries. Following exposure to a long-day priming photoperiod for 2 mo from the time of first feeding, progeny of stream-type chinook salmon undergo a reduction in growth during summer and remain as parr, whereas progeny of ocean-type chinook salmon and hybrids continue to grow during the summer and develop into underyearling smolts. Male purebred and hybrid F₁ progeny of ocean-type and stream-type chinook salmon were backcrossed to females of both parental populations to examine the segregation of photoperiod-independent (smolt) and photoperiod-dependent (parr) phenotypes among progeny. Results of the backcrosses of the hybrid F₁ males depended on female type. The backcross to ocean-type females produced progeny that were predominantly smolts, whereas progeny from the backcross to stream-type females segregated into approximately equal numbers of smolts and parr. These results are consistent with Mendelian inheritance of a single major gene with two alleles: a dominant allele for the photoperiod-independent phenotype of ocean-type chinook salmon and a recessive allele for the photoperiod-dependent phenotype of stream-type chinook salmon.     

Environmental impacts of shrimp farming with special reference to the situation in the continental United States

Shrimp culture technology has resulted in development of a major shrimp farming industry worldwide. Without the shrimp farming industry, increasing demands for shrimp by consumers could not be met, resulting in increased pressure on wild shrimp resources. Unfortunately, there are realized and potential adverse environmental effects on estuarine ecosystems as a result of shrimp farming. The effects can be categorized as wetland destruction for construction of shrimp farms, hypernutrification of estuarine ecosystems by shrim pond effluent, “biological pollution” of native shrimp stocks through escapement of aquaculture stocks, water use and entrainment of estuarine biota, and impacts of shrimp farm chemicals on estuarine systems. While the shrimp farming industry in the United States is small, the United States is effectively addressing all the realized and potential environmental impacts through regulation and research at the federal and state levels. Areas of regulation and research include stringent prohibitions on wetland destruction, regulation of effluents and support of research to eliminate and/or reduce effluents, escapement prevention technology and development of high-health stocks, minimizing entrainment of estuarine biota through water conservation and screening technology, and regulation of chemical use in the shrimp farming industry and support of research on shrimp pathology and environmentally safe disease control. Work is still in progress and not all problems have been resolved to the complete satisfaction of shrimp farmers and estuarine conservationists. However, the situation in the United States should serve as a model of how to encourage sustainable economic development through commercial shrimp farming while abating adverse environmental impacts on estuarine systems. To further improve the situation, the development and adoption of “best management practices” for shrimp aquaculture are recommended.     

Submarine exhalative gold mineralization at the London-Virginia Mine,Buckingham County,Virginia

Low grade submarine exhalative gold mineralization occurs at the London-Virginia deposit in central Virginia Piedmont. The deposit consists of a series of localized but conformable units — basal garnetiferous-chlorite schist, magnetite schist, quartz-muscovite schist, ferruginous quartzite, and chlorite-biotite schist — which represent a mixture of submarine epiclastic volcanic debris and exhalative chemical sediments. Finely disseminated gold occurs dispersed with minor amounts of pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, and tennantite in the ferruginous quartzite and quartz-muscovite schist. The deposit is believed to have formed by processes analogous to those currently active in the Atlantis II Deep of the Red Sea. Silicarich, hypersaline brines discharged through fractures in the sea floor and ponded in a local basin. Epiosodic influx of clastic debris and extensive deposition of hydrothermal silica diluted the concentration of sulfides and gold to produce a low-grade, siliceous mineralized zone. Emanation from the exhalative vent was terminated when the basin was capped by a lava flow. Subsequent regional greenschist grade metamorphism has recrystallized the silica into a granular quartzite and produced minor remobilization of the gold and sulfides.     

Introduction

We have recently measured the concentrations of W and Mo in a large number of terrestrial samples using a new neutron activation analysis method and from these data we have estimated the abundance of these elements in the mantle. The new Mo mantle abundance of 59 ppb is much lower, the W mantle abundance of 10 ppb is somewhat lower than previous estimates. The concentrations of W in some ocean floor basalts are much lower than previously reported. The good correlation of W with U confirms the highly incompatible behavior of W and the good correlation of Mo with Nd indicates a moderately incompatible nature for Mo.The new data on W and Mo provide important constraints regarding the possible mechanisms of core formation and accretion because W and Mo are refractory elements under reducing conditions which would have accreted in the Earth in chondritic proportions, unaffected by volatility. The Mo/W ratio of 5.9 in the mantle is less than a factor of two lower than the chondritic ratio of 9.8. The ratio of Mo to W is a sensitive indicator for metal or sulfide fractionation, because Mo is more siderophile and more chalcophile than W. This tightly limits the amount of metal or sulfide segregation from the mantle to less than 0.1% since the end of accretion. The data for the moderately siderophile elements Mo, W, Co and Ni suggest that core formation in the Earth was essentially complete after 85–95% of the Earth had accreted.     

Surface energy budget model of a cave

Summary A simple surface energy budget model is developed and validated for an aboriginal rock art site in Western Australia. The thermal regime of the rock face is strongly dependent on the sky view factor for a vertical surface element and the sensible and latent heat fluxes are shown to be relatively unimportant. Using climatological data, the model is extended to form the basis for appropriate environmental management and conservation of the rock art.

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Zusammenfassung Es wird ein einfaches Oberflächenenergiebilanzmodell für eine Höhle mit Felszeichnungen der Eingeborenen in Westaustralien entwickelt und überprüft. Das thermische Regime der Felsoberfläche wird vom Bildwinkel des Himmels für ein vertikales Oberflächenelement dominiert, während sich die Flüsse fühlbarer und latenter Wärme als unbedeutend erwiesen. Die Berücksichtigung von klimatologischen Daten ermöglicht es, damit die Grundlagen für geeignete Umweltund Konservierungsmaßnahmen für das Kunstwerk zu schaffen.

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With 4 Figures     

Sources of magnetic susceptibility in a slate

Magnetic susceptibility and its anisotropy in the Borrowdale Volcanic slates at Kentmere in the English Lake District are attributed largely to preferred orientation of a paramagnetic chlorite of diabantite-ripidolite composition. In units of 10⁻⁶ cgs/g, the principal susceptibilities for the slates are 9.61; 9.42; 8.69 and for the chlorite grains the minimum anisotropy is represented by principal susceptibilities of 11.57; 11.22 and 9.15. Because the magnetic susceptibility is carried by a tightly packed, matrix-forming mineral that has recrystallised during the deformation it is not possible to imagine simple grain rotation as being responsible for the anisotropy of susceptibility.