Geochemical and oxygen isotope perspective of a new R chondrite Dhofar 1671: Affinity with ordinary chondrites

Dhofar 1671 is a relatively new meteorite that previous studies suggest belongs to the Rumuruti chondrite class. Major and REE compositions are generally in agreement with average values of the R chondrites (RCs). Moderately volatile elements such as Se and Zn abundances are lower than the R chondrite values that are similar to those in ordinary chondrites (OCs). Porphyritic olivine pyroxene (POP), radial pyroxene (RP), and barred olivine (BO) chondrules are embedded in a proportionately equal volume of matrix, one of the characteristic features of RCs. Microprobe analyses demonstrate compositional zoning in chondrule and matrix olivines showing Fa‐poor interior and Fa‐rich outer zones. Precise oxygen isotope data for chondrules and matrix obtained by laser‐assisted fluorination show a genetic isotopic relationship between OCs and RCs. On the basis of our data, we propose a strong affinity between these groups and suggest that OC chondrule precursors could have interacted with a ¹⁷O‐rich matrix to form RC chondrules (i.e., ?¹⁷O shifts from ~1‰ to ~3‰). These interactions could have occurred at the same time as “exotic” clasts in brecciated samples formed such as NWA 10214 (LL3–6), Parnallee (LL3), PCA91241 (R3.8–6), and Dhofar 1671 (R3.6). We also infer that the source of the oxidation and ¹⁷O enrichment is the matrix, which may have been enriched in ¹⁷O‐rich water. The abundance of matrix in RCs relative to OCs, ensured that these rocks would be apparently more oxidized and appreciably ¹⁷O‐enriched. In situ analysis of Dhofar 1671 is recommended to further strengthen the link between OCs and RCs.     

Contrast in life histories of exploited fishes and ecosystem structures in coastal waters off west Canada and east Korea

By reviewing the history of fishery exploitation in the coastal waters of west Canada and east Korea, related with contrasting life history strategies of the dominant species, the fishery management challenges that each country would face in the upcoming decades were outlined. In the ecosystem of the Canadian western coastal waters, the dominant oceanographic feature is the coastal upwelling domain off the west coast of Vancouver Island, the northernmost extent of the California Current System in the eastern North Pacific. In the marine ecosystem of the eastern coasts of Korea (the Japan/East Sea), a major oceanographic feature is the Tsushima Warm Current, a branch of the Kuroshio Current in the western North Pacific. Fishes in the Canadian ecosystem are dominated by demersal, long-lived species such as flatfish, rockfish, sablefish, and halibut. During summer, migratory pelagic species such as Pacific hake, Pacific salmon, and recently Pacific sardine, move into this area to feed. In the late 1970s, Canada declared jurisdiction for 200 miles from their coastline, and major fisheries species in Canadian waters have been managed with a quota system. The overall fishing intensity off the west coast of Vancouver Island has been relatively moderate compared to Korean waters. Fishes in the ecosystem of the eastern Korean waters are dominated by short-lived pelagic and demersal fish. Historically, Korea has shared marine resources in this area with neighbouring countries, but stock assessments and quotas have only recently (since the late-1990s) been implemented for some major species. In the Korean ecosystem, fisheries can be described as intensive, and many stocks have been rated as overfished. The two ecosystems responded differently to climate impacts such as regime shifts under different exploitation histories. In the future, both countries will face the challenge of global warming and subsequent impacts on ecosystems, necessitating developing adaptive fisheries management plans. The challenges will be contrasting for the two countries: Canada will need to conserve fish populations, while Korea will need to focus on rebuilding depleted fish populations.     

Integration of optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery for delivering operational annual crop inventories

Agriculture plays a critical role within Canada’s economy and, as such, sustainability of this sector is of high importance. Targeting and monitoring programs designed to promote economic and environmental sustainability are a vital component within Canada’s agricultural policy. A hierarchy of land information, including up to date information on cropping practices, is needed to measure the impacts of programs on land use decision-making and to gauge the environmental and economic benefits of these investments. A multi-year, multi-site research activity was completed to develop a robust methodology to inventory crops across Canada’s large and diverse agricultural landscapes. To move towards operational implementation the methodology must deliver accurate crop inventories, with consistency and reliability. In order to meet these operational requirements and to mitigate risk associated with reliance on a single data source, the methodology integrated both optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery. The results clearly demonstrated that multi-temporal satellite data can successfully classify crops for a variety of cropping systems present across Canada. Overall accuracies of at least 85% were achieved, and most major crops were also classified to this level of accuracy. Although multi-temporal optical data would be the preferred data source for crop classification, a SAR-optical dataset (two Envisat ASAR images and one optical image) provided acceptable accuracies and will mitigate risk associated with operational implementation. The preferred dual-polarization mode would be VV–VH. Not only were these promising classification results repeated year after year, but the target accuracies were met consistently for multiple sites across Canada, all with varying cropping systems.     

The multiple chronological techniques applied to the Lake Suigetsu SG06 sediment core,central Japan

The varved sediment of Lake Suigetsu (central Japan) provides a valuable opportunity to obtain high‐resolution, multi‐proxy palaeoenvironmental data across the last glacial/interglacial cycle. In order to maximize the potential of this archive, a well‐constrained chronology is required. This paper outlines the multiple geochronological techniques being applied – namely varve counting, radiocarbon dating, tephrochronology (including argon–argon dating) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) – and the approaches by which these techniques are being integrated to form a single, coherent, robust chronology. Importantly, we also describe here the linkage of the floating Lake Suigetsu (SG06) varve chronology and the absolute (IntCal09 tree‐ring) time scale, as derived using radiocarbon data from the uppermost (non‐varved) portion of the core. This tie‐point, defined as a distinct (flood) marker horizon in SG06 (event layer B‐07–08 at 1397.4 cm composite depth), is thus derived to be 11 255 to 11 222 IntCal09 cal. years BP (68.2% probability range).     

Performing a new regional geography

In this introduction to the Special Issue ‘Practising a New Regional Geography in Northland’, we call for a new regional geography. We use the experience of a field course to reflect upon the opportunities and challenges associated with doing ‘regional geography’ in the regions, a subdiscipline that has in recent decades been pushed into the backwaters of the discipline. We reinterpret the maxim ‘geography is what geographers do’ in a new way that emphasises pedagogy and research practice. The case of Northland and helping our students to learn experientially about community and environment under the rubric of sustainability allows us to argue the case for a reinterpretation of regional geography in these terms. We position the contributions in this Special Issue in terms of our call.     

Temporal and bathymetric resolution of nautiloid death assemblages in stratigraphically condensed oozes (New Caledonia)

Cephalopod shells can be affected by postmortem transport and biostratigraphic condensation, but direct estimates of the temporal and spatial resolutions of cephalopod assemblages are missing. Amino acid racemisation calibrated by ¹⁴C demonstrates a centennial‐scale time averaging (<500 years) of Nautilus macromphalus in sediment‐starved, epi‐ and mesobathyal pelagic environments. The few shells that are thousands of years old are highly degraded. The median occurrence of dead shells is at 445 m depth, close to the 300–400 m depth where living N. macromphalus are most abundant. Therefore, dead shells of this species accumulate at a centennial temporal resolution and with excellent bathymetric fidelity. Dead Nautilus shells exist for only a few hundred years on the seafloor, in contrast to the biostratigraphically condensed mixture of extant foraminifers and foraminifers that went extinct during the Pleistocene. Cephalopod shells that do not show any signs of early diagenetic cementation are unlikely to be biostratigraphically condensed.     

A conduit-related genesis of the Lengshuiqing intrusive assemblage (Sichuan,SW China)

Lengshuiqing is part of the late Proterozoic igneous province from the western margin of the Yangtze craton. The Lengshuiqing area comprises five ultramafic–mafic intrusions, emplaced in the late Proterozoic Yanbian Group. The intrusions from Lengshuiqing contain cumulate ultramafic zones (peridotite + olivine pyroxenite), with cumulus olivine and Cr-spinel, and intercumulus pyroxenes, hornblende, phlogopite and plagioclase. Ni–Cu ore (pyrrhotite + pentlandite + chalcopyrite) is hosted in the ultramafic zones. Olivine-free diorite–quartz diorite ± gabbro and granite zones commonly occur above the ultramafic rocks. The genesis of the intrusions (conduit-related accumulation or differentiation from stagnant magma) was investigated. The amount of sulphides in the intrusions from Lengshuiqing is one order of magnitude bigger than the sulphides that can be dissolved by a volume of mafic magma similar with the volume of the intrusions. Most intrusions from Lengshuiqing have bulk composition (peridotite ± diorite ± granite) more magnesian (MgO = 21–22%; Mg# > 78) than the deduced composition of their parental magma (MgO = 9–11%; Mg# = 64–67). This indicates the accumulation of sulphide and mafic silicates from a volume of magma much bigger than the volume of the intrusions, which can be explained by the fractionation from magma ascending through the intrusions to shallower depths. A continuous supply and vent of magma is consistent with the lack of chilled margins, the melting of the wall rocks and the generation of high-temperature mineral assemblages (K-feldspar, diopside, and sillimanite) in the Yanbian Group. The intrusions from Lengshuiqing are seen as microchambers on conduits draining olivine-, Cr-spinel-, and sulphide-bearing mafic magma from a larger staging chamber.