Small-scale fisheries and food security strategies in countries in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) region: Angola,Namibia and South Africa

This paper provides an overview of the small-scale fisheries sector in countries within the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME), one of the most productive large marine ecosystems in the world. The study revealed that Angola, Namibia and South Africa have very different legal and policy frameworks, show different levels of compliance with international and regional agreements to protect the livelihoods and food security of small-scale fishers, as well as of integration of fisheries into food security objectives. Angolan law recognises and protects small-scale fishers through legal and institutional mechanisms. In Namibia, this sector of fishers is not legally recognised, while in South Africa traditional fishers have been largely excluded from the new fisheries management framework. Trends in national and regional fish consumption and in the extent of export orientation in fisheries are explored, as well as the potential threats to small-scale producers and food security in the region posed by ongoing drives to incorporate fisheries in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements.     

High resolution U‐Pb ages of Ca‐phosphates in Apollo 14 breccias: Implications for the age of the Imbrium impact

Previous age estimates of the Imbrium impact range from 3770 to 3920 Ma, with the latter being the most commonly accepted age of this basin‐forming event. The occurrence of Ca‐phosphates in Apollo 14 breccias, interpreted to represent ejecta formed by this impact, provides a new opportunity to date the Imbrium event as well as refining the impact history of the Moon. We present new precise U‐Pb analyses of Ca‐phosphates from impact breccia sample 14311 that are concordant and give a reliable weighted average age of 3938 ± 4 Ma (2σ). Comparison with previously published U‐Pb data on phosphate from Apollo 14 samples indicate that all ages are statistically similar and suggest phosphates could have been formed by the same impact at 3934 Ma ± 3 Ma (2σ). However, this age is older than the 3770 to 3920 Ma range determined for other samples and also interpreted as formed during the Imbrium impact. This suggests that several impacts occurred during a 20–30 Ma period around 3900 Ma and formed breccias sampled by the Apollo missions.     

Reactivation of basement faults beneath volcanoes: a new model of flank collapse

In order to explain the presence of voluminous volcanic debris avalanche deposits around a stratovolcano, reactivation of vertical faults beneath a volcanic cone has been tested using analogue models. Reactivation of a single vertical fault beneath a cone generates a normal fault and an upturning of the layers creating a bulge on the flank. The upturning induces a flank collapse characterized by a typical horseshoe-shaped scar called an avalanche caldera. Reactivation of two vertical faults beneath a cone also generates a normal fault and a summit bulge. This bulge may result from the movement along a reverse fault. A large collapse is generated within the angle created by the two vertical faults. The angle of the collapse can be up to 140° whereas this angle is typically 120° for a dome intrusion. Collapse is instantaneous and is favoured by the presence of ductile layers (ash-and-pumice formations in the example considered) in a stratovolcano complex. The model may be applicable to volcanoes in a state of dormancy (or extinction) in regions with active regional tectonism. We suggest this mechanism of collapse in the case of the Cantal stratovolcano (Massif Central, France) to explain the presence of voluminous volcanic debris avalanche deposits around this volcano.     

Paleodrainage and fault development in the southern Perth Basin,Western Australia during and after the breakup of Gondwana from 3D modelling of the Bunbury Basalt

The evolution of faults and paleodrainage patterns on the southwestern Australian passive margin during and after the breakup of Gondwana in the Early Cretaceous remains poorly understood. This contribution investigates the fault and paleodrainage evolution in the southern Perth Basin with the use of the ‘Bunbury Basalt’, the only lava flows known to be synchronous with continental breakup. New aeromagnetic data have been integrated with well intersections and outcrop constraints to establish the first 3D model of the Bunbury Basalt. The model reveals that flows are up to 100 m thick and are predominantly confined to two north–south-trending paleovalleys and their tributaries situated in the Bunbury Trough in the southern Perth Basin. The Donnybrook Paleovalley flow ponded in a paleovalley proximal to the Darling Fault and is truncated by the two later flows within the Bunbury Paleovalley, which is positioned centrally in the Bunbury Trough. Offsets of the Bunbury Basalt have been used to identify new northeast- and northwest-trending faults in the southern Perth Basin, and broad folding is interpreted as a consequence of drag into the Darling and Busselton faults. The model has been used to determine post-basalt net displacements for the Darling and Busselton faults of 370 and 210 m, respectively, and <175 m for the northeast and northwest-trending faults. The source vents for the Bunbury Basalt were probably located at extensional jogs at intersections between the Darling Fault and subordinate oblique faults. These results challenge the views on longstanding quiescence of the post-breakup western Australian passive margin.     

The Cenozoic evolution of the Roer Valley Rift System integrated at a European scale

The Roer Valley Rift System (RVRS) is located between the West European rift and the North Sea rift system. During the Cenozoic, the RVRS was characterized by several periods of subsidence and inversion, which are linked to the evolution of the adjacent rift systems. Combination of subsidence analysis and results from the analysis of thickness distributions and fault systems allows the determination of the Cenozoic evolution and quantification of the subsidence. During the Early Paleocene, the RVRS was inverted (Laramide phase). The backstripping method shows that the RVRS was subsequently mainly affected by two periods of subsidence, during the Late Paleocene and the Oligocene–Quaternary time intervals, separated by an inversion phase during the Late Eocene. During the Oligocene and Miocene periods, the thickness of the sediments and the distribution of the active faults reveal a radical rotation of the direction of extension by about 70–80° (counter clockwise). Integration of these results at a European scale indicates that the Late Paleocene subsidence was related to the evolution of the North Sea basins, whereas the Oligocene–Quaternary subsidence is connected to the West European rift evolution. The distribution of the inverted provinces also shows that the Early Paleocene inversion (Laramide phase) has affected the whole European crust, whereas the Late Eocene inversion was restricted to the southern North Sea basins and the Channel area. Finally, comparison of these deformations in the European crust with the evolution of the Alpine chain suggests that the formation of the Alps has controlled the evolution of the European crust since the beginning of the Cenozoic.     

Subsistence and small-scale fisheries in South Africa: A ten-year review

The Marine Living Resources Act (1998), legally recognised subsistence fishers and made provision for the declaration of coastal areas for their exclusive use. In 2001, a limited commercial fisheries sector was created. These changes indicated government's commitment to addressing the historical marginalisation of small-scale fishers.     

The curved translation path of the Parpaillon Nappe (French Alps)

The Parpaillon Nappe is one of the two Helminthoid Flysch nappes emplaced on the external Dauphinois zone of the Western Alps. A structural analysis of the nappe is presented. Two superposed deformations D1 and D2 are described, that are mainly characterized by large-scale recumbent folds whose axes are quasi-orthogonal: NE-SW for D1 and NW-SE for D2. Their vergence is northwestward for D1 and southwestward for D2. During the D2 deformation, the nappe was separated into two units, one of these being thrusted over the other. An analysis of incremental strain using quartz and calcite fibre growth indicates that D2 follows D1 without discontinuity. Therefore the superposition of D1 and D2 structures is interpreted as a progressive deformation instead of two distinct phases of deformation. The emplacement of the nappe is discussed under two aspects, the relations between displacement and strain and the role of gravity. It is concluded that the translation has been twofold, first towards the NW and then towards the SW, and that the displacement result essentially from gravity forces. Kinematic implications for the Alpine collision are suggested.     

Lava flow internal structure found from AMS and textural data: An example in methodology from the Chaîne des Puys,France

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data analysis is a convenient method used to investigate strain and flow during lava flow emplacement. In order to make a sound interpretation, the origin of the AMS signal must be verified. Two questions must be answered: 1) what phase, or phases carry the AMS signal and 2) when was the AMS fabric acquired? The verification steps themselves can provide extra data for interpreting lava flow conditions. Here, we present a methodology to answer the two questions in a 6 km-long Chaîne des Puys trachybasaltic lava flow that descended into the future site of Clermont Ferrand (France) 45,000 years ago. Knowledge of lava flow emplacement will be useful specifically to this site, if a reactivation of the volcanic chain occurs. The results are also of more general interest to understand lava flow emplacement dynamics.     

Experimental modelling of thin-skinned shortening around magmatic intrusions

Magmatic intrusions can trigger thin-skinned compression of the adjacent sedimentary cover by three processes: (a) gravity gliding away from the topographic dome resulting from the ascending magma; (b) fluid push from the rear resulting from forceful intrusion then lateral spreading of the magma; and (c) increased loading by volcanic accumulation. The applicability of the first two mechanisms, gravity gliding and fluid push, was tested using dynamically scaled experiments. Model results help to elucidate the kinematics and structural evolution of thrusts and folds formed by such processes and determine which geological parameters control the deformation style. The results show that the presence of a weak layer within the sedimentary overburden is essential to form thrust and fold belts around the intrusion. Experiments suggest that although gravity gliding can dominate the early stages of deformation, most of the deformation is caused by lateral spreading of the fluid magma pushing the adjacent sedimentary rocks. Models also suggest that true laccoliths can form only if the sedimentary section comprises a basal low-viscosity stratum. Comparison with natural examples allows the evaluation of the applicability of experimental results.