A New Understanding of the Provinces of the Amazon Craton Based on Integration of Field Mapping and U-Pb and Sm-Nd Geochronology

New conventional and sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe zircon U-Pb dating has led to a new understanding of the subdivision and evolution of the Amazon Craton during Precambrian time, with major improvements and changes made to the previous Rb-Sr based model. The interpretation of U-Pb and Sm-Nd isotopic data identifies eight main Precambrian tectonic provinces in the Craton, with ages ranging from 3.1 to 0.99 Ga. Some of the provinces were generated by accretional, arc-related processes (Carajás, Transamazonic, Tapajós-Parima and Rondônia-Juruena) and others by recycling of continental crust (Central Amazon, Rio Negro and Sunsas). The exposed Archean crust is restricted to the east (Carajás and south Amapá in Brazil) and north (Imataca in Venezuela) of the craton, indicating that the Amazon Craton is largely a Proterozoic crust. The Carajás-Imataca (3.10–2.53 Ga) and Transamazonian (2.25–2.00 Ga) Provinces are composed predominantly of granite-greenstone terranes. The Tapajós-Parima (2.10–1.87 Ga) and Rondônia-Juruena (1.75–1.47 Ga) Provinces represent new crust added as orogenic belts, while the Rio Negro (1.86–1.52 Ga) and Sunsas (1.33–0.99 Ga) Provinces originated mainly by magmatic-tectonic recycling of the above two orogenic belts. The only zone with a prominent northeast trend is the poorly known K'Mudku Shear Belt, characterized by a 1.20 Ga shear zone which deforms the rocks of at least three different provinces (Rio Negro, Tapajós-Parima and Transamazonic). The Central Amazon Province comprises mostly Orosirian volcano-plutonic rocks (Uatumã Magmatism) and is a terrane in which the exposed crustal structure and deformation are pluton-related. The Sm-Nd T_DM model ages and _Nd suggest that the Central Amazon Province was generated by the partial melting of Archean continental crust (Carajás Province?), perhaps related to underplating that began at the end of the Tapajós-Parima Orogeny (1.88–1.86 Ga).     

The densest meteorite collection area in hot deserts: The San Juan meteorite field (Atacama Desert,Chile)

Abstract– We describe the geological, morphological, and climatic setting of the San Juan meteorite collection area in the Central Depression of the Atacama Desert (Chile). Our recovery activities yielded 48 meteorites corresponding to a minimum of 36 different falls within a 3.88 km² area. The recovery density is in the range 9–12 falls km^?2 depending on pairing, making it the densest among meteorite collection areas in hot deserts. This high meteorite concentration is linked to the long‐standing hyperaridity of the area, the stability of the surface pebbles (> Ma), and very low erosion rates of surface pebbles (approximately 30 cm Ma^?1 maximum). The San Juan meteorite population is characterized by old terrestrial ages that range from zero to beyond 40 ka, and limited weathering compared with other dense collection areas in hot desert. Chemical weathering in San Juan is slow and mainly controlled by the initial porosity of meteorites. As in the Antarctic and other hot deserts, there is an overabundance of H chondrites and a shortage of LL chondrites compared with the modern falls population, suggesting a recent (< few ka) change in the composition of the meteorite flux to Earth.     

Perceptions of environmental change in Moorea,French Polynesia: the importance of temporal,spatial, and scalar contexts

Pacific Islands are considered among the most vulnerable geographies and societies to the effects of climate change and variability (CCV). This study addresses the mismatch between global climate change narratives and local perceptions of environmental change in Moorea, French Polynesia. This study builds on CCV risk perception and adaptation research by analyzing how temporal and historical socio-economic, cultural, political, and ecological contexts shape local perceptions of environmental change among a sample of environmental stakeholders in Moorea. The data were collected prior to the widespread global narrative and social amplification of climate change risk and its particular impact on islands. As such, they offer an important portrait of environmental perceptions in French Polynesia prior to the influence of a circumscribed climate change narrative, which has since come to shape government and NGO responses to environmental change in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories. The data presented in this paper illustrate that perceptions of drivers and effects of environmental change and risk in Moorea are embedded in larger social processes of political economy and ecology, particularly related to contemporary environmental politics, contextualized within the histories of colonialism and tourism-led economic development. Integrating the complexity of local environmental risk perceptions into CCV policy will help to avoid maladaptation, social movements against CCV planning, and may help maximize government and donor investments.     

The atmospheric water as a triggering factor for earthquakes in the central Virginia seismic zone

Even though central Virginia is far from the nearest plate boundaries, the region is well-known for minor-to-moderate shocks, which have occurred frequently since at least the eighteenth century. Many of its people have experienced small earthquakes, while infrequent larger ones have caused damage. The largest destructive earthquake (magnitude 5.8) in this seismic zone was recorded in August 2011. Smaller earthquakes that cause little or no damage are felt each year or two. It is difficult to link the earthquakes of this zone to known small faults which are numerous, deeply buried and do not show up at the surface. The mean earthquake depth since 1960 is 6.7 km. On the other hand, central Virginia is a big collector and transporter of precipitation water, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean through the James River and its tributaries. There are about 2,000 abandoned mining sites in Virginia with underground openings that can facilitate the interception and conveyance of surface water. This paper presents evidence that seismic activity in certain zones can be associated clearly with the hydrological effects of abundant precipitation. Such effects can increase tectonic stress, which surpasses the marginal amount when an earthquake occurs. We analyze the cross-correlation between precipitation or water discharge in the rivers and earthquake occurrence in the central Virginia seismic zone. This correlation is examined both over a long-term span (57–92 years) and with regard to individual cases in which earthquakes have followed the occurrence of intense hydrological phenomena such as torrential rainfall or hurricanes. As we probe for a correlation between earthquake time series for central Virginia and the monthly precipitation series at hydrometeorological stations located in the zone, we observe that the best cross-correlation is obtained for a time period of 3 months. The same time period applies to certain historical earthquakes that were preceded by large amounts of precipitation. These results support the hydroseismicity hypothesis, which points to the role of water in the generation of intraplate seismicity.     

Introducing a Comprehensive Data Reduction and Uncertainty Propagation Algorithm for U‐Th Geochronometry with Extraction Chromatography and Isotope Dilution MC‐ICP‐MS

We present an open‐source algorithm in Mathematica application (Wolfram Research) with a transparent data reduction and Monte Carlo simulation of systematic and random uncertainties for U‐Th geochronometry by multi‐collector ICP‐MS. Uranium and thorium were quantitatively separated from matrix elements through a single U/TEVA extraction chromatography step. A rigorous calibrator‐sample bracketing routine was adopted using CRM‐112A and IRMM‐035 standard solutions, doped with an IRMM‐3636a ²³³U/²³⁶U ‘double‐spike’ to account for instrumental mass bias and deviations of measured isotope ratios from certified values. The mean of ²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³⁰Th/²³²Th in the standard solutions varied within 0.42 and 0.25‰ (permil) of certified ratios, respectively, and were consistent with literature values within uncertainties. Based on multiple dissolutions with lithium metaborate flux fusion, U and Th concentrations in USGS BCR‐2 CRM were updated to 1739 ± 2 and 5987 ± 50 ng g^?1 (95% CI), respectively. The measurement reproducibility of our analytical technique was evaluated by analysing six aliquots of an in‐house reference material, prepared by homogenising a piece of speleothem (CC3A) from Cathedral Cave, Utah, which returned a mean age of 21483 ± 63 years (95% CI, 2.9‰). Replicate analysis of ten samples from CC3A was consistent with ages previously measured at the University of Minnesota by single‐collector ICP‐MS within uncertainties.     

The first major incision of the Swiss Deckenschotter landscape

The Swiss Deckenschotter (“cover gravels”) is the oldest Quaternary units in the northern Swiss Alpine Foreland. They are a succession of glaciofluvial gravel layers intercalated with glacial and/or overbank deposits. This lithostratigraphic sequence is called Deckenschotter because it “covers” Molasse or Mesozoic bedrock and forms mesa-type hill-tops. Deckenschotter occurs both within and beyond the extent of the Last Glacial Maximum glaciers. The Swiss Deckenschotter consist of two sub-units: Höhere (Higher) and Tiefere (Lower) Deckenschotter. Although the Höhere Deckenschotter sub-unit (HDS) is topographically higher than the Tiefere Deckenschotter, it is older. The only available age for the Swiss Deckenschotter is 2.5–1.8 Ma based on mammal remains found in HDS at the Irchel site. In this study, we present an exposure age for the topographically lowest HDS, calculated from a cosmogenic ¹⁰Be depth-profile. Our results show that the first phase of the Deckenschotter glaciations in the Swiss Alps terminated at least 1,020\(_{ - 120}^{ + 80}\) ka ago, which is indicated by a significant fluvial incision. This line of evidence seems to be close to synchronous with the beginning of the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution, when the frequency of the glacial-interglacial cyclicity changed from 41 to 100 ka and the amplitude from low to high, between marine isotope stages 23 and 22.     

A tomographic imagery segmentation methodology for three-phase geomaterials based on simultaneous region growing

X-ray computed tomography is a powerful non-destructive technique used in many domains to obtain the three-dimensional representation of objects, starting from the reconstitution of two-dimensional images of radiographic scanning. This technique is now able to analyze objects within a few micron resolutions. Consequently, X-ray microcomputed tomography opens perspectives for the analysis of the fabric of multiphase geomaterials such as soils, concretes, rocks and ceramics. To be able to characterize the spatial distribution of the different phases in such complex and disordered materials, automated phase recognition has to be implemented through image segmentation. A crucial difficulty in segmenting images lies in the presence of noise in the obtained tomographic representation, making it difficult to assign a specific phase to each voxel of the image. In the present study, simultaneous region growing is used to reconstitute the three-dimensional segmented image of granular materials. First, based on a set of expected phases in the image, regions where specific phases are sure to be present are identified, leaving uncertain regions of the image unidentified. Subsequently, the identified regions are grown until growing phases meet each other with vanishing unidentified regions. The method requires a limited number of manual parameters that are easily determined. The developed method is illustrated based on three applications on granular materials, comparing the phase volume fractions obtained by segmentation with macroscopic data. It is demonstrated that the algorithm rapidly converges and fills the image after a few iterations.     

Relationship between hydrogeological parameters for data-scarce regions: the case of the Araripe sedimentary basin, Brazil

This paper applies and validates a method for generating spatially distributed hydraulic conductivity (k) based on the specific capacity (Q _s) for data-scarce regions. This method has been applied to the Araripe sedimentary basin, Brazil, and consists of four steps: (1) selection of (32) wells for which both k and Q _s data are available; (2) estimation of k as a function of Q _s for the (128) wells for which only specific capacity data are available; (3) spatial distribution of k using the kriging geostatistical tool; (4) validation of the method, using (17) representative wells with k measured data. The equation relating k and Q _s showed a statistically significant linear relationship (R = 0.93), from which a database has been generated using kriging with the spherical model. The results showed a calibration coefficient of Nash and Sutcliffe (NS) of 0.54 and moderate spatial dependence ratio of 69 %. The validation process provided only a moderate efficiency (NS = 0.22), possibly due to the geological complexity of the focus system. Despite its limitations, the method indicates the possibility of application of ordinary kriging to generate reliable data from auxiliary variables, especially for the water management of data-scarce areas.     

Reciprocal influence of Kürtün Dam and wastewaters from the settlements on water quality in the stream Harşit,NE Turkey

This paper aims to reveal the reciprocal influence of Kürtün Dam and wastewaters from the settlements on the water quality in the stream Har?it, NE Turkey. Several key water-quality indicators were measured: water temperature (T), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity, water hardness, chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium nitrogen (NH₄ ⁺–N), nitrite nitrogen (NO₂ ^?–N), nitrate nitrogen (NO₃ ^?–N), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total nitrogen (TN), orthophosphate phosphorus (PO₄ ^3?–P), and methylene blue active substances (MBAS). The monitoring and sampling studies were conducted every 15 days from March 2009 to February 2010 at two stations selected in the upstream and downstream of the Kürtün Dam. It was concluded that the Kürtün Dam Lake had a high-quality water in terms of T, pH, DO, COD, NH₄ ⁺–N, NO₂ ^?–N and NO₃ ^?–N values, but slightly polluted water with respect to TKN, PO₄ ^3?–P, and MBAS according to the Turkish Water Pollution Control Regulation. The dam improved the stream water quality by increasing the DO concentration, and decreasing the NO₂ ^?–N and PO₄ ^3?–P concentrations thanks to its hydraulic residence time despite the wastewater discharge by the nearby settlements. However, the wastewater discharge deteriorated the stream water quality increasing the COD, NH₄ ⁺–N, NO₃ ^––N, and TN concentrations.