Zircon dating,Sr and Nd isotopes,and element geochemistry of the Khalifan pluton,NW Iran: Evidence for Variscan magmatism in a supposedly Cimmerian superterrane

The Khalifan pluton of the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone is composed of A-type peraluminous leucogranites with Nd model ages around 1.2 Ga. It intrudes an unfossiliferous sedimentary sequence previously considered as Cretaceous by analogy with neighboring areas. However, zircon U–Pb SHRIMP and Pb–Pb sequential evaporation dating have revealed that Khalifan granites are Carboniferous, with a precise age of 315 ± 2 Ma. This is the first reliable Variscan age obtained so far in this area, but there are geological indicators that other small plutonic bodies might also be Variscan. The existence of Carboniferous granite rocks in the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone casts doubts on whether it was a part of the Cimmerian superterrane detached from east Gondwanide terranes because these characteristically lack Variscan magmatism. The age, chemical features and Nd isotopes of Khalifan granites are similar to those of the southernmost Urals and Tien Shan, so that we tentatively suggest that this area bears a Middle Asian instead of Cimmerian linkage.     

Learning from environmental justice in Viet Village Versai in New Orleans

This paper explores the attempt to plan and to implement pollution remediation projects in Viet Village Versai, New Orleans. The process was marred by gaps in collaboration behaviours between the stakeholders, which ultimately impeded the progress of the remediation projects and as a result, failed to transform the Viet Village Versai into a sustainable community. In drawing the link between the behavioural gaps and implementation failures, I bring attention to the crucial role that collaboration plays in helping to build sustainable communities.     

Amphipoda assemblages in a disturbed area (Alicante,Spain, Western Mediterranean)

The distribution and composition of Amphipoda assemblages were analysed off the coasts of Alicante (Spain, Western Mediterranean), a disturbed area affected by several co‐occurring anthropogenic impacts. Although differences among sampled stations were mainly related to natural parameters, anthropogenic activities were linked with changes in amphipod assemblages. Expansion of the Port of Alicante, a sewage outfall and a high salinity brine discharge could be causing the disappearance of amphipods at stations closer to these disturbances. However, the completion of port enlargement works and mitigatory dilution of the brine discharge has led to the recovery of the amphipod assemblage. Among the natural parameters, depth determines the distribution of some of the species. While Siphonoecetes sabatieri was abundant at shallow stations, Ampelisca spp., Photis longipes, Pseudolirius kroyeri, Apherusa chiereghinii and Phtisica marina were more abundant at deeper stations. Grain size and percentage of organic matter also influenced amphipod distribution, resulting in changes in species composition and in the relative percentages of different trophic groups. Species such as Ampelisca brevicornis, Perioculodes longimanus, Urothoe hesperiae and Urothoe elegans were more abundant at stations with a high content of fine sand. Carnivorous species, mainly of the Oedicerotidae family, were more abundant at those stations with a low organic matter content, while detritivorous species were more abundant at stations with a higher mud content. Among 62 identified species, three were reported for the first time from the Spanish Mediterranean coast, two species were recorded for the second time and a new species of Siphonoecetes was found, Siphonoecetes (Centraloecetes) bulborostrum. These results confirm the need for further data on amphipods from the Mediterranean Spanish coast.     

Redescription of the rare species Podospongia loveni (Porifera) from the Cantabrian Sea

Podospongia [du Bocage, B., 1869. Eponges siliceuses nouvelles du Portugal et de l’Île Saint-Iago (Archipel de Cap-Vert). Jornal de Sciencias mathematicas, physicas e naturais 2, 159–162], which at present includes only five species, is a rare genus generally found in deeper waters down to 600 m depth from Natal coast in South Africa, to New Caledonia, the Central and North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Species of this genus are characterised by a choanosomal skeleton composed of tracts of megascleres radiating from a centrum and stipitate body. Microscleres are spinorhabds and aciculospinorhabds packed in a vertical arrangement in the ectosome and scattered throughout choanosome.As a result of two oceanographic projects (Ecomarg, date; Cocace, date) on the continental shelf of the Cantabrian Sea, ten stipitate sponge specimens were collected and assigned to Podospongia loveni [du Bocage, B., 1869. Eponges siliceuses nouvelles du Portugal et de l’Île Saint-Iago (Archipel de Cap-Vert). Jornal de Sciencias mathematicas, physicas e naturais 2, 159–162]. Since the holotype was destroyed [Kelly, M., Samaai, T., 2002. Family Podospongiidae de Laubenfels, 1936. In: Hooper, J.N.A., Soest, RW.M., (Eds.), Systema Porifera: A Guide to the Classification of Sponges, New York, pp. 694–702] and with the existence of several specimens from a close region, we hereby redescribe this species. scanning electron microscopy pictures of the spicules and skeletal architecture of P. loveni are for the first time provided.     

Spatial and temporal changes in infaunal communities inhabiting soft-bottoms affected by brine discharge

The discharge of an effluent of high salinity from reverse osmosis desalination plants has a strong impact on marine communities. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of brine discharge over soft bottom communities along the Alicante coast (Southeast Spain) over a two year period. Changes in the infaunal assemblage were analysed using univariate and multivariate techniques. Each year we sampled along three transects at three depths (4, 10 and 15m) during winter and summer. We observed a substitution of a community characterized by the presence of Polychaeta, Crustacea and Mollusca, for another dominated by nematodes (up to 98%), in the stations closer to the discharge where salinity values exceed 39 psu.     

Thermal history during Mesozoic extension and Tertiary uplift in the Cameros Basin, northern Spain

Detailed structural cross‐sections, analysis of extensional structures and palaeotemperatures obtained from primary fluid inclusions in quartz and calcite veins from the extensional Cameros Basin (N Spain) allow an interpretation of its thermal evolution and its geometric reconstruction to be constrained. The Cameros Basin underwent an extensional stage during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, with a maximum preserved thickness of Mesozoic deposits of about 9000 m. During the Tertiary, the basin was inverted, allowing a large part of the sedimentary sequence to be exposed. Extensional deformation in individual beds created N120E‐striking tension gashes in the synrift sequence, parallel to the master normal faults limiting the basin and dipping perpendicular to bedding. The extensional strain calculated from tension gashes varies between 4 and 12%. The number and thickness of veins increases the lower their position in the stratigraphic section. Palaeotemperatures were obtained from samples along a stratigraphic section comprising a thickness of 4000 m synrift deposits. Homogenization temperatures range from 107 to 225 °C. Palaeothermometric data and geometric reconstruction give a geothermal gradient of 27–41 °C km^?1 during the extensional stage and allow an eroded section of at least 1500 m to be inferred. Low‐grade metamorphic assemblages in lutitic rocks of the deepest part of the basin presently exposed at surface imply P–T conditions of 350–400 °C and less than 2 kbar, which implies a geothermal gradient of about 70 °C km^?1. Since the metamorphic thermal peak is dated at 100 Ma, the P–T path indicates a heating event during the late Albian, probably linked to the reaching of thermal equilibrium of the continental crust after extension. The results obtained support the hypothesis of a synclinal basin geometry, with vertical superposition of Lower Cretaceous sedimentary units rather than a model of laterally juxtaposed bodies onlapping the prerift sequence.     

Soil-water behaviour of sandy soils under semi-arid conditions in the Duero Basin (Spain)

This paper examines the soil-water behaviour of sandy soils representative of a broad area in the Duero river basin (Spain), with semi-arid bioclimatic characteristics. Soil-moisture measurements of the first 25 cm of soil profile were taken using time domain reflectometry (TDR) methodology. The infiltration process was studied by means of field experiments combining rainfall simulations and TDR techniques. Finally, a set of hydrodynamic variables was calculated in the laboratory (i.e. available soil-water content, soil-water-retention curves and hydraulic conductivity).The average available soil-water content is 0·07 cm³ cm⁻³, in accordance with the predominance of the sandy textural fraction (85%). The rainfall simulation experiments show that infiltration prevails over overland flow, with a steady-state infiltration rate higher than rainfall application (40mmh⁻¹) in most cases; a low water-retention capacity was also observed. The evolution of soil-moisture over time indicates a close dependence on intra-annual rainfall variability due to the low water-retention capacity of sandy soils. With a maximum water-storage capacity of around 0·18 cm³ cm⁻³, the soils studied show high sensitivity to dry spells and may remain with <50% of the available soil-water content for several months during the year.