The Oshkosh Meteorite

Abstract In the fall of 1961, fragments of an olivine-bronzite chondrite were found about 2 miles NNW of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the total weight being 144.8 g. This paper fixes the exact location and describes the circumstances of the find.     

Relative sea-level trends during the early–middle Holocene along the eastern coast of mainland Scotland, UK

Previously published radiocarbon-dated horizons relating to early and middle Holocene relative sea-level change along the eastern coast of mainland Scotland are examined and trends determined. The data are modified to ensure comparability and are compared against the pattern of glacio-isostatic uplift in the area. Results show that the rate of relative sea-level rise during the Main Postglacial Transgression in the middle Holocene becomes greater towards the edge of the uplifted area, whilst the age of the Main Postglacial Shoreline becomes younger in the same direction. Linear and quadratic regression analyses disclose trends which indicate that at the 0 m HWMOST isobase of the Main Postglacial Shoreline the rate of relative sea level rise between c. 8400 and c . 7000 14 C years BP ( c . 9500 to c . 7900 cal. BP) was 5-11 mm/radiocarbon year or 6-11 mm/calibrated year, whilst at the same isobase the Main Postglacial Shoreline was reached between 5500 and 6100 14 C years BP (between 6300 and 7000 cal. BP). The relative sea-level changes identified are compatible with a rising sea surface level offshore, which may have involved three episodes, possibly related to regional and wider deglaciation.     

Jenkins: A New Iron Meterorite from Missouri

Abstract Jenkins was found about 1946 and identified as a meteorite in 1965. The weight before sectioning was 122 lbs. It is a coarse octahedrite with irregular nodules of troilite and sizeable patches of graphite, schreibersite, and lawrencite.     

Petrology and Geochemistry of Intraplate Basalts in the South Auckland Volcanic Field, New Zealand: Evidence for Two Coeval Magma Suites from Distinct Sources

The South Auckland Volcanic Field is a Pleistocene (1·59–0·51Ma) basaltic intraplate, monogenetic field situated south ofAuckland City, North Island, New Zealand. Two groups of basaltsare distinguished based on mineralogy and geochemical compositions,but no temporal or spatial patterns exist in the distributionof various lava types forming each group within the field: GroupA basalts are silica-undersaturated transitional to quartz-tholeiiticbasalts with relatively low total alkalis (3·0–4·6wt %), Nb (7–29 ppm), and (La/Yb)_N (3·4–7·6);Group B basalts are strongly silica-undersaturated basanitesto nepheline-hawaiites with high total alkalis (3·3–7·9wt %), Nb (32–102 ppm), and (La/Yb)_N (12–47). GroupA has slightly higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, similar _Nd, and lower ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pbvalues compared with Group B. Contrasting geochemical trendsand incompatible element ratios (e.g. K/Nb, Zr/Nb, Ce/Pb) areconsistent with separate evolution of Groups A and B from dissimilarparental magmas derived from distinct sub-continental lithosphericmantle sources. Differentiation within each group was controlledby olivine and clinopyroxene fractionation. Group B magmas weregenerated by <8% melting of an ocean island basalt (OIB)-likegarnet peridotite source with high ²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb mantle (HIMU)and enriched mantle (EMII) characteristics possibly inheritedfrom recycled oceanic crust. Group A magmas were generated by<12% melting of a spinel peridotite source also with HIMUand EMII signatures. This source type may have resulted fromsubduction-related metasomatism of the sub-continental lithospheremodified by a HIMU plume. These events were associated withMesozoic or earlier subduction- and plume-related magmatismwhen New Zealand was at the eastern margin of the Gondwana supercontinent. KEY WORDS: continental intraplate basalts; geochemistry; HIMU, EMII; Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopes; South Auckland; sub-continental lithospheric sources     

Challenges of forest governance in Madagascar

There has been a huge surge in interest in the preservation of Madagascar's forests in the past two decades, but despite the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars, the goal remains elusive. Recent legislation has given the government the authority to enter into contractual arrangements with communities for the management of the country's public forests, so it has become crucial to grapple with the significant challenges involved. This paper explores the enormity of the challenge of forest governance in Madagascar in an era of decentralization. By examining several forests in one part of the country, it reveals a dizzying range of forest types and forms of use and governance within a fairly small portion of the country. These examples make it apparent that the history of forest management in Madagascar constitutes a broad-ranging experiment with forest governance. Simply monitoring the dynamics of the forest canopy is a significant technical challenge. However, this pales in comparison to the difficulties inherent in explaining those dynamics and assessing the sustainability and equity of different management regimes. Of the forests considered in the study, those where the Malagasy state has partnered with international conservation and development organizations seem to stand out, both in terms of stabilized, or even growing, forest cover, as well as a balance of interests among users.     

Shallow erosion beneath turbidity currents and its impact on the architectural development of turbidite sheet systems

Erosion by turbidity currents changes the morphology of the sea floor. The relief of the scoured surface may affect the dynamics of the flow and thereby the pattern of deposition; this could, in turn, affect flow and deposition patterns in subsequent events. This study investigates shallow, centimetre to decimetre scale erosion beneath turbidite sheet sandstones of the Oligocene Macigno Formation of North‐west Italy, where erosion and deposition are variably coupled at the bed scale in a net‐aggradational setting. The research focus was on: (i) the recognition of scour edges and erosive surfaces; (ii) quantification of spatial differences in the amount of erosion; and (iii) an investigation of how this differential erosion can be compensated by the deposits directly overlying the erosional surfaces. Where they can be observed, scour edges commonly have sills of the overlying sandstone intruding beneath blocks and wings of the substrate that is being eroded. A consequence of this de‐laminating scouring style is that erosional surfaces are bedding parallel when followed away from the scour edges, giving the appearance of normal conformable bed bases. Despite their cryptic nature, such bedding‐parallel scour surfaces can be recognized by comparing serial detailed sedimentary logs (here, 16 bed‐parallel scour surfaces were identified in a succession comprising 95 beds). Different styles of compensation by the overlying turbidite beds are defined based on differential sedimentation inside and outside of the scour relief. It is found that differential erosion is on average under‐compensated by differential sedimentation. In some cases, the overlying deposits anti‐compensate, being thinner at the location where more erosion has occurred. Unequal spatial distribution of differential erosion in the study area combines with sedimentary under‐compensation to result in a trend of accumulating section thickness differences over multiple beds. In one ca 25 m thick package, the maximum cumulative change in lateral gradient during some 20 events reached 0·17°, before being reset by a single event. This process can be interpreted either as a lobe compensation effect, or as a scour enhancement effect, depending on the orientation of the palaeohorizontal datum. If allowed to proceed, the latter process could force the system past a channellization threshold, prompting a change from sheet to channelled architecture. This type of shallow substrate scouring and differential deposition is likely to be an important process in the build‐up of sheet turbidite sandstone units and could play a major role in autocyclic adjustment of local sea‐floor gradients.     

Glacially-crushed quartz grains in late Quaternary deposits in the Virunga Mountains,Rwanda -indicators of wind transport from the north?

Quartz sand grains in late Quaternary deposits of the Virunga Mountains, northwestern Rwanda, were found to contain glacial-crushing microtextures. Glacially-crushed subangular grains generally lack sharp edges, and carry mainly low frequency, linear crushing features. Because there are no known tills in the Virunga Volcanoes (and because quartz is rare in volcanic terrain), it is likely the grains were delivered by aeolian transport from the Ruwenzori Massif, -150 km to the north. All the grains studied are consistent with crushing under low shear stress, and over short transport distances, in alpine glaciers. An increase in the percentage of glacially-crushed quartz from Holocene to Pleistocene beds likely reflects on the increased strength of the paleowind system (trade winds) during the last glacial maximum. Alternatively, it could reflect on the increased source area for glacially-crushed grains resulting from an increase in the extent of the Afroalpine belt during the last glaciation.     

Palaeomagnetism of the Moberly formation, northern Missouri, confirms a regional magnetic datum within the pre-Illinoian glacial sequence of the midcontinental USA

The Moberly formation of northern Missouri, USA includes glacigenic sediment deposited during the second major pre-Illinoian glaciation and is overlain by three younger normal-polarity tills. The Moberly (mostly till) preserves two different magnetic remanences. A detrital remanent magnetization has reversed polarity with shallow (-30 to-40°) inclinations. The shallow inclination is regionally persistent and spans different facies, including those not prone to large inclination error. A secondary overprint of normal polarity is associated with a thin oxidized zone and weakly developed paleosol in the upper portion of the till. This chemical remanent magnetization is distinguished by high coercivities typical of authigenic ferromagnetic minerals and by scattered remanence vectors upon stepwise demagnetization. The secondary normal remanence was likely acquired during a brief interglacial period between deposition of the Moberly formation and the next glaciation. The short interglacial and the shallow inclinations indicate that the glaciation which deposited the Moberly occurred shortly before a major polarity change from reverse to normal, probably the Brunhes-Matuyama reversal.