Climatic deterioration and the end of the Gortian Interglacial in sediments from Derrynadivva and Burren Townland,near Castlebar,County Mayo,Ireland

Pollen and macrofossil analyses of two sequences of organic sediment in western Ireland have allowed the recognition of the latter parts of the Gortian Interglacial, a Middle Pleistocene temperate stage. The palaeobotanical information from the two sites identifies the preservation of partial sequences from the Gortian Interglacial (believed to be the equivalent of the Hoxnian Stage of Britain and the Holsteinian of Europe). The pollen and macrofossil data from one of the sites, Derrynadivva, span the middle and latter parts of the temperate stage. The results show that fire influenced the vegetation throughout the middle part of the temperate stage, and the termination of the organic depositional sequence appears to have been due to environmental deterioration. The former is identified through the abundant occurrence of charcoal in the sediments, whereas the latter is apparent in the sediment sequence and in the reworking of thermophilous pollen types into the upper part of the deposit. The second site, Burren Townland, records only part of the later zones of the interglacial, but the ericaceous assemblages of the latter part of the Gortian Interglacial are well developed and well preserved. Macrofossil analyses and scanning electron microscopy work on the pollen at the latter site has allowed the recognition of Rhododendron ponticum, adding to previous records of this species, which now has a very disjunct European distribution.     

川西、藏东晚三叠世诺利期牙形刺

本文描述了采自藏东贡觉—江达地区上三叠统波里拉组(T_3b)和川西白玉地区上三叠统下逆松多组碳酸盐岩段(T_3~x~2)的牙形刺 Epigondolella postera 组合,成员包括 Epigondolella postera,E.sp.,Neogondolellanavicula。含上述牙形刺化石的地层时代为中诺利期。     

The seismic activity in Syria and Palestine during the middle of the 8th century; an amalgamation of historical earthquakes

Some historical earthquakes are distinct owing to the geographical distance of the places affected. It is less clear, however, when more than one earthquake is amalgamated into a single event and their combined effects are attributed to a major event. In order to avoid gross overestimation of the size of historical earthquakes the separation and identification of the constituent earthquakes is an important consideration. As an example we show how the tendency of early and modern writers to amalgamate or duplicate earthquakes in Syria and Palestine can lead to the creation of major earthquakes, with serious consequences for the assessment of the seismic hazard in the region.     

Equations for the Estimation of Strong Ground Motions from Shallow Crustal Earthquakes Using Data from Europe and the Middle East: Horizontal Peak Ground Acceleration and Spectral Acceleration

This article presents equations for the estimation of horizontal strong ground motions caused by shallow crustal earthquakes with magnitudes M_w 5 and distance to the surface projection of the fault less than 100km. These equations were derived by weighted regression analysis, used to remove observed magnitude-dependent variance, on a set of 595 strong-motion records recorded in Europe and the Middle East. Coefficients are included to model the effect of local site effects and faulting mechanism on the observed ground motions. The equations include coefficients to model the observed magnitude-dependent decay rate. The main findings of this study are that: short-period ground motions from small and moderate magnitude earthquakes decay faster than the commonly assumed 1/r, the average effect of differing faulting mechanisms is not large and corresponds to factors between 0.8 (normal and odd) and 1.3 (thrust) with respect to strike-slip motions and that the average long-period amplification caused by soft soil deposits is about 2.6 over those on rock sites. Disappointingly the standard deviations associated with the derived equations are not significantly lower than those found in previous studies.     

羌塘雁石坪中侏罗统雀莫错组地层及沉积环境

本文详细描述了雁石坪附近一段地层剖面,并根据地层的岩石组合特征将其归入雀莫错组;依据古生物化石特征,将其时代划为侏罗纪早巴通期。沉积环境分析表明,雁石坪剖面为一套海侵的半咸水潮坪相沉积。     

Building and Testing an <Emphasis Type="Italic">a priori</Emphasis> Geophysical Model for Western Eurasia and North Africa

We construct and evaluate a new three-dimensional model of crust and upper mantle structure in Western Eurasia and North Africa (WENA) extending to 700 km depth and having 1° parameterization. The model is compiled in an a priori fashion entirely from existing geophysical literature, specifically, combining two regionalized crustal models with a high-resolution global sediment model and a global upper mantle model. The resulting WENA1.0 model consists of 24 layers: water, three sediment layers, upper, middle, and lower crust, uppermost mantle, and 16 additional upper mantle layers. Each of the layers is specified by its depth, compressional and shear velocity, density, and attenuation (quality factors, Q _P and Q _S ). The model is tested by comparing the model predictions with geophysical observations including: crustal thickness, surface wave group and phase velocities, upper mantle _n velocities, receiver functions, P-wave travel times, waveform characteristics, regional 1-D velocities, and Bouguer gravity. We find generally good agreement between WENA1.0 model predictions and empirical observations for a wide variety of independent data sets. We believe this model is representative of our current knowledge of crust and upper mantle structure in the WENA region and can successfully be used to model the propagation characteristics of regional seismic waveform data. The WENA1.0 model will continue to evolve as new data are incorporated into future validations and any new deficiencies in the model are identified. Eventually this a priori model will serve as the initial starting model for a multiple data set tomographic inversion for structure of the Eurasian continent.     

Syntectonic emplacement of the Middle Jurassic Concón Mafic Dike Swarm, Coastal Range, central Chile (33° S)

The Concón Mafic Dike Swarm (CMDS) consists of basaltic to andesitic dikes emplaced into deformed Late Paleozoic granitoids during the development of the Jurassic arc of central Chile. The dikes are divided into an early group of thick dikes (5–12 m) and a late group of thin dikes (0.5–3 m). Two new amphibole ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates obtained from undeformed and deformed dikes, constrain the age of emplacement and deformation of the CMDS between 163 and 157 Ma. Based on radiometric ages, field observations, AMS studies and petrographic data, we conclude that the emplacement of the CMDS was syntectonic with the Jurassic arc extension and associated with sinistral displacements along the NW-trending structures that host the CMDS. The common occurrence of already deformed and rotated xenoliths in the dikes indicates that deformation in the granitoids started previously.The early thick dikes and country rocks appear to have been remagnetized during the exhumation of deep-seated coastal rocks in the Early Cretaceous (around 100 Ma). The remanent magnetization in late thin dikes is mainly retained by small amounts of low-Ti magnetite at high temperature and pyrrhotite at low temperature. The magnetization in these dikes appears to be primary in origin. Paleomagnetic results from the thin dikes also indicate that the whole area was tilted  23° to the NNW during cooling of the CMDS.The NNW–SSE extension vectors deduced from the paleomagnetic data and internal fabric of dikes are different with respect to extension direction deduced for the Middle–Late Jurassic of northern Chile, pointing to major heterogeneities along the margin of the overriding plate during the Mesozoic or differences in the mechanisms driving extension during such period.     

超大型会泽富锗铅锌矿复合成因

会泽富锗铅锌矿。是近年老矿山深部找矿取得重大突破的典范,而其成因则是当前研究、讨论的热点。笔者认为该矿之形成,既非“MVT型”,亦非“VMS型”,而是与深部隐伏燕山期酸性岩有关的中温岩浆热液叠加、改造、富化的复成因矿床。自加里东期起长期处于张裂环境。深部昭通．弥勒硅镁层隆起,既是幔源玄武岩（热地幔柱）上涌的前奏,又为深部矿源上升创造畅通空间。与多旋回活动的小江深断裂相沟通的NE向矩形断裂网,是导矿、输矿、储矿的有利构造。继火山热液成矿之后,伴随燕山期褶皱、断裂和深部酸性岩浆的上升,发生第二期叠加矿化．矿石中伴生与酸性岩有关的元素组合．并以与酸性岩有关的锗富集为特征。     

鄂尔多斯盆地东北缘中侏罗统延安组植物群与古气候分析

鄂尔多斯盆地东北缘中侏罗统延安组为一套以河流滨湖相沉积为主的中粒中细粒长石砂岩、粉砂岩(泥质粉砂岩)、黑色页岩、粘土岩夹煤层。其中产大量的植物化石,计20属39种。经分析认为,这个植物群是一个属于我国北方区以Coniopteris-Phoenicopsis为代表的中侏罗世早期植物群,植物群组合反映鄂尔多斯盆地东北缘中侏罗世为偏潮湿的暖温带气候。     

Beyond collapse: climate change and causality during the Middle Holocene Climatic Transition, 6400–5000 years before present

The twenty-first century is likely to be characterised by large changes in regional climatic and environmental conditions, with implications for the availability and distribution of key resources such as water and productive land. While the implications of such changes for human societies are potentially profound, the empirical evidence base for understanding human–environment interactions focuses largely on the relatively recent past, during which examples of rapid and severe climate change are lacking. While there are no precise past analogues for twenty-first century climate change, the Middle Holocene Climatic Transition (MHCT), from about 6400–5000?years before present, provides us with an example of a period of large-scale global climatic reorganisation, punctuated by episodes of rapid and severe climate change, at a time when human societies were beginning to resemble those of today. A survey of archaeological and palaeo-environmental data from the northern hemisphere subtropics and other regions provides us with evidence for linked climatic, environmental and societal change during the MHCT. This evidence, the strength of which varies with location, allows us to construct convincing narratives of linked climatic, environmental and societal changes that accommodate a variety of responses and outcomes, and that are much more nuanced than narratives of the proposed climate-induced collapse of individual societies. Such synthetic studies that compare contexts across time and space can help us understand human–environment interactions during times of climatic disruption, while allowing for diverse outcomes and avoiding the pitfalls of climatic determinism.