Soil-forming rates and processes on Quaternary moraines near Lago Buenos Aires, Argentina

Thirty-four pedons on four moraine groups spanning the last 1 myr are used to investigate mechanisms and rates of soil development in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. All soils are coarse-loamy, mesic, Typic Haplocalcids or Calcic Haploxerolls occurring under short grass-shrub steppe, in a semi-arid climate. The dominant soil-forming processes are the accumulation of organic matter, carbonate, and clay-sized particles. Organic carbon accumulates rapidly in these soils, but significantly higher amounts in the oldest two moraine groups are likely the result of slight differences in soil-forming environment or grazing practices. Accumulation rates of carbonate and clay decrease with age, suggesting either decreased influx in the earliest part of the record or attainment of equilibrium between influx and loss. There are no changes in soil redness, and preservation of weatherable minerals in the oldest soils indicates there is little chemical weathering in this environment. Measured dust input explains the accumulation of both clay and carbonate. We present a carbonate cycling model that describes potential sources and calcium mobility in this environment. Calibration of rates of soil formation creates a powerful correlation tool for comparing other glacial deposits in Argentina to the well-dated moraines at Lago Buenos Aires.     

Late Quaternary paleosols, stratigraphy and landscape evolution in the Northern Pampa, Argentina

The field properties, micromorphology, grain-size, geochemistry, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of two late Quaternary sections have been used to reconstruct the sequence of pedosedimentary processes and to provide insights into landscape evolution in part of the Northern Pampa of Argentina. Paleosols developed in paludal sediments adjacent to the Paraná river at Baradero and in loess at Lozada can both be correlated and linked to other sites, thus enabling for the first time the tentative recognition and tracing of a diachronous soil stratigraphic unit that probably spans the equivalent of at least part of marine oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 5. The paleosol at Lozada was truncated and buried beneath fluvial sediments during the time span of OIS 4 and 3. Eolian gradually replaced paludal inputs at Baradero over this period, and there were also two clearly defined breaks in sedimentation and development of paleosols. The period corresponding to OIS 2 was marked by significant loess accumulation at both sites with accretion continuing into the mid-Holocene only at Lozada. The more developed nature of the surface soil at Baradero probably reflects a combination of a moister climate and a longer soil-forming interval.     

A stratigraphical-geochemical study on the Chaco Paraná continental rift basin- An approach study based on regional sedimentology and drill-hole core analyses,South América

This paper is focused on a geologic "regional rift basin system pattern" and its stratigraphical-geochemical relationship. This is mainly based on the littoral shallow marine sedimentary succession paleogeography and deposits. These successions characterize the large extensional intracratonic Chaco rift basin system evolved from the Upper Cretaceous ( Late Campanian-Senonian-Maastrichtian-Early Paleocene) to Quaternary time. The siliciclastic littoral shallow marine successions were deposited from Early Senonian-Maastrichtian to Late Miocene during three main successive littoral shallow marine transgressions of continental extension.These transgressions happened over the wide pediplanized terrains of South America. These lands exist west of the more positive areas, between the Brazilian Shield and the foreland massifs that were settled in the more westernwards areas. Later, these regional foreland massifs were coupled and raised to the Andean Orogen Belt during the last 5 million years.The extensive intracratonic pediplanized low topographic relief areas were the reservoirs of siliciclastic littoral shallow marine succession deposits during the three successive widespread vast continental littoral shallow marine transgressions.The first transgression began at the Latest Campanian-Senonian and/or Early Maastrichtian time. After this episode, the sedimentary depositional systems continued during the Cenozoic until the Latest Miocene. These successions constitute a major allostratigraphic unit.The limit with underlying units is the regional unconformity between the regional volcanic event (Jurassic-Cretacic and interleaved eolianite sandstones) at the base and the undifferentiated Quaternary sediments (called as the Pampeano and Post-Pampeano Formations sensu lato). Based on many facies analyses there had been checked out different levels in the eustatic sea level variations within the allostratigraphic unit.Three major stages of extensional climax were recognized and related to the stages of conspicuous eustatical sea-level variations. They happened during the Latest Senonian-Paleocene, Eocene and Miocene.The first transgression occurred during the Upper Cretaceous-Paleocene although the sedimentary deposits related to this event are scarce, which are only a few meters in thickness. However, the Upper Cretaceous-Paleocene succession is very well recognized in the actual pre-Andean zone in the north-west of Argentina and Bolivia (the Sierras Subandinas and the meridional imbricated fault systems just joint to the actual orogen, I.e. , Quebrada de Humahuaca outcrops).During the Eocene and Middle to Latest Miocene occurred the second and third extensive regional littoral shallow marine transgressions. They are present either in well log registers as in most widespread outcrops on the entire Southamerican continent.The regional analysis led to the deduction of long periods of tectonic quiescence, at least three of them. They may be inferred and synchronously related with eustatic highstand sea level variations that occurred during the Late Paleocene-Early Eocene, Latest Eocene-Early to Mid Oligocene and Middle-to-Late Oligocene-Early Miocene.The structural style is related with major extensional N-S strike faultings (regional tilted and faulting blocks). On the other hand, quite a number of strike-slip faults (mainly of regional characteristic) are present crossing the area. They have a clear influence on the accommodation and transfer zones of the rift basin system. The strike is north-west to south-east on the border of the basin, to the west, in the contact with the Pampean Ridges and the narrow-meridionally-extense Sub-Andean folded trend ( mainly Paleozoic units belonging to the so-called Sierras Subandinas geological province). Also, at the western edge of the studied area, there exist many large shear zones and upthrust faults. The strike-slip regional faults dislocated the Pampean and Sub-Andean blocks due to the interaction of crossing regional tilted and fault blocks.For this reason, an en echelon regional block model is characteristic. Incipient contaminated igneous activities were associated with this cortical weak zones. Domes, needles and necks of volcanic and sub-volcanic origin appear as the landscape of the region.A part of the igneous activity was dated on Latest Pliocene although mainly corresponding to Pleistocene and Holocene. This deduction is obvious because their morphological constitution was never eroded. The volcanic aparatous are morphologically unmodified from their extrusion to present days.All the studied successions seem to resemble a long persisting erosive, transportation and deposition episode. This phenomenon is linked to a large regional (continental) unconformity dated at Late Cretaceous. The entire analyzed sedimentary succession deposits and their siliciclastic facies associations correspond clearly to a "heterolithic facies succession" which is very common within persisting tide-dominated depositional systems (passive margins). In fact, this is what happened during Cenozoic times (Torra,1998b, 2001a). The heterolithic Miocene facies deposits constitute one of the best continental exposed examples.Paleogeographical evidence showed that the Paranense and Amazonic Sea transgressions had been a littoral shallow marine connection during long time from Middle to Late Miocene. During the Late Cretaceous and Eocene periods marine connections were also active in the region. This fact is strongly supported by the tectonic and geomorphological framework of the proto-Southamerican continent, fossil remains and similar sedimentary deposits.The geochemical results showed an outstanding similarity among the three sandy-muddy successions herein studied. Both major and trace elements always show the same geochemical patterns. Specially mentioned are the elements gallium, cesium, chromium, barium, vanadium, thorium, zirconium, rubidium and strontium because they present very constant values through all successions.The Paranense and Amazonic epicontinental seas had been connected to the Pacific Ocean during the three marine episodes. The connections were formed by narrow inter-mountain valleys, present in the preAndean foreland massifs. These events occurred prior to the main orogenesis elevation of the Andean orogen belt in the last 5 to 1 Ma ( Pliocene-Latest Pleistocene).This paper shows, for the first time, a synthetic stratigraphical-geochemical "regional model" for the carries many unexamined-unexplored natural resources which need more regional and local studies for their evaluation. This is in spite of the area that has the problem of a significative vegetation coberture and scarce good outcrops. The development of modern techniques of dataacquisition will help to overcome these difficulties.     

The MW = 6.3 2003 Lefkada earthquake (Greece) and induced stress transfer changes

A large earthquake of magnitude M_W = 6.3 occurred on 14 August 2003 NW of the Lefkada Island, which is situated at the Ionian Sea (western Greece). The source parameters of this event are determined using body-wave modeling. The focal depth was found equal to 9 km, the constrained focal mechanism revealed dextral strike–slip motion (φ = 15°, Δ = 80° and λ = 170°), the duration of the source time function was 8 s and the seismic moment 2.9 × 10²⁵ dyn cm. The earthquake occurred close to the northern end of the Kefallinia transform fault, where the 1994 moderate event and its aftershock sequence were also located. The epicentral distribution of the 2003 aftershock sequence revealed the existence of two clusters. The first one is located close to the epicentral area of the mainshock, while the second southern, close to the northwestern coast of the Kefallinia Island. A gap of seismicity is observed between the two clusters. The length of the activated zone is approximately 60 km. The analysis of data revealed that the northern cluster is directly related to the mainshock, while the southern one was triggered by stress transfer caused by the main event.     

Tectonic, sea-level, and climatic controls on Late Paleozoic sedimentation in the western basins of Argentina

Tectonic activity, sea-level changes, and the climate controlled sedimentation in Late Paleozoic basins of western Argentina. The role of each factor is investigated from the geologic record of the Río Blanco and Paganzo basins using three hierarchical orders of stratigraphic bounding surfaces. First-order surfaces correspond to regional unconformities, second-order ones to local unconformities with a lesser regional extent, and third-order surfaces represent locally extended sedimentary truncation. Using this methodology, the Carboniferous–Permian record of the Paganzo and Río Blanco basins may be divided into two megasequences, four sequences, and 12 stratigraphic sections. Megasequences are bounded by regional unconformities that result from tectonic events important enough to cause regional paleogeographic changes. Sequences are limited by minor regional extension surfaces related to local tectonic movements or significant sea-level falls. Finally, stratigraphic sections correspond to extended sedimentary truncations produced by transgressive events or major climatic changes. Sequence I is mainly composed of marine deposits divided into basal infill of the basin (Section 1) and Tournaisian–Visean transgressive deposits (Section 2). Sequence II is bounded by a sharp erosional surface and begins with coarse conglomerates (Section 3), followed by fluvial and shallow marine sedimentary rocks (Section 4) that pass upward into shales and diamictites (Section 5). The base of Sequence III is marked by an extended unconformity covered by Early Pennsylvanian glacial sedimentary rocks (Section 6) that represent the most important glacial event along the western margin of Gondwana. Postglacial deposits (Section 7) occur in the two basins and comprise both glaciolacustrine (eastern region) and transgressive marine (central and western regions) deposits. By the Moscovian–Kasimovian, fluvial sandstones and conglomerates were deposited in most of the Paganzo Basin (Section 8), while localized volcanic activity took place in the Río Blanco Basin. Near the end of the Carboniferous, an important transgression is recorded in the major part of the Río Blanco Basin (Section 9), reaching the westernmost portion area of the Paganzo Basin. Finally, Sequence IV shows important differences between the Paganzo and Río Blanco basins; fluvial red beds (Section 10), eolian sandstones (Section 11), and low-energy fluvial deposits (Section 12) prevailed in the Paganzo Basin whereas volcaniclastic sedimentation and volcanism dominated in the Río Blanco Basin. Thus, tectonic events, sea-level changes and climate exerted a strong and complex control on the evolution of the Río Blanco and Paganzo basins. The interaction of these allocyclic controls produced not only characteristic facies association patterns but also different kinds of stratigraphic bounding surfaces.     

Quaternary intraplate deformation in the southeastern Sierras Pampeanas, Argentina

Neogene strain from the subducting Nazca plate is widely distributed in theAndean foreland as a result of flat-lying subduction beneath central westernArgentina (28^°–33^°S latitude). This fact is indicated byuplifted basement blocks bounded by reverse faults as far as 600 kms eastof the Chilean trench axis. Some deformation in the southern Sierras deCórdoba (southeastern Sierras Pampeanas) indicates significantdisplacements during Quaternary and even late Holocene time. Thisregion has low to moderate seismicity characterized by earthquakemagnitudes 6.7 with no associated noticeable surface ruptures.This paper presents information recently gathered on the most conspicuousregional structures of the area (El Molino, Sierra Chica and Las Lagunasfaults). The last movement along the El Molino fault thrust basement rocksover organic-rich (0.8–1.3 ka) sediment and fault relationships suggestprevious Quaternary displacements. Along the Sierra Chica fault,Precambrian basement has been thrust a minimum of 13.5 m overPleistocene conglomerates, and faulting also affects latePleistocene-Holocene fluvial sediments. The Las Lagunas fault has beenregarded as the source of the 1934 Ms 5.5 and 6.0 earthquakes, whichheavily damaged the nearby village of Sampacho. The faulted surface isburied under Holocene loess, but its trace is expressed as a 24-km-longrectilinear scarp, despite continuous modification due to land use.Although we lack detailed information on probable rupture lengths duringlarge Sierras Pampeanas thrust earthquakes, some preliminary considerationsare made for the regional seismic hazard of these structures. The geologicevidence described here identifies these faults as possible sources of strongearthquakes in the future.     

Element mobility associated with syn-metamorphic shear zones near Scotchport, NW Mayo, Ireland

Abstract Three major blastomylonitic synmetamorphic (epidote amphibolite to mid amphibolite facies) shear zones are seen on the NW coast of the Mullet Peninsula in NW Mayo. These shear zones occur at the contacts of major structural units and in an imbricated slice where rocks of the Erris Complex are deformed and chemically modified. Chemical changes associated with individual shear zones have been deduced by comparing the compositions of various gneisses both within and adjacent to the shear zones. Compositional changes are different in the constituent rock-types within each unit and many elements normally considered immobile have been selectively mobilized within the shear zones. Little evidence of wholesale metasomatic introduction of components into these shear zones was found to accompany the selective mobilization.     

Surface and groundwater quality in the northeastern region of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

This work studies the water quality of the Pergamino–Arrecifes River zone in the Rolling Pampa, northeast Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Temperature, pH, specific conductivity, Na, K, Mg, Ca, , Cl⁻, , , Si, Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Br, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, P, Pb, Se, Tl, U, V, Zn, and the environmental stable δ¹⁸O and δ²H isotope ratios were determined in 18 sampling stations. Natural and anthropogenic features influence surface and groundwater quality. Point pollution sources (septic wells and other domestic and farming effluents) increase the nitrate concentration. The values of pH, , Al, As, B, Fe, and Mn exceed the respective Argentine reference thresholds in different sampling stations for human drinking water; B, Mo, U, and V for irrigation; and V and Zn for cattle consumption.     

Nature and significance of the West Baram and Tinjar Lines,NW Borneo

A key consideration in tectonic models for SE Asia and opening of the South China Sea is the role that the West Baram and Tinjar Lines of NW Borneo may have played in accommodating the motion of crustal blocks displaced from Asia following India's collision. There are few studies that focus on these “lines”. Using onshore geological studies and offshore seismic data to address the origin and tectonic significance of these, this paper concludes that rather than a major transform boundary between Luconia and the Dangerous Grounds, the West Baram Line marks the boundary between domains of continental crust that underwent differential extension in the Eocene. The Baram Basin is underlain by hyperextended continental crust on the NE side of the Baram Line. The strong contrast in the geological features across the Tinjar and West Baram Lines likely reflects ancient differences in crustal rheology with Luconia being the more rigid block. Although lack of significant strike slip faulting along the West Baram Line poses problems for tectonic models in which a wide proto-South China Sea is subducted beneath NW Borneo, intra-plate deformation, such as partial inversion of the Dangerous Grounds rift, offers a potential mechanism to mass balance blocks displaced from Asia with the reduced strike slip motion along the West Baram Line.     

Geographical variation in metazoan parasites of the deep-sea fish Bathypterois mediterraneus Bauchot, 1962 (Osteichthyes: Ipnopidae) from the Western Mediterranean

This study examines the parasite fauna of Bathypterois mediterraneus, the most common fish below 1500 m in Western Mediterranean waters. Samples were obtained during July 2010 from the continental slope of two different areas (off Catalonia and Balearic Islands) in three different bathymetric strata at depths between 1000 and 2200 m. The parasite fauna of B. mediterraneus included a narrow range of species: Steringophorus cf. dorsolineatum, Scolex pleuronectis, Hysterothylacium aduncum, Anisakis sp. larva 3 type II and Sarcotretes sp. Steringophorus cf. dorsolineatum and H. aduncum were the most predominant parasites. H. aduncum showed significant differences in abundance between depths of 2000–2200 m with 1000–1400 m and 1400–2000 m, irrespective of locality, whereas S. cf. dorsolineatum showed significant differences between the two localities at all depths except for 2000–2200 m. We suggest the possible usefulness of these two parasites as geographical indicators for discriminating discrete stocks of B. mediterraneus in Western Mediterranean waters.