Review of seafloor spreading around Australia. I. synthesis of the patterns of spreading

The existing data on Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic seafloor spreading isochrons (reviewed in the companion paper by Veevers & Li) and fracture zone trends provide the basis for 12 reconstructions of the seafloor around Australia that spread during the dispersal of Argo Land, India, Antarctica, Lord Howe Rise/New Zealand and the Papuan Peninsula. The major changes of plate geometry in the Jurassic, Early Cretaceous, mid‐Cretaceous, early Paleocene and early Eocene reflect global events. The pattern of spreading around Australia was determined by two long‐standing (earlier Phanerozoic) factors that operated in a counter‐clockwise direction: (1) penetration from the northwest by the Tethyan divergent ridge; and (2) rotation from the northeast of the Pacific convergent arc and back‐arc. The only new feature of the modern pattern is the deep penetration by the Indian Ocean ridge into eastern Gondwanaland to fragment it into continents in contrast with the pattern up to 160 Ma ago of breaking off micro‐continents.     

Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic wrench tectonics in eastern Australia: Insights from the North Pine Fault System (southeast Queensland)

The North Pine Fault System (NPFS) in SE Queensland belongs to a series of NNW-striking sinistral faults that displaced Paleozoic to Cenozoic rock units in eastern Australia. We have studied the geometry and kinematics of the NPFS by utilizing gridded aeromagnetic data, digital elevation models, and field observations. The results indicate that all segments of the NPFS were subjected to sinistral reverse strike-slip faulting. Restorations of displaced magnetic anomalies indicate sinistral offsets ranging from ∼3.4 to ∼8.2 km. The existence of a (possibly) Late Triassic granophyre dyke parallel to one of the fault segments, and the occurrence of NNW-striking steeply dipping strike-slip and normal faults in the Late Triassic-Early Cretaceous Maryborough Basin, indicate that the NPFS has likely been active during the Mesozoic. We propose that from Late Cretaceous to early Eocene, NNW-striking faults in eastern Australia, including the NPFS, were reactivated with oblique sinistral-normal kinematics in response to regional oblique extension associated with the opening of the Tasman and Coral Seas. This interpretation is consistent with the modeled dominant NNE- to NNW-directed horizontal tensional stress in the Eocene. The latest movements along the NPFS involved sinistral transpressional kinematics, which was possibly related to far-field contractional stresses from collisional tectonics at the eastern and northern boundaries of the Australian plate in the Cenozoic. This sinistral-reverse oblique kinematics of the NPFS in the Cenozoic is in line with ∼ESE to ENE orientations of the modeled maximum horizontal stress in SE Queensland.     

How Do Farmers’ Climate Change Beliefs Affect Adaptation to Climate Change?

This exploratory study aims to examine (1) the reasons for farmers’ range of climate change beliefs and (2) how those beliefs affect their climate change adaptation responses. Interviews with 11 key-informant irrigators from the South Australian Riverland uncovered skepticism about climate change predictions. Interviewees mostly believed changes to the climate were not human-induced but were a result of natural cycles, which meant that they then felt less obliged to undertake climate-change adaptation responses. With low water allocations and low commodity prices, most did not identify climate change as their most compelling problem. They found it hard to identify climate change adaptation options beyond those they had implemented to manage their immediate problems. The reasons for interviewees’ stated skepticism are complex, but not as equated to disbelief as they might seem. Their beliefs about climate change appear to be chosen to allow them to retain hope for the future.     

Modelling coastal connectivity in a Western Boundary Current: Seasonal and inter-annual variability

Understanding the transport and distribution of marine larvae by ocean currents is one of the key goals of population ecology. Here we investigate circulation in the East Australian Current (EAC) and its impact on the transport of larvae and coastal connectivity. A series of Lagrangian particle trajectory experiments are conducted in summer and winter from 1992-2006 which enables us to investigate seasonal and inter-annual variability. We also estimate a mean connectivity state from the average of each of the individual realisations. Connectivity patterns are related to the movement of five individual larval species (two tropical, two temperate and one invasive species) and are found to be in qualitative agreement with historical distribution patterns found along the coast of SE Australia.We use a configuration of the Princeton Ocean Model to investigate physical processes in the ocean along the coast of SE Australia where the circulation is dominated by the EAC, a vigorous western boundary current. We assimilate hydrographic fields from a ∼10?\km global analysis into a ∼3?\km resolution continental shelf model to create a high-resolution hindcast of ocean state for each summer and winter from 1992-2006. Particles are released along the coast of SE Australia, and at various isobaths across the shelf (25-1000 m) over timescales ranging from 10-90 days. Upstream of the EAC separation point across-shelf release location dominates the particle trajectory length scales, whereas seasonality dominates in the southern half of the domain, downstream of the separation point.Lagrangian probability density functions show dispersion pathways vary with release latitude, distance offshore and the timescale of dispersion. Northern (southern) release sites are typified by maximum (minimum) dispersal pathways. Offshore release distance also plays a role having the greatest impact at the mid-latitude release sites. Maximum alongshore dispersion occurs at the mid-latitude release sites such as Sydney. Seasonal variability is also greatest at mid-latitudes, associated with variations in the separation point of the EAC. Climatic variations such as El Niño and La Niña are also shown to play a role in dictating the connectivity patterns. La Niña periods have a tendency to increase summer time connectivity (particularly with offshore release sites) while El Niño periods are shown to increase winter connectivity.The EAC acts as a barrier to the onshore movement of particles offshore, which impacts on the connectivity of offshore release sites. Consequentially particles released inshore of the EAC jet exhibit a greater coastal connectivity than those released offshore of the EAC front. The separation point of the EAC also dictates connectivity with more sites being connected (with lower concentration) downstream of the separation point of the EAC. These results can provide a useful guide to the potential connectivity of marine populations, or the spread of invasive pests (via ballast water or release of propagules from established populations).     

ENSO to multi-decadal time scale changes in East Australian Current transports and Fort Denison sea level: Oceanic Rossby waves as the connecting mechanism

The connection between East Australian Current (EAC) transport variability and Australia’s east coast sea level has received little treatment in the literature. This is due in part to the complex interacting physical processes operating in the coastal zone combined with the sparsity of observations available to improve our understanding of these possible connections. This study demonstrates a statistically significant (at the >90% level) relationship between interannual to decadal time scale variations in observed estimates of the EAC transport changes and east coast sea level measured at the high-quality, long record Fort Denison tide-gauge in Sydney Harbour, Australia (33°51′18″S, 151°13′32″E). We further demonstrate, using a linear reduced-gravity ocean model, that ENSO to decadal time-scale variations and the ocean-adjusted multi-decadal trend (approx. 1 cm/decade) in observed sea level at Fort Denison are strongly connected to modulations of EAC transports by incoming westward propagating oceanic Rossby waves. We show that EAC transport and Fort Denison sea level vary in a manner expected from both Tasman Sea generated Rossby waves, which account for the interannual and multi-annual variability, and remotely forced (from east of New Zealand) Rossby wave connections through the mid-latitudes, accounting for the ocean-adjusted multi-decadal trend observed at the New South Wales coast - with the regional-Tasman Sea forcing explaining the greatest overall proportion of EAC transport and sea-level variances.     

澳洲北部强/弱越赤道气流对应的环流配置

采用1980～2004年的NCEP/NCAR再分析资料, 挑选5～8月中澳洲北部越赤道气流的极强和极弱年作为典型样本,探讨了强/弱越赤道气流对应的环流系统的配置特征。结果表明: 强越赤道气流通常对应北半球辐合带维持较强, 或南半球澳高维持较强,亦或澳洲冷空气活动频繁发生的环流形势, 同期西太平洋副高通常偏东或偏北; 弱越赤道气流通常对应西太平洋副高的偏西或偏南, 或者是西太平洋副高－辐合带共同演进过程的多次发生。     

Bedrock controls on the mineralogy and chemistry of PM<Subscript>10</Subscript> extracted from Australian desert sediments

Given the relevance of desert aerosols to environmental issues such as dust storms, climate change and human health effects, we provide a demonstration of how the bedrock geology of an arid area influences the mineralogy and geochemistry of even the finest particulate matter (i.e., the inhalable fraction <10 μm in size: PM₁₀). PM₁₀ samples extracted from desert sediments at geologically contrasting off-road sites in central and southeastern Australia (granitic, high grade metamorphic, quartzitic sandstone) were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The “granitic” PM₁₀ are highly alkali feldspathic and illitic, with a wide range of accessory minerals including rutile (TiO₂), monazite [(Ce, La, Nd, Th, Y) PO₄], xenotime (YPO₄), apatite [Ca₅(PO₄)₃ (F, OH, Cl)], hematite (Fe₃O₄), zircon (ZrSiO₄) and thorite (ThSiO₄). This mineralogy is reflected in the geochemistry which shows notable enrichments in rare earth elements (REE) and most high field strength elements (both held in the accessory minerals), and higher than normal levels of low (<2.0) ionic potential elements (Na, K, Li, Cs, Rb: held in alkali feldspar and illite). The “metamorphic” resuspended PM₁₀ define a mineralogy clearly influenced by local exposures of pelitic and calc-silicate schists (sillimanite, muscovite, calcite, Ca-amphibole), a dominance of monazite over other REE-bearing phases, and a geochemistry distinguished by enrichments in alkaline earth metals (Ca, Mg, Ba, Sr) and depletion in heavy REE. The “quartzite” PM₁₀, derived from rocks already recycled by Precambrian erosion and sedimentary transport, show a sedimentologically mature mineralogy of mostly quartz and kaolinite, detrital accessory ilmenite, rutile, monazite and hematite, and the strongest geochemical depletion (especially K, Rb, Cs, Na, Ca, Mg, Ba).     

Abundance and Ecology of Endemic Asterorotalia trispinosa from the Western Bay of Bengal: Implications for its Application as a Paleomonsoon Proxy

A total of 97 surface sediment samples were collected from the continental shelf and slope of the western Bay of Bengal to assess the potential application of Asterorotalia trispinosa as a paleomonsoon proxy. The relative abundance of living as well as total (living and dead) A. trispinosa ranges from being absent to a maximum of ~31%. The highest abundance of A. trispinosa is close to the outfall region of the Ganga-Brahmaputra Rivers and decreases away from the river mouths. Contrary to that, A. trispinosa is rare in front of both the Cauvery and Pennar river outfall regions, in the central part of the western Bay of Bengal. The living A. trispinosa abundance is the lowest in between two major river systems, viz. Ganga-Brahmaputra-Mahanadi and Krishna-Godavari. The relative abundance of both the total and living A. trispinosa is strongly positively correlated with ambient seawater temperature, and negatively correlated with %Corg and salinity. Based on the spatial distribution, we conclude that A. trispinosa is stenohaline in nature, rather than euryhaline, and further that the increased relative abundance of A. trispinosa indicates warmer and only marginally hyposaline environment. Even though the ecological preference of A. trispinosa suggests it as a potential paleomonsoon proxy, the restricted distribution implies limited application.     

IPCC AMIP模式对西南澳类季风环流的模拟

以西南澳类季风环流为出发点,考察了IPCC第四次评估报告AMIP提供的12个大气环流模式对于澳大利亚西南部(SWWA)地区降水的季节演化特征,西南澳类季风环流(SWAC)的季节特征、季节演化、对应的异常环流型及其年际变率的模拟性能进行了评估。结果表明,除了NCAR_CAM3模式以外,其余模式均能较好的再现SWWA地区近地层盛行风向季节性反转及副热带高压脊线的季节性跳跃特征。对副热带高压脊线的季节演化特征,虽然大部分模式可以模拟出其季节移动特征,但是对于副热带高压脊线的北跳、南撤时间、到达位置和年内振幅均不能很好模拟。其次,除了NCAR_CAM3,其余模式基本能刻画出与SWAC相联系的异常环流型结构;而对于SWAC的年际变率,基本所有模式均不能较好模拟。整体权衡,GISS_MODEL_E_R在模拟SWAC环流的年际变率方面表现出较其它模式稍好的性能,大致可以模拟出与观测SWAC相似的特征,对SWWA地区的冬季降水显示出了与观测相似的显著影响。     

Perspectives in Australian Global Education and Geography/Mätauranga Matawhenua

Abstract:  In teaching and learning geography and global education in Australia, understanding a range of perspectives is important because content and practice are inextricably linked. Currently both geography and global education promote a 'perspectives' curricula approach requiring effective implementation of a range of perspectives theories such as positivism, multiculturalism, deep environmentalism, feminism and globalism. This paper outlines the philosophical basis of perspectivism, discusses some of the major perspectives theories and their backgrounds, and describes how they are applied in teaching geography and global education with particular reference to the Australian (principally New South Wales) and New Zealand curricula. It concludes with some comments on the current classroom reality of the 'perspectives' curricula approach.