Structure and metamorphism of the Calliope Volcanic Assemblage: Implications for middle to Late Devonian orogeny in the northern New England Fold Belt

The Late Silurian to Middle Devonian Calliope Volcanic Assemblage in the Rockhampton region is deformed into a set of northwest‐trending gently plunging folds with steep axial plane cleavage. Folds become tighter and cleavage intensifies towards the bounding Yarrol Fault to the east. These folds and associated cleavage also deformed Carboniferous and Permian rocks, and the age of this deformation is Middle to Late Permian (Hunter‐Bowen Orogeny). In the Stanage Bay area, both the Calliope Volcanic Assemblage and younger strata generally have one cleavage, although here it strikes north to northeast. This cleavage is also considered to be of Hunter‐Bowen age. Metamorphic grade in the Calliope Volcanic Assemblage ranges from prehnite‐pumpellyite to greenschist facies, with higher grades in the more strongly cleaved rocks. In the Rockhampton region the Calliope Volcanic Assemblage is part of a west‐vergent fold and thrust belt, the Yarrol Fault representing a major thrust within this system.

A Late Devonian unconformity followed minor folding of the Calliope Volcanic Assemblage, but no cleavage was formed. The unconformity does not represent a collision between an exotic island arc and continental Australia as previously suggested.     

Numerical modeling of tide-surge interaction along Orissa coast of India

The Orissa coast of India is one of the most vulnerable regions of extreme sea levels associated with severe tropical cyclones. There was extensive loss of life and property due to the October 1999 super cyclone, which devastated large part of the Orissa coast. The shallow nature of the head bay, presence of a large number of deltas formed by major rivers of Orissa such as Mahanadi and Dhamra, and high tidal range are responsible for storm surge flooding in the region. Specifically, rising and falling tidal phases influence the height, duration, and arrival time of peak surge along the coast. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the tide-surge interaction during the 1999 Orissa cyclone by using nonlinear vertically integrated numerical models. The pure tidal solution for the head bay region of the Bay of Bengal provides the initial condition for the fine resolution nested grid Orissa model. However, the feedback from the Orissa model does not affect the head bay model as the study provides a one-way interaction. Numerical experiments are performed to study the tide-surge interaction by considering various relative phases of the tidal waves with the surge-wave produced by 1999 Orissa cyclone. The comparison, although utilizing only the limited estimates of tidal data, appears adequate to assert that the principal features are reproduced correctly.     

Variscan very low-grade metamorphism in southwest England: a diastathermal and thrust-related origin

Abstract Regional metamorphism in the external Variscides of southwest England varied from diagenetic level to greenschist facies. There is a fundamental difference in the metamorphic character between the northern and southern regions of the area. In the north, M1 metamorphism is of a sedimentary burial character associated with high heat flow, whilst to the south it is related to tectonic burial during thrust thickening processes, with lower geothermal gradients. This pattern appears to be related to the character of basin development and its subsequent tectonic evolution. The northern region has features that accord with a diastathermal (extensional) origin for the very low-grade metamorphism whilst in the southern region the very low-grade metamorphism is linked to thrusting as a consequence of Variscan compression. The Tintagel High-Strain Zone presents an anomaly in this regional pattern where an M2 metamorphic phase is attributed to localized D2 thrust stacking along the southern margin of the Culm Basin.
There is no extensive overprint of the regional metamorphic pattern by the contact aureoles surrounding the granite plutons of the region. However, there is a noticeable coincidence between the areas of regional epizone grade and the extent of the geophysically defined subsurface limit of the granite batholith (excluding the North Devon area). This link is attributed largely to the late-stage structural up-doming of the higher grade areas over the roof of the batholith.     

Devolution, the governance of regional development and the Trade Union Congress in the North East region of England

The devolution and regionalisation of political and administrative structures following the election of New Labour in 1997 have changed the nature of the state and territorial development and governance in the UK. A regional and sub-national tier has opened up within the existing multi-layered governance system operating at the supra-national, national and local scales. This ‘new institutional space’ is increasingly open to the participation of social institutions--including trade unions--in economic and social governance. Drawing upon empirical analysis of the experience of the Northern Trade Union Congress (NTUC) in the North East region of England, the paper argues that the NTUC--in contrast to its national organisation--is beginning to engage with the emergent institutional structures but its role is inhibited by the centralised strategy and structure of the TUC nationally, its own need for upgrading, capacity building and greater financial resources and the interaction between the North East’s particular legacy of tripartite corporatism and the more pluralist modes of regional development governance emerging in the English regions. Unless such issues are addressed regional trade union centres--such as the NTUC--risk remaining relatively junior partners in the emergent regional governance structures.     

Enregistrement de la variabilité hydroclimatique au cours des 6500 dernières années sur le littoral de Cabo Frio (Rio de Janeiro,Brésil)

This study concerns a core collected in Brejo do Espinho's lagoon from Cabo Frio littoral (Brazil) submitted to dry influence of local upwelling controlled by north-east trade winds from the South Atlantic and particularly strengthened during El Niño events. Diatoms study supported by sedimentological and isotopic analyses shows dry phases infrequent before 4000 yr, a highly variable climatic phase between 3600 and 2900 yr and from 2400 yr onward a dryness enhancement. To cite this article: B. Laslandes et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

加强管理保护沿海地质环境

江苏沿海大陆岸线长９５３．９ｋｍ,海岸带面积约３．５万ｋｍ＾３,滩涂面积５０００ｋｍ＾２,而且每年向外海新增土地两万多亩,还拥有举世瞩目的辐射状海底沙脊群,海平面以上部分就有４００ｋｍ＾２,是江苏省宝贵的后备国土资源。沿海地区是江苏新的经济增长点。改革开放以来,沿海地区经济的发展,加之地表水体的污染逐年严重,对优质地下淡水的开采逐年增加,原有的地质环境受到破坏,出现了地下水位下降,地下淡水资源减少     

Field meeting in the Isle of Purbeck,September 2012, to examine the Upper Kimmeridge Clay and the Lulworth district

An account is given of a Geologists’ Association meeting in the Isle of Purbeck held on 28th–30th September 2012 and the stratigraphy and structures of the rocks examined during the weekend are described. Uppermost Jurassic Stage nomenclature and recent changes to stratigraphical nomenclature in the uppermost part of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation are discussed and the conclusion reached that the long-established divisions (Members) of this Formation are both readily recognisable and have nomenclatorial priority. The recent change to the position of Pallasioides-Rotunda zonal boundary ignores the ammonite fauna and is inappropriate. For the Lulworth district the stratigraphy of the uppermost Jurassic (Portlandian) through Lower and Upper Cretaceous formations are described and their associated structures discussed. The coastal evolution of the Lulworth coast is briefly discussed.     

Risk, rescue and emergency services: The changing spatialities of Mountain Rescue Teams in England and Wales

This paper considers the role of the emergency services in society and, in particular, their role in controlling, mitigating and resolving risk. Using a network approach, Mountain Rescue Teams are studied in order to examine how people, agencies, animals, technology and knowledge are deployed to resolve emergencies. The paper traces the changing nature of risk in rural places and the impact of state regulation on the deployment, spatialities and practices of the emergency services. In doing so, it argues that greater attention should be paid to the emergency services by geographers.     

渤海湾西侧泥质海岸带全新世岸线的变化与海洋的影响(英文)

以渤海湾泥质海岸带为例,从形态和地层证据2个方面总结了全新世岸线变化与海洋作用对该地区海岸带发育的影响。中全新世以来千年级别的岸线变迁至少以6次停顿(形成贝壳堤和泥质岭地)和岸进的交替为特征。过去130年间10年级别的岸线变化分为4个阶段,显示了"小冰期"结束后随气温上升而发生的岸线自然蚀退是如何逐渐被人类活动(特别是2000年以来的围海造陆)所取代的。全新世海相沉积中发现的9个峰值期和晚全新世的7次风暴驱动事件,表明了研究区泥质海岸带增强的海洋影响。这些结果提供了一条经由地质背景认识现代泥质海岸带过程的途径。     

The palaeoenvironment associated with a partial Iguanodon skeleton from the Upper Weald Clay (Barremian, Early Cretaceous) at Smokejacks Brickworks (Ockley, Surrey, UK), based on palynomorphs and ostracods

In 2001 a partial skeleton of an Iguanodon was discovered in the Upper Weald Clay (Barremian, Early Cretaceous) at Smokejacks Brickworks near Ockley, Surrey, UK. When the dinosaur was excavated, a detailed stratigraphic section was logged and 25 samples taken for palynological and micropalaeontological (ostracod and megaspore) analysis, including a detailed sample set of the dinosaur bed itself. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the palynoflora revealed rich and well-preserved non-marine assemblages of pollen and spores, including early angiosperms, and freshwater green algae. Four types of angiosperm pollen are described and assigned to the genus Retimonocolpites Pierce, 1961, but left in open nomenclature. Some marine elements such as dinoflagellate cysts are identified as the result of reworking of Middle and Upper Jurassic sediments. The pollen/spore assemblages depict a vegetational change from principally gymnosperm-dominated assemblages at the base to principally pteridophyte-dominated assemblages at the top of the section. The dinosaur bed shows a pteridophyte-dominated assemblage, with a significantly high amount of the freshwater green alga Scenedesmus novilunaris He Cheng-quan et al., 1992. Samples close to the dinosaur bed yielded the first useful ostracod finds from Smokejacks Brickworks: well-preserved assemblages containing Cypridea clavata (Anderson, 1939), Damonella cf. pygmaea (Anderson, 1941), Stenestroemia cf. cressida Anderson, 1971 and Stenestroemia sp. A, and fragments and damaged valves of a thin-shelled ostracod, possibly belonging to Mantelliana Anderson, 1966. Those identified as Cypridea clavata show a wide range of morphological variety and in opposition to Anderson's (1967, 1985) taxonomic scheme, which would assign them to up to five different taxa, they are considered to be intraspecific variants of a single species. The possibilities and limitations of age determination of the Wealden sediments using palynomorphs and ostracods are discussed; distinct forms of early angiosperm pollen, together with the ostracod fauna, are consistent with an early Barremian age. Pollen and spores are discussed in terms of their parent plants and the reconstruction of vegetation and palaeoclimate. Palynology and ostracods give evidence for temporary freshwater conditions at the time when the Iguanodon died and the carcase was buried.