Multiple calcrete profiles in the Tabernas Basin,southeast Spain: their origins and geomorphic implications

The paper describes a sequence of Pliocene(? ) to Quaternary age calcretes developed within alluvial fan and fluvial gravels in the Tabernas Basin, Almería Province, southeast Spain. Calcrete profiles are described from sites adjacent to major tributaries of the Rambla de Tabernas. Six distinct calcrete units are identified within the basin. These have variable distributions but have developed in an identifiable evolutionary sequence. Two pairs of calcrete units are widely present across the basin preserving two former land surfaces. Each of the former land surfaces has been planated and subsequently buried by alluvial fan or fluvial gravels. A massive calcrete unit is present at the base of each gravel sequence, immediately in contact with the underlying bedrock, with a less well developed calcrete unit situated at the top of the gravel sequence. The lowest two calcrete units within the basin are more spatially restricted and are confined to the floors and flanks of incised drainage lines. The geochemistry, macro- and micromorphological properties and geomorphological positions of the calcrete units are outlined and, on the basis of this information, their mode of origin identified. Two main modes of calcrete genesis appear to be present: massive calcretes situated in direct contact with bedrock are suggested to have formed by groundwater processes, whilst calcretes situated at the top of gravel sequences are likely to have developed by pedogenic processes. Calcrete genesis is subsequently considered in the context of the reconstruction of the early phases of landscape development, and is suggested to have been controlled by phases of uplift and stability within the Tabernas Basin. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early Paleozoic geodynamic evolution of the Eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Insights from granitoids in the Xing’an and Songnen blocks

The early Paleozoic tectonic framework and evolutionary history of the eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) is poorly understood. Here we present zircon U–Pb geochronology, whole rock geochemistry, and Sr-Nd-Hf isotope data of the early Paleozoic granitoids in eastern CAOB to investigate the petrogenesis and geodynamic implications.The early Paleozoic granitoids from the Songnen Block yield zircon U–Pb ages of 523–490 ​Ma, negative ε_Nd(t) values of –6.7 to –0.8, and ε_Hf(t) values of –8.6 to 7.1, indicating they were generated by partial melting of ancient crustal materials with various degrees of mantle contribution. They generally show affinities to A-type granites, implying their generation from an extensional environment after the collision between the Songnen and Jiamusi blocks. In comparison, the early Paleozoic granitoids from the Xing’an Block have zircon U–Pb ages of 480–465 ​Ma, ε_Nd(t) values of –5.4 to 5.4, and ε_Hf(t) values of –2.2 to 12.9, indicating a dominated juvenile crustal source with some input of ancient crustal components. They belong to I-type granites and were likely related to subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. The statistics of T_DM2 Hf model ages of the granitoids indicate that the Erguna and Jiamusi blocks contain a significant proportion of Mesoproterozoic crystalline basement, while the Xing’an Block is dominated by a Neoproterozoic basement.Based on these observations, the early Paleozoic evolutionary history of eastern CAOB can be divided into four stages: (1) before 540 ​Ma, the Erguna, Xing’an, Songnen, and Jiamusi blocks were discrete microcontinents separated by different branches of the Paleo-Asian Ocean; (2) 540–523 ​Ma, the Jiamusi Block collided with the Songnen Block along the Mudanjiang suture; (3) ca. 500 Ma, the Erguna Block accreted onto the Xing’an Block along the Xinlin–Xiguitu suture; (4) ca. 480 Ma, the Paleo-Asian Ocean started a double-side subduction beneath the united Erguna–Xing’an and Songnen–Jiamusi blocks.     

Cryogenic wedges on the NE Qinghai-Tibet and Ordos Plateaus: Their characteristics,origin and OSL dating

Cryogenic wedges developed due to very cold, rather arid conditions during the maximum of the last cold event when the drying up of the neighboring China Sea resulted in the failure of the East Asian Monsoon. As the climate ameliorated and the Monsoon rains reappeared, ice-wedges developed. Further warming permitted thawing of the ice infillings accompanied by replacement of the ice by sediments partly from the host ground as well as from the surface by wind or sheet wash. In cases of extreme surface water flow on slopes after 10 ka B.P., small baydjarakhs typically c. 50 cm high developed, only to have the resulting hollows infilled by sediments carried by wind and/or sheet wash. These shallow structures form a network on top of many of the cryogenic wedges. This complex history makes dating the ages of the wedges difficult using OSL methodology. Unfortunately, past field work ignored the problem of the angle of the cut face to the direction of the wedge infilling when sampling the contents of the narrow wedges, resulting in potential contamination of the samples with the host sediment. Sampling of the larger deposits should be alright, but the likelihood of contamination makes the interpretation of the resulting OSL dates from the narrow wedges questionable. Primary wedges consisting of primary mineral infillings should still have similar OSL dates with depth for a given wedge, but the distinction between ice-wedge infillings and soil wedges is difficult since both can exhibit older dates of the infillings with depth. The available data suggests that ice-wedges were significantly more common than sediment-filled primary wedges. A protocol to avoid having to obtain large numbers of OSL dates by more careful field sampling and the use of grain size determinations is provided in the Appendix.     

Analysis of occurrence patterns and biological factors of cetaceans based on long‐term and fine‐scale data from platforms of opportunity: Madeira Island as a case study

Management and conservation issues are addressed through the identification of areas of particular importance, which requires the acquisition of baseline information on species distribution and dynamics. These types of data are particularly difficult to obtain at high resolution for large marine vertebrates like cetaceans, given that dedicated surveys are complex and logistically expensive. This study uses daily presence–absence sighting data of cetaceans collected year‐round from whale‐watching boats to support the theory that fine‐scale data obtained from platforms of opportunity can provide valuable information on species occurrence and group dynamics. Data from 7,551 (daily) sightings comprising 22 species were collected from 3,527 surveyed days over 11 years (mean of 321 days per year, SD = 17) in the pelagic environment of Madeira Island. Cetaceans were observed on 92% of the surveyed days, and a mean of 15.4 (SD = 1.5), 8.2 (SD = 2.0) and 2.1 (SD = 1.2) species were recorded per year, month, and day, respectively. There were significant differences in the number of species per month (p < .001), with the highest diversity recorded in June. At least nine species, comprising 96% of all sightings, were found to use the Madeiran waters on a regular basis, such as the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis), the short‐beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and others featured in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature as Endangered, Vulnerable, and Data Deficient. In addition, 10 species were found to use the Madeiran waters for travelling, feeding, resting, socializing and calving, which suggests that the southern and southeastern waters of Madeira Island constitute an area of interest for cetaceans. This study characterizes the cetaceans’ community structure (occurrence, aggregation sizes, behaviours, proportion of calves, and inter‐specific relationships) of a poorly studied region, providing important information for managers. Finally, the advantages and limitations of using fine‐scale data from a type of platform of opportunity that is increasing along coastlines globally are discussed.     

Artisanal fishing in Andalusia (II): Safety and working conditions policy

In an earlier paper, we presented a statistical study dealing comprehensively with the so-called “artisanal fleet”, with data on the typology of vessels and on the extractive effort. In this paper, we focus our research on safety and working conditions.Although numerous factors are known that can directly influence the health of the sailor or fisherman, and that are present one way or another in both the fishing and merchant fleets, it is necessary to address in particular the problem of coastal fishermens’ health in order to identify areas of health and safety that need to be improved. The results of this analysis, among other aspects, identify the injuries associated with machinery, tools, nets and protection devices, the health status, the life styles and the working conditions.     

Devonian graptolites from southwestern Europe: a review with new data

Lower Devonian graptolite faunas have been recognized in the Normandy and southeastern regions of the Armorican Massif, France; the Pyrenees and Catalonian Coastal Ranges regions and northern Minorca, Balearic Islands, Spain; the southern Hesperian Massif (Ossa Morena Zone) of the Iberian Peninsula; and from southeastern Sardinia, Italy. All but one the of the graptolite faunas collected throughout this large region are from Lochkovian age strata, representing the Monograptus uniformis, Monograptus praehercynicus, and Monograptus hercynicus biozones corresponding to the lower, middle and upper Lochkovian, respectively, and mostly represented by monospecific or low diversity assemblages. Although many individual sections contain representatives of two of the biozones, relatively few reveal all three. A single, poorly preserved faunule, collected in the Ossa Morena region of Spain from strata dated by brachiopods as Pragian–early Emsian may represent the only known graptoloid fauna of post-Lochkovian age. Almost all graptolites have been recovered from condensed successions of black shales and limestone nodules, similar to those of other proto-Tethyan (i.e. outer shelf, with dominantly pelagic faunas) regions such as Thuringia, Bohemia, the Carnic Alps and northwestern Africa. The two exceptions are an occurrence in a shallow-water, coarser clastic sequences at the Carteret locality in Normandy and in deep water turbidites on the island of Minorca. Graptolites are not known from any other thick, shallow water clastic sequences, although whether this is because of paleo environmental exclusion or simply lack of recovery to date is unknown. Other fossil evidence (e.g. chitinozoans), however, indicates continuous marine sedimentation from the Silurian to Devonian. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deep-water macrofaunal diversity in the Faroe-Shetland region (NE Atlantic): a margin subject to an unusual thermal regime

The Faroe-Shetland Channel, situated in the NE Atlantic, encompasses a number of different sediment types (habitats) as well as being subject to an unusual thermal regime. Our main objective was to assess variations in macrofaunal generic diversity and composition along two transects to gauge the relative influence of regional hydrography and local habitat heterogeneity. We found that generic richness and diversity on a West of Shetland (WoS) transect correlated most strongly with temperature range, whilst along a North of Shetland (NoS) transect, richness and diversity correlated negatively with sedimentary variables, notably total organic carbon. Macrofaunal composition at WoS is also strongly influenced by water temperature with specific genera ( e.g. Galathowenia positively associated with the temperature eigenvectors), whereas at NoS it is a combination of temperature, silt + clay fraction and total organic carbon that has an impact on composition ( e.g. Proclea and Pseudosphyrapus , showing a negative relationship with the temperature eigenvectors). Although the temperature regime exerts a strong control on regional ecology, local habitat heterogeneity remains a significant factor.     

中国东北地区SKS分裂的上地幔各向异性结构与动力学

本研究收集了中国东北地区2008—2016年九年时间内207个固定地震台站和127个NECESSArray流动地震台站的波形资料,利用SKS波分裂的最小切向能量网格搜索方法获得了243个台站的有效分裂结果.研究结果显示,尽管研究区各向异性快波方向基本以NW-SE向为主,但无论是在快波方向上还是快慢波时间延迟上不同构造单元内部与不同构造单元之间均存在着较大差别.大兴安岭造山带北部的各向异性快波方向自北向南由NNE-SSW向转变为NNW-SSE向,在中部以NW-SE向为主,而南部自北而南由NE-SW向逐渐转变为近E-W向;松辽盆地的各向异性快波方向在北部自西向东主要表现为由NNW-SSE向逐渐转变为NW-SE向,在中部自西向东由NE-SW向转变为近E-W向,而在南部既有NE-SW向又有NW-SE向;佳木斯地块各向异性方向由西部的NW-SE转变为东部的NNW-SSE,同时快慢波时间延迟逐渐变大;长白山造山带北部自北向南由NW-SE向逐渐转变为近E-W向,中部各向异性快波方向为NNW-SSE向,且快慢波时间延迟较大,而南部以NW-SE向为主;燕山造山带的各向异性快波方向主要沿E-W向分布,基本平行于燕山造山带的走向.这些结果说明,尽管复杂的各向异性快波方向与局部岩石圈拆沉和热物质上涌有关,但更重要是与"大地幔楔"中物质水平流等动力过程密切相关,也有待将来结合更多地震资料如面波不同深度的特征各向异性进行分析.在阿巴嘎火山群、哈拉哈火山群、长白山火山、龙岗火山和镜泊湖火山区及五大连池火山区等特殊构造区的周边地区,各向异性快波方向围绕这些构造区随方位均发生明显变化,暗示了火山区下方热物质上涌可能影响了"大地幔楔"中的软流圈物质水平流方向.     

An experimental approach to the palynology of cave deposits

Surface sediment, speleothems, and bat guano from two adjacent, topographically different cave sites in eastern Spain have been studied palynologically to elucidate the potential of cave sediments for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. A cave opening with a large entrance and constant width presented far fewer problems of alteration in the pollen assemblages than a sac‐like cave opening with a constricted entrance. Pollen concentration is linked primarily to the amount of pollen input rather than to the result of post‐depositional alteration. Sampling should be undertaken away from parietal and rear areas and avoiding moisture zones. Lateral differences in the pollen spectra indicate that sampling should be on the basis of a multiple‐profile approach and selection of dry rather than wet sediments. If these procedures are followed, within‐cave sediments can realistically reflect not only local but also regional vegetation of the site. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparative predictive analysis of weighted overlay,weighted sum and fuzzy logic for mineral prospectivity mapping of precious and base metal mineralizations at north-east of Gümüşhane city,NE Turkey

The study area located south of the Eastern Pontide metallogenic belt (NE Turkey) has an important potential for valuable and base metallic minerals. Geological, tectonic, geochemical, hydrothermal alteration, mineralogical and fluid inclusion characteristics of ore formations in the region have been studied in detail. The purpose of this study is to combine and analyse the acquired spatial data layers in a geographic information system (GIS) environment using knowledge-driven approaches and to identify prospective areas in terms of mineralization. Moreover, evaluating the performance of different knowledge-driven mineral probability modelling results comparatively and quantitatively constitutes the other goal of the study. As a result, in addition to the known mineralization locations, a number of new prospective and favourable areas have been identified for future detailed studies. In addition, it has been found that the mineral predictive map generated using fuzzy logic-OR method produces the best and successful results compared to others.