Primary and diagenetic isotopic signals in fossils and hemipelagic carbonates: the Lower Jurassic of northern Spain

Stable isotope and trace element analyses of 230 Jurassic (Pliensbachian–Toarcian) samples from northern Spain have been performed to test the use of geochemical variations in fossils (belemnites and brachiopods) and whole‐rock hemipelagic carbonates as palaeoceanographic indicators. Although the succession analysed (Reinosa area, westernmost Basque–Cantabrian Basin) has been subject to severe thermal alteration during burial diagenesis, the samples appear to be well preserved. The degree of diagenetic alteration of the samples has been assessed through the application of integrated petrographic, chemical and cathodoluminescence analyses. It is demonstrated that brachiopods and whole‐rock carbonates, although widely used for palaeoceanic studies, do not retain their primary marine geochemical composition after burial diagenesis. In contrast, there is strong evidence that belemnite rostra preserve original isotopic values despite pervasive diagenesis of the host rock. Well‐preserved belemnite shells (non‐luminescent to slightly luminescent) typically show stable isotope values of +4·3‰ to –0·7‰δ¹³C, +0·7‰ to –3·2‰δ¹⁸O, and trace element contents of <32 μg g^–1 Mn, <250 μg g^–1 Fe, >950 μg g^–1 Sr and Sr/Mn ratios >80. This study suggests that the degree to which diagenesis has affected the preservation of an original isotopic composition may differ for different low‐Mg calcite fossil shells and hemipelagic bulk carbonates, behaviour that should be considered when marine isotopic signatures from other ancient carbonate rocks are investigated. Multiple non‐luminescent contemporaneous belemnite samples passed the petrographic and geochemical tests to be considered as palaeoceanic recorders, yet their δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values exhibited moderate scatter. Such variability is likely to be related to the palaeoecological behaviour of belemnites and/or high‐frequency secular variations in sea‐water chemistry superimposed on the long‐term isotopic trend. A pronounced positive carbon‐isotope excursion (up to +4·3‰) is documented in the early Toarcian serpentinus biozone, which correlates with the Toarcian δ¹³C maximum reported in other European and Tethyan regions.     

The geodynamic evolution of the Internal Zone of the Betic Cordilleras (south-east Spain): a model based on structural analysis and geothermobarometry

ABSTRACT The Internal Zone of the Betic Cordilleras consists of several superimposed major thrust sheets with different P-T-t evolutions. On the basis of an integrated field, microscopic and laboratory study, the tectono-metamorphic history of the Mulhacen Complex and Almanzora Unit has been reconstructed in detail. The Mulhacen Complex has been affected by at least five phases of penetrative deformation, which have been labelled D_x-1, D_x, D_x+1, D_x+2 and D_x+3. D_x-1, and D_x are related to continent-continent collision, which is indicated by high pressure-low temperature (HP/LT) and subsequent intermediate P/T metamorphic conditions. D_x+1 is related to crustal thinning and heterogeneous extension. During this event the Almanzora Unit was juxtaposed against the Mulhacen Complex. This phase was succeeded by the establishment of low pressure-high temperature (LP/HT) conditions and at least two phases of folding and overthrusting. The Almanzora Unit shows a comparable tectono-metamorphic evolution post D_x+1. However, the P/T conditions prior to D_x+1 indicate a higher crustal position with respect to the Mulhacen Complex during the collisional event.     

Quantitative sediment source ascription using magnetic measurements in a reservoir-catchment system near Nijar,S.E. Spain

The magnetic properties of sediments from a dried-out reservoir and its inflowing streams were measured to provide a basis for sediment source determination. Quantitative estimates of source component proportions in the reservoir sediments were made using linear programming procedures. The study confirms that this type of research must be based on a detailed knowledge of the relationship between magnetic properties and particle size in both the sediments and the potential sources. In the case of the site studied, the Isabel II reservoir, near Nijar, S.E. Spain, the sediments generated by contemporary surface processes within the reservoir catchment fail to reflect fully the 19th century material largely responsible for the rapid infill of the reservoir. An additional source type, namely unweathered schist-derived material not represented in the fine sediments sampled within channels upstream from the reservoir, has to be included in the model before calculations of source component contributions can be made. It is inferred that one or more high magnitude, low frequency event outside the amplitude of the most recently operating processes was largely responsible for the infilling of the reservoir.     

Vinasses purification model in carbonated materials by low-cost technologies: An example in the Llanura Manchega (Spain)

This work establishes the effectiveness of the unsaturated zone as purifier of residual liquid generated by the production of alcohol, particularly when the materials comprising the zone are carbonate. It has been verified that when the effluent discharge occurs into this zone, all the parameters which indicate contamination, such as temperature, potassium, chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon, and ultraviolet index, have a significant reduction, whereas when the effluent discharges into the saturated zone, an increase in parameters indicates contamination. An effluent discharge model based on low-cost technologies is proposed, where the purification is performed using the autopurifier subsoil power (Unsaturated zone).     

Structure of Haida Eddies and Their Transport of Nutrient from Coastal Margins into the NE Pacific Ocean

Anticyclonic mesoscale eddies form near shore each winter in the Gulf of Alaska. One site near the Queen Charlotte Islands is shown to produce eddies that transport from 3000 to 6000 km³ of coastal water up to 1000 km westward. Eddies carry shelf nutrients either into the high nutrient, low chlorophyll waters of the NE Pacific, or in a more southerly direction into seasonally nitrate depleted waters. A large eddy sampled in summer 1998 was found to have elevated particulate levels on its perimeter. Nitrate supplied to the euphotic zone by this eddy during its natal summer is estimated to be three times greater than the usual seasonal nutrient transport in the Gulf of Alaska. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A coastal reservoir of terrestrial resources for neanderthal populations in north‐eastern Iberia: palaeoenvironmental data inferred from the small‐vertebrate assemblage of Cova del Gegant,Sitges, Barcelona

Coastal areas as reservoirs of resources for hominid groups have been widely studied in recent years. These areas combine marine with terrestrial and wetland resources and would have been optimum sites for hominids, including Neanderthals. This is the case with the Cova del Gegant, a cave that today opens directly onto the Mediterranean Sea and is located in the north‐eastern Iberian Peninsula. The geomorphological evolution of the Massis del Garraf has provided evidence that during the late Pleistocene there was a littoral platform between 8 and 13 km wide in front of the Cova del Gegant. Within this framework, the data derived from analysis of the small vertebrates and large mammals recovered from Cova del Gegant, including taxa currently absent from the Massis del Garraf, suggest that the landscape surrounding the cave provided a richer terrestrial ecosystem for Neanderthals than is available in this zone today. Analysis of the small‐vertebrate association from the cave reveals that the landscape surrounding the cave was dominated by woodland‐edge and open environments and that the climate was Mediterranean. The results have been compared with the only Iberian site with similar characteristics to the Cova del Gegant, Gorham's cave (southern Iberia, Gibraltar), revealing differences and similarities in the landscape and climate on the basis of the small‐mammal assemblages as well as the differences in the accessibility to terrestrial mammalian resources for the Neanderthal groups. The landscape and the climate were reasonably similar at the two sites, but the differences in the accessibility of resources for the Neanderthals are directly related to the location of the sites and the coastal position. Whereas the Cova del Gegant was on a route of mammal migration (between the Ebro Valley and France) suited for securing terrestrial resources, Gorham's cave is located on a small peninsula with a lower abundance of terrestrial mammal resources. This is probably why the Neanderthal groups at Gorham's cave exploited marine resources, whereas there is no evidence of marine resources having been exploited at Cova del Gegant, even though the seashore was nearby. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of wildfires on surface water repellency in soils of northwest Spain

Soil water repellency (hydrophobicity) is a naturally occurring phenomenon that can be intensified by soil heating during fires. Fire‐induced water repellency, together with the loss of plant cover, is reportedly the principal source of increased surface runoff and accelerated erosion in burned soils. In this study, the surface water repellency of several soils affected by summer forest fires in northwest Spain was studied and compared with that of adjacent unburned soils. Soil water repellency was determined using the ethanol percentage test (MED). Most of the unburned soil samples exhibited water repellency that ranged from strong to very strong; only four of the unburned soil samples were non‐repellent. Water repellency in the unburned soils was significantly correlated with the organic carbon content (r = 0·64, p < 0·05). Overall, fires increased the surface water repellency in soils with previously low degrees of water repellency and caused little change in that of originally strongly hydrophobic soils. In order to examine in detail the changes in water repellency with temperature, three unburned soil samples were subjected to a controlled heating program. Water repellency increased between 25 and 220 °C, water repellency peaked between 220 and 240 °C and disappeared above 260–280 °C. Extrapolation of the results of the heating tests to field conditions suggested that the intensity of fire (temperature and time of residence) reached by most soils during fires is not too high. Based on the results, the determination of water repellency could be used as a simple test for the indirect estimation of the intensity levels reached on the soil surface during a fire. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interaction between sedimentary processes,historical pollution and microfauna in the Tinto Estuary (SW Spain)

The analysis of a short core collected in the Tinto Estuary (SW Spain) permits to delimitate the influence of historical mining activities on sediments and microfauna (Foraminifera and Ostracoda). In very shallow palaeochannels of the middle estuary, a first mining period (~3,600 cal years BP) caused high sediment pollution by Cu, with a significant diminution of the palaeontological record due to continuous acid mining drainage processes. In this core, the polluted levels derived from both Roman extractions (2,000–1,900 years BP) and the extensive mining activities between 1870 and 1935 have been eroded. The 1,800–200 years BP period is characterized by a limited mining activity and an important improvement of this ecosystem. In addition, the effects of recent industrial wastes have been limited in this area.     

Early Serpukhovian (late Mississippian) microflora from the Guadiato Area (southwestern Spain)

Calcareous microflora occur commonly in the early Serpukhovian (late Mississippian) rocks from the Guadiato Area (southwestern Spain) despite the fact that this area contains mostly siliciclastic sediments. The microflora recorded in the carbonate beds is regarded as representative of both relatively deep‐water and shallow‐water facies and can be compared with the slope and shelf facies environments distinguished in the Guadiato Area. Up to 45 algal taxa have been identified in the carbonate beds, of which 26 taxa occur in the relatively deep‐water assemblages, whereas the shallow‐water assemblages are composed of up to 43 taxa. The entire algal assemblage is dominated by calcifoliids, common cyanobacteria and incertae sedis, but the shallow‐water assemblages contain more commonly dasyclads, red algae and aoujgaliids. Most of these taxa are present, but poorly known, in other Serpukhovian carbonate platforms in the western Palaeotethys. Some algae (Hortonella uttingii, Kamaenella tenuis and Koninckopora inflata), usually regarded as being restricted to the Viséan, have been found in Serpukhovian rocks in the Guadiato Area, and also in Algeria, thus their stratigraphic ranges might be extended up to the Serpukhovian. Other important taxa include: Archaeolithophyllum, Cabrieropora, Calcifolium, Falsocalcifolium, Fourstonella, Frustulata, Kulikia, Neoprincipia and ‘Windsoporella’, which are exceptionally recorded in Serpukhovian rocks, or not recorded at all, because they are typically recorded in the Pennsylvanian (cf. Clavaporella), although some of them show earlier occurrences in Viséan rocks (Claracrusta, Paraepimastopora and Sparaphralysia). Some of the algal taxa can be considered as potential regional markers for the Serpukhovian, such as Archaeolithophyllum, cf. Clavaporella, Frustulata and Girvanella (?) sp. The algal assemblages found in the Guadiato Area show the greatest similarities with those in the Béchar‐Mézarif (Algeria), Pyrenees and Montagne Noire (southern France). Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Potential Hazards of Eruptions around the Tianchi Caldera Lake, China

Since the eruption of the Tianchi volcano about 1000 years ago, there have been at least 3 to 5 eruptions of small to moderate size. In addition, hazardous avalanches, rock falls and debris flows have occurred during periods between eruptions. A future eruption of the Tianchi volcano is likely to involve explosive interaction between magma and the caldera lake. The volume of erupted magma is almost in a range of 0.1-0.5 km3. Tephra fallout may damage agriculture in a large area near the volcano. If only 1% of the lake water were ejected during an eruption and then precipitated over an area of 200 km2, the average rainfall would be 100 mm. Moreover, lahars are likely to occur as both tephra and water ejected from the caldera lake fall onto flanks of the volcano. Rocks avalanching into the caldera lake also would bring about grave hazards because seiches would be triggered and lake water with the volume equal to that of the landslide would spill out of the existing breach in the caldera and cause flooding