Le Bassin Cambrien de Tisrouima (Haut-Atlas Occidental,Maroc)

Résumé Dans le Haut-Atlas marocain, entre l'oued Sous au Sud, Asif AÏt Moussa à l'Ouest, le bled Seksaoua au Nord et Tizi n'Test à l'Est, plus exactement dans la partie sud-ouest du Massif du Tichka et au Nord-Ouest de ce massif affleurent en de nombreux endroits des roches charbonneuses: grès, arkoses, pélites, schistes, cipolins et coméennes dont la principale est la tisrouimite (7). Cette dernière s'est déposée un peu avant les calcaires àArchaeocyatha du Cambrien inférieur, puis en mÊme temps que leurs couches de base. Les autres roches charbonneuses sont sensiblement contemporaines de la tisrouimite. On peut en conclure qu'il a existé un bassin sédimentaire riche en matière organique à une époque correspondant, en première approximation, a l'Assadasien.

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The area of study in the moroccan High-Atlas area is included between wady Sous to the South, Asif AÏt Moussa to the West, bled Seksaoua to the North and Tizi n'Test to the East; more exactly it is located in the south-western and nordwestern Tichka. In this area we have noticed numerous outcrops of carbonaceous rocks, such as sandstones, arkoses, mudstones, shales, cipolins and hornfels, the principal variety of which is tisrouimite (7). Tisroumite first was deposited shortly before the Lower Cambrian Archaeocyathid limestones, and again later contemporaneously with the basal layers of these limestones. The other carbonaceous rocks are more or less contemporaneous with the tisrouimite. Therefore we conclude approximately at the time of the Assedasian (early Cambrian II) a sedimentary basin existed the sediments of which were rich in organic matter

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Zusammenfassung Im marokkanischen Hoch-Atlas, zwischen Wadi Sous im Süden, Asif AÏt Moussa im Westen, der Gegend um Seksoua im Norden und Tizi n'Test im Osten, sind im SW-Teil und NE-Teil des Tichka-Gebirgsstockes dunkle, kohlenstoffreiche Gesteine aufgeschlossen: Sandstein, Arkose, Pelit, Schiefer, grüner Marmor und Homfels, dessen Hauptvariante tisrouimite genannt wird. Die Hornfelse sind etwas älter als die Archaeocyathiden-Kalke des Unterkambriums und bilden ihre Basis Die übrigen Gesteine sind etwa gleich alt wie die Hornfelse. Wir schließen daraus, daß hier zur Zeit des Assadassien (tieferes Kambrium II) ein Sedimentationsbecken lag, dessen Sedimente reich an organischen Substanzen waren.

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La Notion de Migration en Paléontologie

Zusammenfassung Gemessen mit dem Maßstab der geologischen Zeiten, dauern die Wanderungen, wie sie die Biologen studieren, nur fast einen Augenblick; demgegenüber aber erstrecken sich die Verschiebungen der Fauna und Flora, wie sie die geologischen Studien festlegen, über Millionen von Jahren. Diese Verschiebungen sind statistische Erscheinungen aus dem Gebiet der Biogeographie und stellen das Ergebnis von zahlreichen biologischen Bewegungen dar. Die Verfasser untersuchen die Wanderungen der Säugetiere (stete Entwicklung durch erwachsene Typen), die Wanderungen der Pflanzen (unstete Entwicklung durch Keime), die Wanderungen der wirbellosen Seetiere, die man in die eine oder in die andere der vorhergehenden Abteilungen einreihen kann. Einige neue Ausdrücke werden vorgeschlagen.     

Indigenous Land Management in Peri-Urban Landscapes: An Australian Example

This article examines roles, opportunities, and challenges for Indigenous land management in rapidly developing landscapes through a case study of Bunya Bunya Country Aboriginal Corporation, a not-for-profit organization on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. An analysis of data collected through semistructured interviews, participant observation, and analysis of secondary sources reveals that Aboriginal land managers work in a variety of roles to manage issues affecting the local environment and cultural heritage sites. These efforts are challenged by the absence of Native Title and colonial land management policies, which restrict Aboriginal involvement in land management. We conclude that there is a need for alternative pathways to engage with Aboriginal land managers who cannot, or choose not to, proceed with Native Title. Decolonized decision-making tools and sustainable enterprises are viable opportunities that partially address these challenges and could deliver tangible socio-economic and cultural benefits to local Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.     

The use of proxy chemical records in Coral skeletons to ascertain past environmental conditions in Florida Bay

This paper will discuss the use of chemical proxies in coral skeletons to reconstruct the history of salinity (from the δ¹⁸O of the skeleton) and nutrients in the water (from the δ¹³C) in Florida Bay between 1824 and 1994. Monthly salinity and water temperature data collected since 1989 were used to establish a correlation between salinity, temperature, and the δ¹⁸O of the skeleton of the coralSolenastrea bournoni from Lignumvitae Basin in Florida Bay. This relationship explains over 50% of the variance in the δ¹⁸O of the skeleton. Assuming that interannual variations in the temperature of the water are small, we have applied this relationship to the δ¹⁸O measured in the coral skeleton collected from Lignumvitae Basin which has a record between 1824 and 1993. These data provide a revised estimate of salinity variation in Lignumvitae Basin for the period when historical records for salinity were not available, and show that the highest salinity events occurred in the past 30 yr. Using the relationships between the salinity in Lignumvitate Basin and other basins, obtained using a modern dataset, we are able to estimate ranges in salinity for other portions of Florida Bay. Skeletons of specimens of the coral speciesSiderastrea radians collected from other areas of Florida Bay show similar patterns in the δ¹⁸O over the past 10 yr, indicating that corals in most portions of Florida Bay are recording salinity variations in their skeletons and therefore support the idea that salinity variations in different portions of Florida Bay can be related. Fluorescence analysis of the coral from Lignumvitae Basin shows a large change in the magnitude of the 10-yr signal coincident with the construction of the railway, confirming that this event had a significant impact upon Florida Bay. The δ¹³C of the coral skeletons reveals a long-term history of the oxidation of organic material, fixation of carbon by photosynthesis (algal blooms), and the intrusion of marine water into the bay. Since the construction of the railway from Miami to Key West there has been a long-term decrease in the δ¹³C of the coral skeleton from Lignumvitae Basin, suggesting the increased oxidation of organic material in this area. This decrease in δ¹³C appears to have reached a minimum value around 1984 and has increased since this time in the western portions of Florida Bay. The increase may be related to the algal blooms prevalent in the area or alternatively could result from intrusion of more marine water. In the eastern areas, a small increase in the δ¹⁸C between 1984 and 1988 was followed by further decline suggesting more oxidation of organic material. We have also attempted to use the concentration of barium in the coral skeleton as a proxy indicator of the nutrient status in Florida Bay.     

Mitigation of lunar dust adhesion by surface modification

Dust has been recognized as one of the greatest hazards in continued lunar exploration due to its tenacious adhesion to everything with which it comes into contact. Unfortunately, there is little known about the mechanisms of adhesion on widely varying surface types: van der Waals and electrostatic forces are the dominant forces under consideration here. Surface energy, roughness, mechanical properties and electronic properties are all known to contribute to the adhesion characteristics. An optimal solution to mitigate dust adhesion would be to identify the dominant components of the adhesive force and to reduce that force by surface modification. In this study, an ion beam process was used to modify (treat) the surfaces of three dramatically different materials spanning the range of conductor (black Kapton), semiconductor (silicon), and insulator (quartz). Adhesive forces between less than JSC-1 lunar simulants and these virgin/treated surfaces were measured in vacuum using a centrifugal force detachment method. We found that JSC-1 particles adhered less to treated silicon and quartz surfaces, correlated with a reduction in van der Waals force due to a reduced surface energy. The large reduction in adhesion for treated black Kapton is mainly due to the large decrease in the electrostatic (image) force that results from reduced contact charging. Materials in space and on the lunar surface will be directly exposed to high-energy ultraviolet radiation prior to being covered by dust, so the UV irradiation effects on surface adhesion were also examined. Both virgin and treated quartz surfaces are most affected by the UV-irradiation, showing dramatically increased adhesion.