Fire Severity,Water Repellency Characteristics and Hydrogeomorphological Changes Following the Christmas 2001 Sydney Forest Fires

Soil water repellency can enhance overland flow and erosion and may be altered by fire. The Christmas 2001 bushfires near Sydney allowed investigation of the relationship between fire severity, water repellency and hydrogeomorphological changes. For two sub-catchments with differences in fire severities in Nattai National Park, south-west of Sydney, this paper considers: (1) the links between fire severity based on SPOT image analysis and ground observation of fire severity and repellency; (2) the textural and organic/minerogenic characteristics of eroded sediment; and (3) erodibility, erosion and deposition of soils in both catchments. Ground surveys show that image analysis reflects well the degree of vegetation consumption by fire, but cannot adequately predict the degree of ground litter consumption, associated soil heating and repellency effects. Fire had varying effects on repellency, leaving it unchanged, destroying it or enhancing it, depending on the soil temperature reached. The main post-fire hydrogeomorphological changes have been widespread erosion and colluvial and alluvial deposition of topsoil in foot-slope locations and river systems, but only localised redistribution of the highly erodible, repellent sandy subsurface layer. The fire did not trigger major geomorphological change in the study area, but fires probably cause important topsoil and nutrient depletion and may also affect water quality.     

HOLOCENE CARBONATE PRECIPITATES ON PRECAMBRIAN BEDROCK IN THE HIGH ARCTIC: AGE AND POTENTIAL FOR PALAEOCLIMATIC INFORMATION

ABSTRACT. Crusts of white carbonate precipitate occur commonly on the upper surfaces of glacially sculptured Precambrian granites and gneisses in east-central Ellesmere Island. Radiocarbon dating of 21 such carbonate precipitates, from elevations between 50 m and 1050 m a.s.l., has yielded only Holocene ages. Two samples from Ellesmere Island, plus one from Inglefield Land, Greenland, have calibrated ages over 5000 years, the rest are younger. The formation of these deposits, mainly calcite and characterized by unusually heavy δ¹³C ratios (+3.36 to +15.18‰), has apparently been aided in some cases by the presence of bacteria, and some crusts seem to have developed where Ca-bearing minerals are more prevalent. In the case of Bache Peninsula and Cape Herschel, where the carbonate crusts are particularly abundant, the presence of calcareous till may have played a role as well. The carbonate crusts may be related to the presence of small, thin carapace ice caps, when such features formed at lower elevations than those at which they exist today. The more extensive cover of ice and snow is postulated to have existed during the latter, cooler part of the Holocene, especially during the period from 2500 to 100 years ago, deduced as a period of low melt from ice core studies on the Agassiz Ice Cap, 200 km to the north. The existence of carapace ice caps at lower elevations also agrees with the radiocarbon evidence for outlet glacier advances during the last 2000 years on both east and west margins of the Prince of Wales Icefield. Alternatively, the white carbonate crusts may be, to a large degree, the result of weathering processes. In either case they provide minimum ages for the exposed, ice-sculptured rock surfaces on which they occur.     

Petrogenetic Evolution of a Transitional Tholeiitic--Calc-alkaline Series: Towada Volcano, Japan

Detailed petrological and geochemical data of stratigraphicallywell-defined tholeiitic and calc-alkaline rocks from Towada,Japan, are used to evaluate the system's evolution over 0•2myr. Available data suggest that Towada progressed from severalsmall independent magma chambers to one large chamber, illustratedby systematic changes in mineral composition, isotopic and traceelement ratios. This is attributed to variations in intracrustalprocesses in the shallow chambers, with the following evolutionarysequence divisible into four main units:

1. the Precaldera Stage:consisting of several basaltic to daciticlava cones, independentlyfed by tholeiitic and calc-alkalinemagma chambers. These arecharacterized by periodic replenishment,fractionation and magmamixing, with some undergoing crustalassimilation during latestages, increasing the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratioat constant SiO₂.
2. TheCaldera Stage: characterized by large volume tholeiiticandcalc-alkaline andesitic to dacitic pyroclastic eruptions,associatedwith caldera collapse. Geochemical data indicatethat this stageresulted from some of the precaldera chambersamalgamating.Magma in this enlarged chamber underwent mixing,continued fractionalcrystallization and assimilation.
3. The Ninokura Stage: characterizedby primitive tholeiitic basalticlavas and scoria deposits,which underwent fractional crystallizationplus minor crustalassimilation.
4. The Goshikiiwa Pyroclastic Deposits: consistingof evolved calc-alkaline±tholeiiticmagmas, which underwentassimilation and fractional crystallization.

KEY WORDS: AFC; calc-alkaline; Japan; magma evolution; tholeiitic     

The 26{middle dot}5 ka Oruanui Eruption, Taupo Volcano, New Zealand: Development, Characteristics and Evacuation of a Large Rhyolitic Magma Body

The caldera-forming 26·5 ka Oruanui eruption (Taupo,New Zealand) erupted 530 km³ of magma, >99% rhyolitic, <1%mafic. The rhyolite varies from 71·8 to 76·7 wt% SiO₂ and 76 to 112 ppm Rb but is dominantly 74–76 wt% SiO₂. Average rhyolite compositions at each stratigraphiclevel do not change significantly through the eruption sequence.Oxide geothermometry, phase equilibria and volatile contentsimply magma storage at 830–760°C, and 100–200MPa. Most rhyolite compositional variations are explicable by28% crystal fractionation involving the phenocryst and accessoryphases (plagioclase, orthopyroxene, hornblende, quartz, magnetite,ilmenite, apatite and zircon). However, scatter in some elementconcentrations and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, and the presence of non-equilibriumcrystal compositions imply that mixing of liquids, phenocrystsand inherited crystals was also important in assembling thecompositional spectrum of rhyolite. Mafic compositions comprisea tholeiitic group (52·3–63·3 wt % SiO₂)formed by fractionation and crustal contamination of a contaminatedtholeiitic basalt, and a calc-alkaline group (56·7–60·5wt % SiO₂) formed by mixing of a primitive olivine–plagioclasebasalt with rhyolitic and tholeiitic mafic magmas. Both maficgroups are distinct from other Taupo Volcanic Zone eruptivesof comparable SiO₂ content. Development and destruction by eruptionof the Oruanui magma body occurred within 40 kyr and Oruanuicompositions have not been replicated in vigorous younger activity.The Oruanui rhyolite did not form in a single stage of evolutionfrom a more primitive forerunner but by rapid rejuvenation ofa longer-lived polygenetic, multi-age ‘stockpile’of silicic plutonic components in the Taupo magmatic system. KEY WORDS: Taupo Volcanic Zone; Taupo volcano; Oruanui eruption; rhyolite, zoned magma chamber; juvenile mafic compositions; eruption withdrawal systematics     

Rates and Timescales of Fractional Crystallization from 238U-230Th-226Ra Disequilibria in Trachyte Lavas from Longonot Volcano, Kenya

A suite of peralkaline trachytes from Longonot volcano, Kenya,which erupted during the last 6000 years, has been analysedfor major and trace elements, Pb and Nd isotopes, and U–Th–Radisequilibria. The lavas are divided into three stratigraphicgroups of trachytes (Lt²a, Lt²b and Lt³), and hybrid lavas,designated LMx¹ and LMx², which, respectively, pre-date andpost-date the Lt² lavas. Major and trace elements are consistent,with up to 37% within-group fractional crystallization of predominantlyalkali feldspar. The parental magma for the different trachytegroups had a more mafic composition—probably hawaiitic.Nd and Pb isotopes show minimal variation, both within and betweenmagma groups, and indicate that up to 10% comendite magma fromthe neighbouring Olkaria volcanic field may have intermixedwith the Longonot magma. (²³⁰Th/²³⁸U) disequilibria indicatethat limited U/Th fractionation occurred during the past 10kyr, whereas (²²⁶Ra/²³⁰Th) disequilibria reflect the effectof alkali feldspar fractionation >8 kyr ago in the Lt²a lavas,between 3 and 7 kyr ago in the Lt²b lavas and in the past 3kyr for the Lt³ lavas. (²²⁶Ra/²³⁰Th) disequilibria in the Lt²blavas are interpreted using a model that combines the equationsof radioactive decay and in-growth with Rayleigh crystallizationto give fractionation rates of about 0·2 x 10^–4/yearfor the evolution of hawaiite to trachyte, but more rapid ratesof up to 3 x 10^–4/year for fractionation within the trachytesequence. (²²⁶Ra/²³⁰Th) from two whole-rock–alkali feldsparpairs are interpreted to show the crystals formed at 5800 yearsBP (Lt²b) and 2800 years BP (Lt³), implying that phenocrystformation continued almost up to the time of eruption. The resultsstrongly indicate that fractionated magmas can be stored forperiods on the order of 1000–2500 years prior to eruption,whereas other magmas were erupted as fractionation was proceeding. KEY WORDS: trachyte; magma chambers; u-series; Kenya     

THE AMERICAN COLLEGE TOWN*

ABSTRACT. With their unusual densities of young people, highly educated workforces, comparatively cosmopolitan populations, dominant institutions of higher education, and characteristic landscapes such as the campus, fraternity row, and college‐oriented shopping district, college towns represent a unique type of urban place. This study identifies several basic differences between college towns and other types of cities, considers why the college town is largely an American phenomenon, distinguishes among types of college towns, and examines some of the characteristics that make them distinctive.     

Magma Generation at a Large, Hyperactive Silicic Volcano (Taupo, New Zealand) Revealed by U-Th and U-Pb Systematics in Zircons

Young (<65 ka) explosive silicic volcanism at Taupo volcano,New Zealand, has involved the development and evacuation ofseveral crustal magmatic systems. Up to and including the 26·5ka 530 km³ Oruanui eruption, magmatic systems were contemporaneousbut geographically separated. Subsequently they have been separatedin time and have vented from geographically overlapping areas.Single-crystal (secondary ionization mass spectrometry) andmultiple-crystal (thermal ionization mass spectrometry) zirconmodel-age data are presented from nine representative eruptiondeposits from 45 to 3·5 ka. Zircon yields vary by threeorders of magnitude, correlating with the degrees of zirconsaturation in the magmas, and influencing the spectra of modelages. Two adjacent magma systems active up to 26·5 kashow wholly contrasting model-age spectra. The smaller systemshows a simple unimodal distribution. The larger system, usingdata from three eruptions, shows bimodal model-age spectra.An older 100 ka peak is interpreted to represent zircons (antecrysts)derived from older silicic mush or plutonic rocks, and a youngerpeak to represent zircons (phenocrysts) that grew in the magmabody immediately prior to eruption. Post-26·5 ka magmabatches show contrasting age spectra, consistent with a mixtureof antecrysts, phenocrysts and, in two examples, xenocrystsfrom Quaternary plutonic and Mesozoic–Palaeozoic metasedimentaryrocks. The model-age spectra, coupled with zircon-dissolutionmodelling, highlight contrasts between short-term silicic magmageneration at Taupo, by bulk remobilization of crystal mushand assimilation of metasediment and/or silicic plutonic basementrocks, and the longer-term processes of fractionation from crustallycontaminated mafic melts. Contrasts between adjacent or successivemagma systems are attributed to differences in positions ofthe source and root zones within contrasting domains in thequartzo-feldspathic (<15 km deep) crust below the volcano. KEY WORDS: zircon; U-series dating; rhyolite; Taupo Volcanic Zone; Taupo volcano