Surface water–groundwater interaction and chemistry in a mineral-armored hydrothermal outflow channel, Yellowstone National Park, USA

Small quantities of groundwater interact with hydrothermal surface water to drive in-stream geochemical processes in a silica-armored hot-spring outflow channel in Yellowstone National Park, USA. The objective of this study was to characterize the hydrology and geochemistry of this unique system in order to (1) learn more about the Yellowstone Plateau’s subsurface water mixing between meteoric and hydrothermal waters and (2) learn more about the chemical and physical processes that lead to accumulation of streambed cements, i.e., streambed armor. A combination of hydrological, geochemical, mineralogical, microscopic, and petrographic techniques were used to identify groundwater and surface-water exchange. Interaction could be identified in winter because of differences in surface water and groundwater composition but interaction at other times of the year cannot be ruled out. Dissolved constituents originating from groundwater (e.g., Fe(II) and Mg) were traced downstream until oxidation and/or subsequent precipitation with silica removed them, particularly where high affinity substrates like cyanobacterial surfaces were present. Because the stream lies in a relatively flat drainage basin and is fed mainly by a seasonally relatively stable hot spring, this system allowed study of the chemical processes along a stream without the obscuring effects of sedimentation.     

Paleogeography and structure of the central Mediterranean: Sicily and its offshore area

The geology of the mainland and offshore of Sicily is illustrated by a few geologic sections and seismic profiles across the late Cenozoic orogenic belt of central and western Sicily and across the Sardinia Channel and Sicily Straits. This belt is the result of several tectonic events. Deformation involved mainly the sedimentary cover of the old African continental margin characterized by a broad basinal domain, flanked along its external (southern) margin by a shallow-water carbonate platform attached to Africa in the Triassic. Compressional deformation started in the more internal basinal rock assemblages overlying a thinned crust. The most important structural characteristic of the early phase of thrusting is the duplex pile forming the bulk of the chain in Central Western Sicily. The structure consists of a basal allochthon, made up of Permian to Middle Triassic layers, an intermediate duplex wedge, composed of competent Mesozoic carbonates, and a roof complex, including Upper Mesozoic-Lower Tertiary less competent rocks. Large-scale clockwise rotation of the thrusts accompanied transpressional movements in the hinterland during the Pliocene. Right oblique reverse faults modified the previous tectonic contacts between the allochthons in the hinterland zones. Contemporaneous south-directed imbrications affected the southern external areas, progressively incorporating foreland and piggyback basins. Development of the Gela Thrust System appears to be linked to the transpressional event; its accretion is also related to contemporaneous underthrusting at deeper levels of Mesozoic carbonate substratum. The older buried thrust sheets were pushed up to the surface breaching the deformed Tertiary cover of the Gela TS. Northwards in the belt post-Messinian normal growth faults opened half graben whose sedimentary fill underwent structural inversion. Alternation of extension and compression tectonics characterizes the Sicilian continental margin in the last million years.     

Structural trends and palaeogeography of the central and western Sicily belt: new insights

The geology of the Sicilian mainland is summarized by N–S geological sections. A continuous late Cenozoic orogenic belt through central and western Sicily resulted from a complex deformative history, recorded by several tectonic events. The deformation mainly involved the sedimentary cover of the old African continental margin, formed in a large basinal area, bordered at its southern margin by a shallow-water carbonate environment attached to Gondwana. The orogenic belt involves a complex architecture of thrust systems, of different size, geometry and palaeogeographical origin. Deformation, which mainly developed in the earlier stages of thrusting in the basinal rock assemblages, mainly gave rise to a stack of three different duplex structures, respectively, composed of Palaeozoic, Mesozoic–Palaeogene and Neogene strata. Large-scale clockwise rotation of the thrusts predated transpressional movements in the hinterland during the latest Miocene to Pliocene. High- angle reverse faults, with lateral components, modified earlier tectonic contacts within the allochthons. Contemporaneous southwards- directed imbrications affected the external southern areas, progressively incorporating foreland and piggyback basirts. The stratigraphic relationships of basin-fills to the tectonic structures reveals that reactivation processes have been active during the last Plio-Pleistocene.     

Paleowind velocity and paleocurrents of pluvial Lake Manly,Death Valley,USA

Pluvial lake deposits are found throughout western North America and are frequently used to reconstruct regional paleoclimate. In Death Valley, California, USA, we apply the beach particle technique (BPT) of Adams (2003), Sedimentology, 50, 565–577 and Adams (2004), Sedimentology, 51, 671–673 to Lake Manly deposits at the Beatty Junction Bar Complex (BJBC), Desolation Canyon, and Manly Terraces and calculate paleowind velocities of 14–27 m/s. These wind velocities are within the range of present-day wind velocities recorded in the surrounding area. Sedimentary structures and clast provenance at Desolation Canyon and the Manly Terraces indicate sediment transport from north to south. Lake level, based on the elevation of constructional features, indicates that the hill west of the BJBC was an island and that the BJBC spits formed during simple lake regression. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that the present wind regime (velocity and direction) formed the pluvial Lake Manly features.     

Petrogenesis and deformation history of the lawsonite‐bearing blueschist facies metabasalts of the Diamante‐Terranova oceanic unit (southern Italy)

The Neotethyan oceanic Diamante‐Terranova unit (DIATU; southern Apennines–Calabria–Peloritani Terrane system) includes basic rocks that during the Cenozoic were subducted and metamorphosed to lawsonite‐blueschist facies conditions. Petrological and structural observations (both at the meso‐ and micro‐scale) show that lawsonite growth was continuous during three distinctive ductile deformation stages (D1–D3). These likely occurred close to the metamorphic peak, estimated at 350–390°C and 0.9–1.1 GPa, producing an equilibrium assemblage made of blue Na‐amphibole, lawsonite, chlorite and pumpellyite. Locally, pods dominated by quartz and epidote (plus chlorite, calcite and green Ca‐amphibole) developed at similar conditions (350–370°C, 0.8–0.9 GPa). Post‐peak evolution during the final exhumation of the DIATU along the subduction channel, also consisted of three deformation stages, defined by folding (D4) and normal faulting (D5) and finally by strike‐slip faulting (D6), affecting both the blueschist unit and the unconformably overlying Tortonian conglomerates. Vorticity analysis on syn‐tectonic lawsonite crystals indicates that severe flattening occurred during the D2 stage, with a significant secondary non‐coaxial strain component along the W–E plane. This is associated with an eastward tectonic vergence, consistent with the subsequent D3 and D4 folding stages characterized by a dominant ENE tectonic transport. It is suggested that exhumation started from the D2 stage and continued during D3 at similar HP/LT metamorphic conditions. The widespread occurrence of unreacted lawsonite crystals suggests that exhumation was very fast and supports the idea that concurrent ductile deformation might play a role in its preservation.     

Regional aerosol optical depth characteristics from satellite observations: ACE‐1, TARFOX and ACE‐2 results

Analysis of the aerosol properties during 3 recent international field campaigns (ACE‐1, TARFOX and ACE‐2) are described using satellite retrievals from NOAA AVHRR data. Validation of the satellite retrieval procedure is performed with airborne, shipboard, and land‐based sunphotometry during ACE‐2. The intercomparison between satellite and surface optical depths has a correlation coefficient of 0.93 for 630 nm wavelength and 0.92 for 860 nm wavelength. The standard error of estimate is 0.025 for 630 nm wavelength and 0.023 for 860 nm wavelength. Regional aerosol properties are examined in composite analysis of aerosol optical properties from the ACE‐1, TARFOX and ACE‐2 regions. ACE‐1 and ACE‐2 regions have strong modes in the distribution of optical depth around 0.1, but the ACE‐2 tails toward higher values yielding an average of 0.16 consistent with pollution and dust aerosol intrusions. The TARFOX region has a noticeable mode of 0.2, but has significant spread of aerosol optical depth values consistent with the varied continental aerosol constituents off the eastern North American Coast.     

GAUGE: the GrAnd Unification and Gravity Explorer

The GAUGE (GrAnd Unification and Gravity Explorer) mission proposes to use a drag-free spacecraft platform onto which a number of experiments are attached. They are designed to address a number of key issues at the interface between gravity and unification with the other forces of nature. The equivalence principle is to be probed with both a high-precision test using classical macroscopic test bodies, and, to lower precision, using microscopic test bodies via cold-atom interferometry. These two equivalence principle tests will explore string-dilaton theories and the effect of space–time fluctuations respectively. The macroscopic test bodies will also be used for intermediate-range inverse-square law and an axion-like spin-coupling search. The microscopic test bodies offer the prospect of extending the range of tests to also include short-range inverse-square law and spin-coupling measurements as well as looking for evidence of quantum decoherence due to space–time fluctuations at the Planck scale.     

Structural analysis of the ‘Internal’ Units of Cilento, Italy: New constraints on the Miocene tectonic evolution of the southern Apennine accretionary wedge

Based on the structural analysis of the ‘Internal’ Units cropping out in the Cilento area (southern Italy), this article provides new geodynamic constraints on the Miocene tectonic evolution of the southern Apennine accretionary wedge. The studied sedimentary successions, forming part of the tectonically superposed Nord-Calabrese (in the hanging-wall) and Parasicilide Units, are characterized by three superposed fold sets. The analysis of the attitudes of the main structures allowed us to unravel the shortening directions experienced by the accretionary wedge in the Miocene time. The reconstructed deformation sequence, characterized by initial NW-SE shortening and subsequently by west-east and NE-SW shortening, is related to the inclusion of the studied successions into the accretionary wedge and to their subsequent tectonic emplacement on top of outer domains of the foreland plate. Accretionary wedge overthickening and uplift, probably associated with footwall imbrication involving carbonate units of the foreland plate, was followed by wedge thinning, which also enhanced the creation of accommodation space in wedge-top basin depocentres.     

Influence of object concentration on finite strain and effective viscosity contrast: insights from naturally deformed packstones

Deformed conglomerates and ooidal/oncoidal packstones are commonly used to evaluate finite strain in deformed sedimentary successions. In order to obtain a correct estimate of finite strain, it is necessary to consider not only the different behaviour of matrix and objects, but also object concentration. The analysis of two-component rocks characterised by high values of packing commonly results in a substantial underestimate of bulk strain and of viscosity contrast between objects and matrix. In this study, the effects of the volumetric fraction of competent inclusions on both object and bulk measured finite strain, as well as on apparent viscosity contrast, have been investigated in naturally deformed packstones characterised by variable object concentration on the scale of the hand specimen (and hence for homogenous viscosity contrast). Object finite strain has been obtained by Rf/ analysis, whereas the Fry method provides a measure of whole-rock strain that is also a function of inclusion concentration. Therefore, the finite strain measured by the Fry method is better termed effective bulk strain. In order to investigate the role of object concentration, this parameter has been plotted against object and effective bulk strain, and also against viscosity contrast. These diagrams show that: (i) for high values of packing, measured object and effective bulk strain show values that are significantly lower with respect to the calculated maximum value (that would result in the ideal case of no particle interaction and represents therefore the real bulk strain of the samples); (ii) the viscosity contrast shows lower values with respect to the calculated maximum one (that is equal for the three principal sections of the finite strain ellipsoid), and as packing reaches the maximum value, the viscosity contrast approaches a unit value. Empirical equations have also been found that link object concentration with both object and effective bulk finite strain.