Geodynamic modelling of the Century deposit,Mt Isa Province,Queensland

This paper is concerned with an example of quantitative modelling of orebody formation as a guide to reducing the risk for future mineral exploration. Specifically, the paper presents a detailed 3–D numerical model for the formation of the Century zinc deposit in northern Queensland. The model couples fluid flow with deformation, thermal transport and chemical reactions. The emphasis of the study is a systems approach where the holistic mineralising system is considered rather than concentrating solely on the mineral deposit. In so doing the complete plumbing system for mineralisation is considered with a view to specifying the critical conditions responsible for the ore deposit occurring where it does and having the size and metal grades that are observed. The numerical model is based on detailed geological, tectonic, isotopic and mineralogical data collected over the past 20 years. The conclusions are that the Century zinc deposit is located where it is because of the following factors: (i) a thermal anomaly is associated with the Termite Range Fault due to advection of heat from depth by fluid flow up the Termite Range Fault; (ii) bedding‐plane fissility in the shale rocks hosting the Century zinc deposit has controlled the wavelength and nature of D₁ folding in the vicinity of the deposit and has also controlled increases in permeability due to hydrofracture of the shales; such hydrofracture is also associated with the production of hydrocarbons as these shales passed through the ‘oil‐window’; (iii) Pb–Zn leached from crustal rocks in the stratigraphic column migrated up along faults normal to the Termite Range Fault driven by topographic relief associated with inversion at the end of the Isan Orogeny; these fluids mixed with H₂S derived at depth moving up the Termite Range Fault to mix with the crustal fluids to precipitate Pb–Zn in a plume downstream from the point of mixing. Critical factors to be used as exploration guides are high temperatures, carbonaceous fissile shales now folded into relatively tight D₁ folds, fault‐controlled plumbing systems that enable fluid mixing, depletion of metals upstream of the deposit and,in particular,a very wide Fe‐depletion halo upstream of the deposit.     

ENCORE: the effect of nutrient enrichment on coral reefs. Synthesis of results and conclusions

Coral reef degradation resulting from nutrient enrichment of coastal waters is of increasing global concern. Although effects of nutrients on coral reef organisms have been demonstrated in the laboratory, there is little direct evidence of nutrient effects on coral reef biota in situ. The ENCORE experiment investigated responses of coral reef organisms and processes to controlled additions of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) and/or phosphorus (P) on an offshore reef (One Tree Island) at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. A multi-disciplinary team assessed a variety of factors focusing on nutrient dynamics and biotic responses. A controlled and replicated experiment was conducted over two years using twelve small patch reefs ponded at low tide by a coral rim. Treatments included three control reefs (no nutrient addition) and three + N reefs (NH4Cl added), three + P reefs (KH2PO4 added), and three + N + P reefs. Nutrients were added as pulses at each low tide (ca twice per day) by remotely operated units. There were two phases of nutrient additions. During the initial, low-loading phase of the experiment nutrient pulses (mean dose = 11.5 microM NH4+; 2.3 microM PO4(-3)) rapidly declined, reaching near-background levels (mean = 0.9 microM NH4+; 0.5 microM PO4(-3)) within 2-3 h. A variety of biotic processes, assessed over a year during this initial nutrient loading phase, were not significantly affected, with the exception of coral reproduction, which was affected in all nutrient treatments. In Acropora longicyathus and A. aspera, fewer successfully developed embryos were formed, and in A. longicyathus fertilization rates and lipid levels decreased. In the second, high-loading, phase of ENCORE an increased nutrient dosage (mean dose = 36.2 microM NH4+; 5.1 microM PO4(-3)) declining to means of 11.3 microM NH4+ and 2.4 microM PO4(-3) at the end of low tide) was used for a further year, and a variety of significant biotic responses occurred. Encrusting algae incorporated virtually none of the added nutrients. Organisms containing endosymbiotic zooxanthellae (corals and giant clams) assimilated dissolved nutrients rapidly and were responsive to added nutrients. Coral mortality, not detected during the initial low-loading phase, became evident with increased nutrient dosage, particularly in Pocillopora damicornis. Nitrogen additions stunted coral growth, and phosphorus additions had a variable effect. Coral calcification rate and linear extension increased in the presence of added phosphorus but skeletal density was reduced, making corals more susceptible to breakage. Settlement of all coral larvae was reduced in nitrogen treatments, yet settlement of larvae from brooded species was enhanced in phosphorus treatments. Recruitment of stomatopods, benthic crustaceans living in coral rubble, was reduced in nitrogen and nitrogen plus phosphorus treatments. Grazing rates and reproductive effort of various fish species were not affected by the nutrient treatments. Microbial nitrogen transformations in sediments were responsive to nutrient loading with nitrogen fixation significantly increased in phosphorus treatments and denitrification increased in all treatments to which nitrogen had been added. Rates of bioerosion and grazing showed no significant effects of added nutrients. ENCORE has shown that reef organisms and processes investigated in situ were impacted by elevated nutrients. Impacts were dependent on dose level, whether nitrogen and/or phosphorus were elevated and were often species-specific. The impacts were generally sub-lethal and subtle and the treated reefs at the end of the experiment were visually similar to control reefs. Rapid nutrient uptake indicates that nutrient concentrations alone are not adequate to assess nutrient condition of reefs. Sensitive and quantifiable biological indicators need to be developed for coral reef ecosystems. The potential bioindicators identified in ENCORE should be tested in future research on coral reef/nutrient interactions. Synergistic and cumulative effects of elevated nutrients and other environmental parameters, comparative studies of intact vs. disturbed reefs, offshore vs. inshore reefs, or the ability of a nutrient-stressed reef to respond to natural disturbances require elucidation. An expanded understanding of coral reef responses to anthropogenic impacts is necessary, particularly regarding the subtle, sub-lethal effects detected in the ENCORE studies.     

Studies of an artificially shock-loaded H group chondrite

Five samples of the naturally unshocked Kernouve (H6) meteorite were artificially shock-loaded to pressures of 70, 165, 270, and 390 kbar and the silicates and metal examined optically, by scanning and transmission electron microscopy and by thermoluminescence (TL). Olivine deformation is closely comparable to that in naturally shocked meteorites, producing dislocations with Burgers vector [001]. At pressures of ?165 kbar, these are formed in well-defined slip planes. At 270 kbar, olivine develops optical mosaicism, has high dislocation densities throughout and is also highly fractured. Recovery, due to heating is minimal. In orthopyroxene, the deformation mechanism changes, from the clino-inversion to unit-dislocation slip, between 70 and 165 kbar. In diopside, (001) and (100) twinning was produced. Plagioclase is inferred to have been progressively converted to maskelynite, but some is still present in 270 kbar sample.The microhardness of the kamacite in the samples increases with shock pressure. The α → ? transformation pressure in the kamacite is 30–40 kbar higher than observed for iron meteorites. Annealed kamacite displays incipient polycrystallinity and α-martensite and taenite sometimes contains slip lines. Troilite acquired cracks, undulose extinction, twins, polycrystallinity and finally melted as the shock pressure increased.At pressures over 200 kbar there was a systematic decrease in the natural TL and the TL sensitivity. Detailed considerations of changes in the natural $\text{TL}\text{TL}$ sensitivity ratio for various regions of the TL glow curve suggest that two processes were effective during shock; thermal drainage of electron traps and a reduction in the effective trap density. It is suggested that the latter process associated with the vitrification of feldspar, the TL phosphor.An additional sample was subjected to a shock pulse which was “spiked” instead of square. Very distinctive changes were apparent; thermal effects are conspicuous and with widespread annealing (~600–800°C) of metal and sulfide. Glassy, opaque veins were produced which are analogous to the black veins in shock-lithified gas-rich meteorites. Anomalous low-temperature TL was induced, suggesting that a new or modified phase or mineral has become the dominant TL phosphor.     

Reductive diagenesis,magnetite dissolution,greigite growth and paleomagnetic smoothing in marine sediments: A new view

In many anoxic sedimentary environments, the onset of sulfate reduction, and pyritization of detrital iron-bearing minerals, leads to a precipitous decline in magnetic mineral concentration during early diagenesis. The usefulness of the surviving paleomagnetic record in such environments is usually argued to depend on how much of the primary detrital magnetic assemblage survives diagenetic dissolution. Detailed rock magnetic and electron microscope analyses of rapidly deposited (~ 7 cm/kyr) latest Pleistocene–Holocene sediments from the continental margins of Oman (22°22.4′N, 60°08.0′E) and northern California (38°24.8′N, 123°58.2′W) demonstrate that pyritization during early diagenesis also leads to the progressive down-core growth of the ferrimagnetic iron sulfide greigite. Greigite growth begins with nucleation of large concentrations of superparamagnetic (SP) nanoparticles at the inferred position of the sulfate–methane transition, which can explain the apparently paradoxical suggestion that diagenetically reduced sediments contain enhanced concentrations of SP particles. Looping of hysteresis parameters on a “Day” plot records the dissolution of single domain (SD) (titano-)magnetite and the formation of SP greigite, which then slowly and progressively grows through its SD blocking volume and acquires a stable paleomagnetic signal. This looping trend is also evident in data from several published records (Oregon margin, Korea Strait, Japan Sea, Niger Fan, Argentine margin, and the Ontong–Java Plateau), indicating that these processes may be widespread in reducing environments. Our observations have profound implications for paleomagnetic records from sulfate-reducing environments. The paleomagnetic signal recorded by greigite is offset from the age of the surrounding sediments by 10's of kyr, and ongoing growth of greigite at depth results in smoothing of the recorded signal over intervals of 10's to 100's of kyr. We therefore expect the presence of greigite to compromise paleomagnetic records in a wide range of settings that have undergone reductive diagenesis.     

The Durham/UKST Galaxy Redshift Survey — V. The catalogue

We present the radial velocities and blue, optical magnitudes for all of the galaxies within the Durham/UKST Galaxy Redshift Survey. This catalogue consists of ∼2500 galaxy redshifts to a limiting apparent magnitude of B _J⋍17 mag, covering a ∼1500-deg² area around the South Galactic Pole. The galaxies in this survey were selected from the Edinburgh/Durham Southern Galaxy Catalogue and were sampled, in order of apparent magnitude, at a rate of one galaxy in every three. The spectroscopy was performed at the 1.2-m UK Schmidt Telescope in Australia using the FLAIR multi-object spectrograph. We show that our radial velocity measurements made with this instrument have an empirical accuracy of ±150 km s⁻¹. The observational techniques and data reduction procedures used in the construction of this survey are also discussed. This survey demonstrates that the UKST can be used to make a three-dimensional map of the large-scale galaxy distribution, via a redshift survey to b _J⋍17 mag, over a wide area of the sky.     

Patterns of tidal flooding within a mangrove forest: Coombabah Lake,Southeast Queensland,Australia

Tidal flooding and surface drainage patterns have often been used to describe mangrove species zonation. However, in mangrove forests exhibiting little topography, ambiguous species distributions and/or few species, such approaches are ineffective. We identified four physiognomic mangrove forest types (Riverine, Fringing, Overwash and Basin) at Coombabah Lake, a tidal lake in southeast Queensland, Australia and investigated tidal flooding patterns using synoptic surveys of tidal observations at the local Standard Port combined with local water depth observation. Subsequently three sub-types of the basin forest type were identified: (1) Deep Basin Forest with mature trees, ∼50 cm standing water and ∼3 tides per year; (2) Medium Depth Basin Forest with intermediate tree development, ∼15–30 cm standing water and 20–40 tides per year; and (3) Shallow Basin Forest with relatively recent mangrove establishment, 5–15 cm standing water and ∼80 tides per year. These three basin sub-types were found to flood at different tide heights with the Shallow Basin flooding for tides above mean high water springs and the Deep Basin flooding only for tide heights approaching the highest astronomical tide. We propose that these basin types represent a succession in mangrove forest development that corresponds with increasing water depth and tree maturation over time. The succession not only represents increasing age but also change in basin substrate composition. This is manifest as increasing pneumatophore density and an increasing area of basin surface occupied by contiguous pneumatophore cover. As a result, it seems that mangrove development is able to modify tidal flooding into the basin by increasingly impeding water movement.     

Measurement and calibration of weathering using the schmidt hammer,on wave washed moraines on the upper norrland coast,Sweden

The Schmidt hammer has for some years been used to measure the hardness of different rock surfaces and to date relatively boulders in moraine deposits. In this paper applications on isostatically raised boulder-beaches and rocky shores are described. The research area is the northern Swedish Bothnian coast where present isostatic uplift is between 0.8-1.0 cm year^?1. Elevations above sea-level can be converted to a timescale. Rebound values (R) of the Schmidt hammer are correlated with the altitude and the degree of rock weathering can be estimated for each site. Eight sites with boulder-beaches and nine sites with rocky shores have been analysed. For boulder-beaches correlation-coefficients of 0.82-0.97 for weathering values (R) and the elevations above sea-level were obtained. For the rocky shores these values were calculated to 0.75-0.97. This method has applications in both geomorphology and archaeology. For example, a deep layer of weathered dolerite in the Nordingrå region, which previously has been regarded as a post-Weichselian formation, can be shown to be of pre-Weichselian origin. Several archaeological applications are also mentioned in the paper.