Limiting the soil degradational impacts of wildfire in pine and eucalyptus forests in Portugal: A comparison of alternative post-fire management practices

In newly burnt and unburnt pine and eucalyptus forest in Portugal, overland flow and soil losses were monitored to assess the impacts of the following post-fire treatments: application of different quantities of logging litter; rip-ploughing compared with minimum tillage prior to planting eucalyptus seedlings; and clearance of pine needles and vegetation. Eucalyptus logging litter reduced soil losses by up to 95 per cent. The impact of pine logging litter was equivocal, but removal of pine needles increased soil losses elevenfold. Implications for soil longevity, soil quality and land management strategy are discussed.     

PGE distribution in deformed lherzolites of the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe (Yakutia)

The results of the first study of the PGE distribution in deformed lherzolites of the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe (Yakutia) are presented here. The complex character of evolution of the PGE composition in the Deformed lherzolites is assumed to be the result of silicate metasomatism. At the first stage, growth in the amount of clinopyroxene and garnet in the rock is accompanied by a decrease in the concentration of the compatible PGE (Os, Ir). During the final stage, the rock is enriched with incompatible PGE (Pt, Pd) and Re possible due to precipitation of submicron-sized particles of sulfides in the interstitial space of these mantle rocks.     

Bathymetry,substrate and fishing areas of Southeast Atlantic high-seas seamounts

Most of the Southeast Atlantic Ocean is abyssal, and global bathymetries suggest that only ～3.2% of the areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ; also known as the high seas, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]) are shallower than 2 500 m. This study mapped bathymetry and characterised substrates in selected seamount summit areas, including several that have been or may become fishing areas. The southernmost location, the Schmitt-Ott Seamount, has exposed volcanic bedrock with surrounding flats covered by thin biogenic sediments and/or coral rubble that appears ancient. At Wüst, Vema, Valdivia and Ewing seamounts the basaltic base appears to be overlain by coral caps and other coral substrates (sheets, rubble). Adjacent summit plains have biogenic sediments of varying thickness. Vema has a flat, roughly circular summit, <100 m deep, with the shallowest point being a 22-m-deep summit knoll; the upper slopes have ancient coral framework, but the summit has a mixture of coralline and volcanic rock and coarse sediments, including extensive areas with coralline algae and kelp forests. Valdivia Bank is a 230-m-deep, flat, rocky area (～11 × 5 km), protruding steeply from the extensive multi-summit Valdivia subarea of the Walvis Ridge. The distribution of past fisheries in the Convention Area of the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) was considered in relation to the new information on bathymetry and substrate.     

Geochemistry and age of ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks from the Kokchetav massif (Northern Kazakhstan)

Isotopic and geochemical data of the Zerenda series metamorphic rocks from the Kokchetav massif are reported. Some of these rocks contain microdiamond inclusions in garnets and other indicators of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism (P > 40 kbar, T = 900–1000 °C). The diamond-bearing rocks exhibit distinctive geochemical characteristics compared to typical crustal rocks. The REE patterns range from LREE depleted to slightly LREE enriched [chondrite normalized (La/Yb)_N– 0.1–5.4] with a negative Eu anomaly. They are depleted in incompatible elements (e.g. Sr, Ba, U, Th) with respect to the upper crust. In contrast non-diamondiferous rocks of the Zerenda series exhibit normal crustal geochemistry. All rocks of the Zerenda series have very radiogenic lead isotopes. The measured μ values (²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb) compared with those calculated for the interval between crust formation and ultrahigh pressure (UHP) metamorphism suggest a decrease by factors of up to 200 during the UHP metamorphism. The Sm-Nd mineral isochrons from the diamond-bearing rocks and other rock types of the Zerenda series give a Middle Cambrian (524–535 Ma) age of metamorphism. The Nd model ages show that crust formation occurred about 2.3 Ga ago. Significant fractionation of Sm and Nd and loss of incompatible elements may be due to partial melting of the protoliths. The Ar-Ar age determinations of secondary biotite and muscovite from the diamond-bearing rocks yield an age of 517 ± 5 Ma. This cooling age requires a short time interval between UHP metamorphism and uplift to a crustal level. Ultrahigh pressure metamorphism might be a significant source of Pb for the mantle. We propose that the radiogenic Pb of the oceanic array is the contamination traces of numerous UHP events. Beside the geological aspect we demonstrate a method of dating a high grade metamorphic terrain using Nd isotopes. We compare whole rock isochrons and mineral isochrons and in this way get some insight into the behaviour of the Sm-Nd system during very high grade metamorphic events. Received: 14 August 1998 / Accepted: 1 June 1999     

Formation and properties of hydrosilicate liquids in the systems Na2O-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O and granite-Na2O-SiO2-H2O at 600°C and 1.5 kbar

In order to determine the mechanisms of formation and properties of natural hydrosilicate liquids (HSLs), which are formed during the transition from magmatic to hydrothermal mineral formation in granitic pegmatites and rare-metal granites, the formation of HSLs was experimentally studied in the Na₂O-SiO₂-H₂O, Na₂O-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O, and Na₂O-K₂O-Li₂O-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O systems at 600°C and 1.5 kbar. It was shown that the sequential extension of composition does not suppress HSL formation in the systems and expands the stability field of this phase. However, HSLs formed in extended chemical systems have different structure and properties: the addition of alumina induces some compression of the structure of the silicate framework of HSLs, which results in a decrease in water content in this phase and probably hinders the reversibility of its dehydration. It was demonstrated that HSL can be formed by the coagulation of silica present in a silica-oversaturated alkaline aqueous fluid. It was supposed that the HSL formed during this process has a finely dispersed structure. It was argued that anomalous enrichment in some elements in natural HSLs can be due to their sorption by the extensively developed surface of HSL at the moment of its formation.     

Hydrosilicate liquids in the system Na2O-SiO2-H2O with NaF, NaCl and Ta: Evaluation of their role in ore and mineral formation at high T and P

Consideration of the existence of hydrosilicate liquids (HSL) in nature can help in understanding the accumulation and transport of some mineral- and ore-forming components at the transition from magmas to hydrothermal fluids. We studied the experimental formation of HSL using a base system Na₂O-SiO₂-H₂O with addition of NaF, NaCl and metallic Ta. The interaction between quartz and aqueous solution, performed at 1.5 kbar and 600°C and followed either by cooling or by quench, showed that the formation of HSL occurred when initial Na₂O exceeded 2 wt %. Neither NaF nor NaCl have a significant effect on the formation of HSL. The HSL concentrates F, whereas Cl partitions into the aqueous fluid. With addition of Ta to the system, the HSL becomes metal-enriched. Natural analogs of experimental HSL can be found among ??melt/fluid?? inclusions entrapped in quartz and other minerals of miaroles in granite pegmatites and raremetal granites. The HSL is a novel medium enabling extreme concentrations of lithophile ore metals at the magmatic-hydrothermal transition.     

Petrogenesis of Na-rich paralava formed by methane flares associated with mud volcanism, Altyn-Emel National Park, Kazakhstan

High-Na slag-like rocks (paralava) with 4.5–11 % Na₂O from the Altyn-Emel mud volcanic field, Kazakhstan, are the products of melting of sediment + salt mixtures by methane flares associated with mud extrusion. The main minerals of the paralavas are diopside and wollastonite which have quench morphologies. Other high-temperature phases (crystallizing from melt and vapour phase) are tridymite, cristobalite, chlorapatite, alkali feldspar, pyrrhotite, native iron and silicon, iron phosphides, titanite, rutile, and carbon. The paralavas lack the Na–Ca silicates devitrite and combeite, but have high-Na and Na–K glasses that have not been homogenized despite low viscosities of <10^?3.5 Pa s. The large number of ignition foci in the Altyn-Emel mud volcano field indicates gas venting from small, shallow reservoirs. The methane flares are inferred to have been small and the fire events short-lived. Fires were extinguished once overpressure released during eruption, methane venting stopped and melted rocks rapidly quenched. The periodicity of eruptions and methane flaring most likely depends on the recurrence of earthquakes (M < 5) which are frequent in this tectonically active area.     

Effect of size grading on the growth performance of shortfin eel (Anguilla australis) during its yellow stage

It is generally believed that size grading in a fish farm improves the total biomass output, because it will minimise the stress imposed by larger individuals over small individuals, resulting in higher feed intake and growth rate. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of size grading on individual growth performance of yellow New Zealand shortfin eel (Anguilla australis). A 109 day trial was conducted in a recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) with 103 eels of similar initial weight (101 ± 12 g). All eels were individually marked by PIT (passive integrated transponder) tags. On day 42, eels were graded to establish the following groups: only small eels (S-graded ≤ 135 g), only large eels (L-graded > 135 g), and small and large eels together (S-ungraded and L-ungraded). The large eels showed better specific growth rate (SGR), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) than the small eels. Nevertheless, no significant differences were found either between L-graded and L-ungraded or between S-graded and S-ungraded. The age of eels was not significantly different between groups. These findings suggest that the individual growth rate performance of the eels is not primarily a consequence of social interaction among tank-mates.     

Geochemical Evidence for Participation of the Subducted Crust in the Process of Transformation of the Subcontinental Mantle in the Yakutian Diamondiferous Province

Doklady Earth Sciences - The data available indicate the complex evolution of deformed peridotites of mantle xenoliths, the P–T parameters of which indicate that they are fragments of the...     

Geochemical and Isotope Characteristics of Carbonates from Ejecta of Mud Volcanoes of the Kura Basin,Azerbaijan

Lithology and Mineral Resources - This paper is devoted to the vein and dispersed carbonates from ejecta of mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan. The vein calcites are morphologically diverse and related to...