The Early Cretaceous Jacuí Group,a newly discovered volcaniclastic–epiclastic accumulation at the top of the Paraná Basin,southern Brazil

The presence of volcaniclastic rocks related to the silicic magmatism within the Serra Geral Formation has been a matter of long-standing debate. In this paper, we present extensive documentation that supports the presence and abundance of these rocks in the Jacuí Group, a newly discovered volcaniclastic and epiclastic accumulation in southern Brazil. The Jacuí Group is composed of two interfingered stratigraphic units, the Volta Alegre and Tupanciretã formations, and it represents the uppermost stratigraphic unit of the Paraná Basin. The Volta Alegre Formation is primarily composed of resedimented volcaniclastic tuffites, the pyroclasts which were sourced from the Santa Maria subgroup of the Palmas-type of the Serra Geral Formation. The Tupanciretã Formation is composed of fluvial and aeolian deposits transported towards the north–northwest. Deposition of the Jacuí Group began in the Early Cretaceous (∼132 Ma) and was coeval with the acidic volcanism of the Santa Maria subgroup. This group was deposited in a probable interior sag basin that represents either the beginning of the extension in the inner part of the continent that subsequently migrated to the east or the far-field impact of extensional processes that preceded the break-up of Gondwana and the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean.     

Miocene shallow-water limestones from São Nicolau (Cabo Verde): Caribbean-type benthic fauna and time constraints for volcanism

Shallow-water limestones of presumed Late Cretaceous and Eocene age, interbedded with basaltic lavas, were described by earlier authors from São Nicolau in the northwestern part of the Cabo Verde archipelago. If confirmed, these ages would imply late Mesozoic shallow-marine and subaerial volcanic activity in the Cabo Verde archipelago, and document a geological history very different from that known so far from other Cabo Verde Islands, from which no subaerial volcanic activity before the mid-Cenozoic is known. Our re-investigation of the foraminiferal fauna indicates a Late Miocene age for the presumed Late Cretaceous and Eocene limestones. The hypothesis of a long-lived hot spot, active by the Early Cretaceous, and of a major island-building stage in the Cabo Verde Islands during this period, is therefore not supported by the present bio- or chronostratigraphic data.     

Denudation and retreat of the Serra do Mar escarpment in southern Brazil derived from in situ‐produced 10Be concentration in river sediment

The Serra do Mar escarpment, located along the southeastern coast of Brazil, is a high‐elevation passive margin escarpment. This escarpment evolved from the denudation of granites, migmatites and gneisses. The granites outcrop in the form of a ridge along the escarpment crest, due to its differential erosion (‘sugarloaf’ hills) from the surrounding lithologies. Several studies suggest that the passive margin escarpments are actively retreating toward the interior of the continent. However, no prior study has calculated the long‐term denudation rates of Serra do Mar to test this hypothesis. In this study, we measured the in situ‐produced ¹⁰Be concentration in fluvial sediments to quantify the catchment‐wide long‐term denudation rates of the Serra do Mar escarpment in southern Brazil. We sampled the fluvial sediments from ten watersheds that drain both sides of the escarpment. The average long‐term denudation rate of the oceanic side is between 2.1‐ and 2.6‐fold higher than the rate of the continental side: 26.04 ± 1.88 mm ka^‐1 (integrating over between 15.8 ka^‐1 and 46.6 ka^‐1) and 11.10 ± 0.37 mm ka^‐1 (integrating over between 52.9 ka^‐1 and 85.4 ka^‐1), respectively. These rates indicate that the coastal base level is controlling the escarpment retreat toward the continental high lands, which is consistent with observations made at other high‐elevation passive margins around the globe. The results also demonstrate the differential erosion along the Serra do Mar escarpment in southern Brazil during the Quaternary, where drainages over granites had lower average denudation rates in comparison with those over migmatites and gneisses. Moreover, the results demonstrate that the ocean‐facing catchments have been eroded more intensely than those facing the continent. The results also reveal that drainage over the granites decreases the average denudation rates of the ocean‐facing catchments and the ‘sugarloaf’ hills therefore are natural barriers that slowly retreat once they are exhumed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biological response to coastal upwelling and dust deposition in the area off Northwest Africa

Nutrient supply in the area off Northwest Africa is mainly regulated by two processes, coastal upwelling and deposition of Saharan dust. In the present study, both processes were analyzed and evaluated by different methods, including cross-correlation, multiple correlation, and event statistics, using remotely sensed proxies of the period from 2000 to 2008 to investigate their influence on the marine environment. The remotely sensed chlorophyll-a concentration was used as a proxy for the phytoplankton biomass stimulated by nutrient supply into the euphotic zone from deeper water layers and from the atmosphere. Satellite-derived alongshore wind stress and sea-surface temperature were applied as proxies for the strength and reflection of coastal upwelling processes. The westward wind and the dust component of the aerosol optical depth describe the transport direction of atmospheric dust and the atmospheric dust column load.     

PEDOGENESIS IN LATE PREHISTORIC INDIAN MOUNDS,UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY

Inceptisols are developed on silt loam, loam, and sandy loam Indian mounds at the Keller Mound Group and Bluff Top Mound in northeastern Iowa. The mounds date to the Allamakee Phase of the Late Woodland Period (ca. 1650–1250 B.P.) and are built with fill obtained from the A, E, and upper B horizons of pre-existing soils (Alfisols). Differences in the morphologic and chemical characteristics of soils on different mounds are attributed to textural differences of the mounds' fill. Coarse-textured mound fill is pedogenically altered at a faster rate than fine-textured fill, but total carbon percentage of the A horizon attains a steady state faster in fine-textured mound fill. Total phosphorus content is used to determine from which horizons of pre-existing soils the specific layers of mound fill originated. Rates and pathways of pedogenesis in mound fill may not provide good analogues for the early stages of soil development in materials that have not undergone previous weathering and subsequent modification by humans. Nevertheless, mound soils are useful benchmarks for some pedologic studies since they provide time lines for evaluating minimum rates for development of argillic and albic horizons, as well as attainment of the Alfisol order.     

The Problem of Double Longitudes on Glavač’s Map

Abstract

Exploring large volumes of geospatial data is difficult. This paper presents an approach that combines visual and computational analysis to make this process easier. This approach is based on the effective application of computational algorithms, such as the Self-Organizing Map (SOM). These are used to uncover the structure, patterns, relationships and trends in the data, and for the creation of abstractions where conventional methods may be limited. In addition, graphical representations are applied to portray extracted patterns in a visual form that allows for better understanding of the derived structures and possible geographical processes, and should facilitate knowledge construction.     

Water and nutrient fluxes off Northwest Africa

A historical data set is used to describe the coastal transition zone off Northwest Africa during spring 1973 and fall 1975, from 17° to 26°N, with special emphasis on the interaction between subtropical (North Atlantic Central Waters) and tropical (South Atlantic Central Waters) gyres. The near-surface geostrophic circulation, relative to 300 m, is quite complex. Major features are a large cyclonic pattern north of Cape Blanc (21°N) and offshore flow at the Cape Verde front. The large cyclone occurs in the region of most intense winds, and resembles a large meander of the baroclinic southward upwelling jet. The Cape Verde frontal system displays substantial interleaving that may partly originate as mesoscale features at the coastal upwelling front. Property–property diagrams show that the front is an effective barrier to all properties except temperature. The analysis of the Turner angle suggests that the frontal system is characterized by large heat horizontal diffusion as a result of intense double diffusion, which results in the smoothing of the temperature horizontal gradients. Nine cross-shore sections are used to calculate along-shore geostrophic water-mass and nutrient transports and to infer exchanges between the coastal transition zone and the deep ocean (import: deep ocean to transition zone; export: transition zone to deep ocean). These exchanges compare well with mean wind-induced transports and actual geostrophic cross-shore transport estimates. The region is divided into three areas: southern (18–21°N), central (21–23.5°N), and northern (23.5–26°N). In the northern area geostrophic import is roughly compensated with wind-induced export during both seasons. In the central area geostrophic import is greater than wind-induced export during spring, resulting in net import of both water (0.8 Sv) and nitrate (14 kmol s⁻¹), but during fall both factors again roughly cancel. In the southern area geostrophy and wind join to export water and nutrients during both seasons, they increase from 0.6 Sv and 3 kmol s⁻¹ during fall to 2.9 Sv and 53 kmol s⁻¹ during spring.     

The Orosirian-Statherian banded iron formation-bearing sequences of the southern border of the Espinhaço Range,Southeast Brazil

The Serra da Serpentina and the Serra de São José groups are two distinct banded iron formation-bearing metasedimentary sequences along the eastern border of the southern Espinhaço Range that were deposited on the boundary between the Orosirian and Statherian periods.The Serra da Serpentina Group (SSG) has an Orosirian maximum depositional age (youngest detrital zircon grain age = 1990 ± 16 Ma) and consists of fine clastic metasediments at the base and chemical sediments, including banded iron formations (BIFs), on the top, corresponding to the Meloso and Serra do Sapo formations, respectively, and correlating with the pre-Espinhaço Costa Sena Group. The SSG represents sedimentary deposition on an epicontinental-epeiric, slow downwarping sag basin with little tectonic activity.The younger Serra de São José Group (SJG) is separated from the older SSG by an erosional unconformity and was deposited in a tectonically active continental rift-basin in the early stages of the opening of the Espinhaço Trough. The Serra do São José sediments stretch along the north-south axis of the rift and comprise a complete cycle of transgressive sedimentary deposits, which were subdivided, from base to top, into the Lapão, Itapanhoacanga, Jacém and Canjica formations. The Itapanhoacanga Formation has a maximum depositional age of 1666 ± 32 Ma (Statherian), which coincides with the maximum depositional age (i.e., 1683 ± 11 Ma) of the São João da Chapada Formation, one of the Espinhaço Supergroup's basal units. The Serra de São José Rift and the Espinhaço Rift likely represent the same system, with basal units that are facies variations of the same sequence.The supracrustal rocks have undergone two stages of deformation during the west-verging Brasiliano orogeny that affected the eastern margin of the São Francisco Craton and generated a regional-scale, foreland N–S trending fold-thrust belt, which partially involved the crystalline basement. Thrust faults have segmented the terrain into a large number of tectonic blocks, where the stratigraphic sequence was nevertheless well preserved.     

Hypsometric Curves as a Tool for Paleosurface Mapping

A procedural paleosurface mapping tool, using hypsometric curves and digital elevation models, was developed and applied to three hydrographic basins that erode common areas in the coastal ranges of Brazil, in southeastern South America. The method consists of identifying areas favorable for the occurrence of paleosurfaces and their corresponding surficial formations as correlated to specific erosion events. Attributes from hypsometric curves, and logarithmic functions fitted to proper curve segments, are combined with common morphometric properties of paleosurfaces given a set of criteria. Zones satisfying the criteria are mapped as pertaining to specific paleosurfaces. Field survey confirms the agreement between predicted and observed occurrence and absence of paleosurfaces.     

Coastal geomorphic chronosequences across broad spatiotemporal scales. Metrical observations from the Cape Verde hotspot

The study of the coastal landscapes of hotspot oceanic islands through comprehensive structural metrics and ecological estimators represents an opportunity to explore geomorphological transformations and broad spatiotemporal scale features of coastal evolution. As part of this approach, a new metrical comparative analysis is presented in this study, comprising four islands in different evolutionary stages. They belong to the Cape Verde archipelago, which forms a double insular chain in which an east–west gradient in age and evolution is particularly evident across the southern chain. A space-for-time (SFT) substitution approach is applied to the coasts of (1) Fogo, in the shield stage; (2) Santiago, in the early post-erosional stage; (3) São Vicente, in the advanced post-erosional stage; and (4) Boa Vista, in the last erosional stage. From the obtained spatial distributions and frequencies of landforms, the coastal landscapes of these islands are compared in relation to their (i) geomorphic composition, using similarity indices (Whittaker, β_w, Sorensen, C_s) and nestedness estimators (NOFD, WNODF), (ii) geomorphic abundance, using morpho-assembling densities (D_gm), and (iii) geomorphic diversity, using six alpha-diversity indices (Richness, S, Menhinick, D_MN, Simpson, D, Shannon, H', Berger-Parker, d, and Brillouin, HB). An advanced geomorphological taxonomy is implemented for areas with limited open-access data, including a set of planform features captured through scale-frequency decomposition. Photographic, cartographic and fieldwork data are used for landform identification at 1200 random sampling points, empirically determined by a bootstrap method. The results show a chronological ordering of the compared variables and a possible co-evolution towards an increase in organizational geomorphic complexity of coastal systems at broad space-timescales. The method proposed in this study can contribute, from a metrical perspective, to finding new long-term evolutionary features and constitutes an advance in the development of an integrated model of coastal evolution in oceanic islands. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.