New Early Cretaceous shrimp (Decapoda) from the Sidi Aïch Formation of the Northern Chotts Range,southern Tunisia: Taxonomy,biostratigraphy, and palaeoenvironmental implications

The fossil dendrobranchiate shrimp Macropenaeus was originally described from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) limestones of Hadjoula, northwest Lebanon. A new species, M. sidiaichensis sp. nov., was recovered from the Sidi Aïch Formation in the Northern Chotts Range, southern Tunisia. The Barremian occurrence of the genus in Tunisia suggests that Macropenaeus most likely originated in northern Africa and then migrated to Arabia in the Cenomanian. The association of the fossil shrimp with conchostracans, plant fragments, and fish indicates the interaction of freshwater and marine conditions that characterized the northern African margin as part of widespread coastal complex, paralic environments during the Barremian.     

The ore genesis of the Jebel Mecella and Sidi Taya FBa (ZnPb) Mississippi Valley-type deposits,Fluorite Zaghouan Province,NE Tunisia,in relation to Alpine orogeny: Constraints from geological,sulfur, and lead isotope studies

Jebel Mecella and Sidi Taya F–(BaPbZn) deposits are located within the Fluorite Zaghouan Province (NE Tunisia). The mineralization occurs along the unconformity surface between the Jurassic limestones and Upper Cretaceous rocks. The mineralization consists mainly of fluorite, barite, sphalerite, and galena. The δ³⁴S values of barite at Jebel Mecella (14.8–15.4‰) and at Sidi Taya (21.6–22.2‰) closely match those of the Triassic evaporites and Messinian seawater, respectively. The range of δ³⁴S values of galena and sphalerite in both deposits (?6.9 to +2.4‰) suggests the involvement of thermochemical sulfate reduction and possibly organically-bound sulfur in the generation of sulfur. Lead isotope data with ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios of 18.893–18.903, 15.684–15.699, and 38.850–38.880, respectively suggests a single homogeneous source reservoir of Paleozoic age and/or the homogenization of the Paleozoic–Cretaceous multireservoir-derived fluids along their long migration paths to the loci of deposition during the Alpine orogeny.     

Early Cretaceous spinicaudatans (“conchostracans”) from lacustrine strata of the Sidi Aïch Formation in the northern Chotts range,southern Tunisia: Taxonomy,biostratigraphy and stratigraphic implication

The fossil clam shrimp genus Cratostracus was first described from the Turonian–Coniacian (Upper Cretaceous) Qingshankou Formation in the Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces of China, and it has been found to range down into the Aptian Guantou Formation in Zhejiang Province of southeastern China. Recently, species tentatively attributable to it (Cratostracus? cheni) has been recorded in the well-known Jehol Biota bearing Barremian–lower Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) Yixian Formation in western Liaoning Province of northeastern China. The species described in this paper as Cratostracus? tunisiaensis sp. nov. was recovered from the Sidi Aïch Formation in the Chotts area of southern Tunisia. Although only tentatively attributed to Cratostracus, its occurrence is consistent with a Barremian (Early Cretaceous) age for the formation. This first direct dating of the Sidi Aïch Formation gives a valuable insight for the stratigraphy of the region and will make it possible to more precisely correlate the different outcrops of the Sidi Aïch Formation. Moreover, the new fossil discovery allows a reconstruction of the paralic ecosystem that characterized the study area during the Barremian.     

Impact of floodwaters on vertical water fluxes in the deep vadose zone of an alluvial aquifer in a semi-arid region

The spatial and temporal variation of moisture distribution, overall water balance and quantity of infiltrated water in the vadose zone of the Sidi Bouzid Plain (Tunisia) during successive flooding events is quantified in this study. The variation in water content in response to environmental factors such as evaporation and water root uptake is also highlighted. One-dimensional flow simulations in the deep vadose zone were conducted at three spreading perimeters located near Wadi El Fekka. The hydraulic boundary conditions of a time-dependent water blade applied to the soil surface were determined from measured flood hydrographs. For the chosen wet year, the successive flooding events contributed to a significant artificial recharge of the natural groundwater. Although the soil hydraulic parameters did not vary strongly in space, flow simulations showed significant differences in the overall water balance of approximately 9–16% for the various spreading perimeters.     

Iron mineralisation in Mio-Pliocene sediments of the Tamra iron mine (Nefza mining district, Tunisia): Mixed influence of pedogenesis and hydrothermal alteration

The Tamra iron mine (Nefza mining district, N. Tunisia) has been exploited for about one century. There are, however, very few publications modelling the mineralisation within this 50 m-thick Messinian–Zanclean sedimentary series. We present the result of a detailed sedimentological, mineralogical and geochemical study on the siliciclastic sediments heavily mineralised in iron. In their present state of preservation, these are rather unusual sediments, wherein most of sedimentological information is obliterated by iron impregnation. The whole series consists of a succession of fining-upward sequences (a few meters in thickness) that are capped by clay-bearing variegated and mottled horizons, each sequence being interpreted as a shallowing-upward sequence topped by an emersive horizon corresponding to a paleosoil. We propose that alteration and/or pedogenesis by the downward percolation of meteoric fluids accounts for most of the initial iron concentration, while a hydrothermal overprint, linked to the neighbouring Miocene magmatic rocks and associated mineral deposits (Sidi Driss Fe–Pb–Zn mine), accounts for the existing extreme iron enrichment. The proposed model is likely to apply to several other iron mines linked to the Miocene magmatic activity in the whole Maghreb area, and especially along the Apenninic thrust front (locally known as Tell-Rif front).     

Impact of shorebird predation on intertidal macroinvertebrates in a key North African Atlantic wintering site: an experimental approach

Shorebirds, as migratory aquatic birds and top predators in intertidal ecosystems, can be affected by global environmental changes and escalations in local impacts on coastal lagoons and estuarine trophic networks. Many shorebirds winter in North African Atlantic coastal sites, most likely because these locations provide constant and reliable food supplies with less energy costs in comparison with the wintering sites of northern Europe. Although more information is available for other important southern coastal sites (e.g. Saharan Atlantic coastal desert and Guinean mangroves coast), very little information is available for the North African Atlantic coast. Here, we focus on the impact of shorebird predation on benthic macroinvertebrates in a major wintering site in this area—Sidi Moussa coastal lagoon, Morocco—using an exclosure experiment. For most of the macroinvertebrate species there was no significant effect of the exclusion of shorebird predation. Overall, our results do not show evidence that predation by shorebirds influenced the overall standing biomass of the benthic community. This may indicate that the benthic productivity is high enough to provide constant and reliable food supplies for non-breeding shorebirds.     

Cartographie de corps stériles sous couverture quaternaire par méthode de résistivités électriques dans le gisement phosphaté de Sidi Chennane (Maroc)Sterile bodies mapping under Quaternary cover using resistivity-sounding method in the phosphatic bearing of Sidi Chennane (Morocco)

In the Ouled Abdoun sedimentary basin (Morocco), the phosphatic series is composed of regular interbedded phosphatic and marly limestone layers. Some phosphatic deposits in this basin show sterile bodies causing two kinds of problems: (1) as they are hard, compact and masked by a Quaternary cover, they disturb the exploitation in some yards and give bad reserve calculations; (2) even the use of wells and mechanical boreholes did not evidence their delimitation. Therefore, electric prospecting method has been used to evidence their geometrical shape. Petrographical and geometrical studies on these sterile bodies allowed us to choose the appropriate geophysical method to map them. The electrical resistivity survey that we used in the Sidi Chennane area shows that this technique is a good tool to contour these sterile bodies. This method is now considered as useful to the mining engineers to get round them during the exploitation. To cite this article: A. Kchikach et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 379–386.     

典范对应分析在重金属污染区土壤性质及土壤酶活性关系中的应用——以阳朔县思的村为例

运用典范对应分析（Canonical Correspondence Analysis,CCA）对广西阳朔思的村铅锌矿尾砂坝坍塌后的污染农田土壤酶活性、土壤性质进行研究。结果表明：pH值、全铅和全锌是影响土壤其他因子（碱解氮、有机碳、速效磷、阳离子交换量、蔗糖酶、脲酶和碱性磷酸酶）的重要因素。该区污染土壤尽管经过当地农民长达逾40 a的耕种,但土壤有机质、阳离子交换量、速效磷和碱解氮质量分数仍处于较低的水平,彼此之间的相关系数与其在CCA排序图中的夹角变化规律一致。土壤碱性磷酸酶活性与全锌质量分数呈正相关,因而在CCA排序图中,土壤碱性磷酸酶活性与全锌质量分数的夹角较小。尽管铅-锌污染物与蔗糖酶和脲酶的相关性不显著,但铅-锌污染物的存在造成蔗糖酶和脲酶活性的降低,因而在CCA排序图中,土壤中的铅-锌污染物与蔗糖酶和脲酶基本处于相反的两端,从而弥补相关分析结果信息量不足的弊端。鉴于CCA排序图能够直观展示土壤酶对重金属污染物的敏感强度以及土壤有机碳与养分循环物质之间的相互关系,因此可作为探索土壤因子内在联系的重要工具。     

Les sondages électromagnétiques temporels comme outil de reconnaissance du gisement phosphaté de Sidi Chennane (Maroc) : apport à la résolution d'un problème d'exploitation

Exploitation of the phosphatic layers in Sidi Chennane deposit (Morocco) collides frequently with problems bound to the existence, in the phosphatic series, of sterile bodies qualified as derangements. Our study shows that these bodies, masked by the Quaternary cover can be mapped using the Time-Domain ElectroMagnetic Soundings method (TDEM). It is based on the acquisition and the interpretation of a series of tests carried out above a visible derangement in an old trench of exploitation and on 2500 TDEM soundings carried out in a virgin area of the deposit. The article concerns to the analysis of the results and of the proceeding for a possible large geophysics survey. To cite this article: A. Kchikach et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Self-organizing map for the detection of seasonal variations in Sidi Chahed Dam sediments (Northern Morocco)

ABSTRACT

A database of 88 superficial sediment samples, distributed in space and time, was collected from the Sidi Chahed Dam (northeast of Meknes city, Morocco) and from four other reference stations (in the same region) located in supposedly uncontaminated environments. Analyses were focused on the physico-chemical characteristics and concentrations of heavy metals (Fe, Mn, As, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd). The database was processed by advanced statistical analysis techniques. The method of classification by self-organizing maps (SOM) was used, permitting understanding and visualization of the spatial and temporal distribution of samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) and SOM hierarchical classification (SOM-HC) were used to validate the classification and detect seasonal variations in heavy metal concentrations. Dependencies between different metal tracers were considered and their spatio-temporal distribution is shown, together with the ranking of clusters, according to their pollution levels. Thus, autumn samples were the only ones with high concentrations of As, compared to the four reference stations. This is due to leaching of bare soil by the first stormy rains of autumn. In winter and spring samples, the concentrations of tracers Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd and Cr were relatively high compared to those of the reference stations. Summer sample concentrations were most comparable with the reference stations, probably due to the scarcity of rainfall and runoff in this season.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz Associate editor E. Gargouri