Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sampling Laurentia: Detrital zircon geochronology offers evidence for an extensive Neoproterozoic river system originating from the Grenville orogen

Neoproterozoic fluvial quartzarenites from the Shaler Group on Victoria Island in the western Canadian Arctic yield a diverse suite of detrital zircons. U-Pb ages from single zircons fall into three modes: Archean (3.01-2.62 Ga), Paleoproterozoic (1.97-1.84 Ga), and Meso proterozoic (1.64-1.03 Ga). Particularly intriguing is the unusually high proportion (50%) of the Mesoproterozoic mode, as the nearest exposed source is the Grenville structural province, ∼3000 km southeast of Victoria Island. Unimodal northwest paleocurrents, obtained from cross-bedding, are compatible with a southeasterly provenance. These data, supported by sedimentological evidence from the Shaler Group and from correlative strata in the northwestern Canadian Cordillera, imply the existence of a large, perennial river system flowing north-westward from the Grenville orogen. An analogy with the Llanos drainage basin in Venezuela and Colombia is proposed on the basis of similar geography, climate, and sedimentation. These data also provide a maximum age for the Shaler Group (basal Reynolds Point Formation) of about 1.11 Ga.
Oceanic upper crustal structure from variable angle seismic reflection – refraction profiles

Summary. The travel times of reflected and refracted arrivals observed on variable angle seismic profiles can be inverted to produce a first approximation to the variation of seismic velocity with depth. A method is discussed for deducing the interval velocity above a reflector by finding the best match between the observed variable angle reflection travel times and those derived by ray tracing through a series of trial models. Further constraints can be placed on the rate of change of velocity with depth by consideration of the amplitudes of both reflections and refractions. Synthetic seismograms calculated by the reflectivity method demonstrate that different kinds of velocity structure in the oceanic volcanic basement layer produce characteristically different variations of amplitude with range. In particular, the exact nature of the shear wave velocity transition at the top of the basement has a marked effect on the compressional wave reflection amplitudes. Pre-critical reflection amplitudes are seen to be generally more sensitive to the velocity structure at the sediment-basement interface than are post-critical reflections, whilst head wave amplitudes are strongly dependent on the velocity gradient in the upper part of the basement. The second part of the paper presents an analysis of variable angle seismic profiles obtained over the Madeira abyssal plain in the North Atlantic, using the travel time and amplitude interpretation techniques discussed earlier. It is concluded that the velocity structure of this area of typical oceanic crust comprises a stack of distinct layers within each of which the velocity increases smoothly with depth. An upper basement layer 600 to 700 m thick is a remnant of an originally lower velocity seismic layer 2A which is found on younger crust. Beneath this upper layer the compressional wave velocity increases with a gradient of less than 0.7/s to the base of seismic layer 2. The velocity gradient within the underlying seismic layer 3 is constrained by refraction amplitudes as less than 0.1/s.
Inter-municipal Cooperation in the U.S.:A Regional Governance Solution?

En Suiza, las reformas relativas al federalismo fiscal han puesto a los municipios bajo una fuerte presion fiscal. La mayoria de las entidades han respondido a este fenomeno incrementando la cooperacion con los municipios circundantes. Simultaneamente, los municipios estan discutiendo, o directamente envueltos, en un proyecto de fusion. Por consiguiente, este trabajo tiene como proposito describir como se ha desarrollado la cooperacion en los municipios suizos, con el fin de ilustrar tambien la tendencia hacia la fusion. Recientes investigaciones nos ayudan a estimar el crecimiento de la importancia de los acuerdos intermunicipales tendentes a la fusion. A la vez, tratamos de determinar si los incentivos financieros cantonales hacia la amalgama de municipios benefician esencialmente a la comunidad cantonal, siguiendo el principio de equivalencia fiscal. En realidad, la. equivalencia no existe. No obstante, puede ser la condicion para reducir la desigualdad entre las entidades fusionadas
Distribution and sources of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in air of Kamihaya, central Japan

Copyright © 2015 by The Geochemical Society of Japan. gations have shown the effects of PAHs on plants (Oguntimehin et al., 2010a, 2013). These studies indicated that PAHs could have chronic and accumulative effects on plants, leading to their becoming more vulnerable to a wide range of diseases, pests, and fungal infections (Oguntimehin et al., 2013). Even if the concentration of individual PAH in the atmosphere is low, they have the potential to cause increased phytotoxicity when present in combination with total PAHs and/or other chemicals (Oguntimehin et al., 2010a, b). For example, ozone was found to have an adverse effect on Japanese pine (Oguntimehin and Sakugawa, 2009) and cherry tomato (Oguntimehin et al., 2010b) in a chamber experiment in which it was administered at 120 ppb in combination with 10 mM fluoranthene (Flt) for 34 days, suggesting that Flt exacerbates the negative effects of ozone. Similarly, increased phytotoxicity was reported in response to the application of Flt in conjugation with acid mist (Oguntimehin et al., 2013). Plant damage caused by pollutants such as ozone and acid mist, even at low concentrations, increases in the presence of a single PAH, which suggests that this damage could further increase in the presence of many PAHs or other air pollutants. After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, a conventional power generation plant (Gobo) that uses heavy oil as fuel was reactivated close (23 km) to our study area. About 20 years ago there was a large die-off of Japanese apricot plants in the area, which was suspected to be in response to air pollution from the nearest power generaDistribution and sources of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in air of Kamihaya, central Japan
Influence of Salinity on Soil Enzyme Activities1

Efforts were made to assess the levels of soil enzyme activities that have a specific role in the N, C, P, and S cycles of saline soils. Fieldmoist soil samples were treated with four rates of CaCl₂, NaCl, and Na₂SO₄ solutions applied to produce electrical conductivity readings of saturation extracts (ECₑ) ranging up to 22 mmho/cm. The range of ECₑ values included threshold salinity levels associated with reduced yields of agronomic crops. After 7 d of equilibration, the following soil enzymes were assayed: amidase, urease, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, phosphodiesterase, inorganic pyrophosphatase, arylsulfatase, rhodanese, α-glucosidase, α-galactosidase, dehydrogenase, and catalase. Soil enzyme activities decreased with increasing ECₑ; however, the degree of inhibition varied among the enzymes assayed and the nature and amounts of salts added. Dehydrogenase activity was severely inhibited by salinity, whereas, the hydrolases showed a much lesser degree of inhibition. Generally, the inhibition of soil enzyme activities by the salt solutions decreased in the following order when compared at the same ECₑ level: NaCl > CaCl₂ > Na₂SO₄. Reduced enzyme activities in saline soils may be due to the osmotic desiccation of microbial cells releasing intracellular enzymes which become vulnerable to attack by soil proteases, a “salting-out” effect modifying the ionic conformation of the active site of the enzyme-protein, and specific ion toxicities causing nutritional imbalances for microbial growth and subsequent enzyme synthesis.
Tethyan ophiolite emplacement, Africa to Europe motions, and Atlantic spreading

Abstract Final emplacement of the mid-Jurassic and mid-Cretaceous supra-subduction zone (SSZ) ophiolites onto adjacent continental areas in the Mediterranean region is synchronous with reductions in the rate of motion between Africa and stable Europe. The Apennine-Ligurian-Alpine ophiolites lack SSZ chemistry, are mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like, range in age from c. 169 to 148 Ma, and were emplaced in late Cretaceous and Cenozoic time. The Hellenic-Dinaric SSZ ophiolites include some MORB, ranging from 173 to 168 Ma, and were emplaced, eroded, and covered by younger sediments by c. 140 Ma. The creation of the Apennine-Ligurian-Alpine and Hellenic-Dinaric suites is attributed to the motion of Adria, which formed a promontory on Africa, or essentially moved with it, as the central Atlantic opened. Extension to the west of Adria gave rise to the Ligurian Sea, generating MORB crust; to the east, a pre-existing Triassic ocean was subducted, with rollback creating Jurassic SSZ ophiolites that were emplaced onto adjacent continental margins in the later stages of convergence. The two episodes of slower motions between Africa and Europe are attributed to two episodes of attempted subduction of a passive continental margin. This speculation suggests that emplacement of some SSZ ophiolites may exert a significant control on oceanic spreading patterns.
Carbon isotope stratigraphy across the Silurian–Devonian transition in Podolia, Ukraine: evidence for a global biogeochemical perturbation

Abstract The carbon and oxygen isotope composition of marine carbonates (δ13C and δ18O, respectively) are studied in the fossiliferous, stratigraphically well-constrained and remarkably expanded successions of Podolia, SW Ukraine, spanning the Silurian–Devonian transition. Significant isotopic shifts are directly comparable to previously published global secular trends in well-preserved brachiopod calcite isotopic ratios from this region, and therefore may be taken as a reliable primary record of seawater δ13C changes. The sections reveal a major positive δ13C excursion, with an amplitude above 6 ‰, beginning in the upper Pridoli and reaching peak values as heavy as +4.2 ‰ in the lowermost Lochkovian. This turnover in carbon cycling is followed by a general trend toward more negative δ13C values in the upper Lochkovian. The Podolian isotopic signals provide strong support for the previously inferred global biogeochemical perturbation across the Silurian–Devonian transition, reflecting a complex combination of palaeogeographical, biogeochemical and evolutionary processes in the late Caledonian geodynamic setting, with a likely undervalued role of the expanding vegetation in vast near-coastal shallows and deltas.
Modeling of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) migration in heterogeneous saturated media: Effects of hysteresis and fluid immobility in constitutive relations

The confidence in model predictions for nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) transport in stochastically heterogeneous systems is limited. The fundamental approaches as well as the constitutive models have not been sufficiently validated, mainly because of the lack of appropriate experimental data. Recently, Fagerlund et al. (2007a, 2007b) presented a set of well‐controlled laboratory data that are used here (1) to analyze the overall performance of the continuum‐based approach for predicting two‐phase NAPL‐water flow in stochastically heterogeneous media and (2) to compare the predictions from different constitutive models. The five models tested were the nonhysteretic Brooks‐Corey‐Burdine (BCB) and van Genuchten‐Mualem (VGM) models, the hysteretic versions of these models (HBCB and HVGM), and the HVGBCB model, a model combining the hysteretic van Genuchten (HVG) Pc‐S relation and the hysteretic Brooks‐Corey‐Burdine kr‐S relation. Two cases of NAPL migration were considered: a layered system of two homogeneous sands separated by a dipping interface and a system where one of the layers was stochastically heterogeneous. The results showed that the best models could indeed capture the main characteristics of the spreading and immobilization well, demonstrating the validity of the continuum‐based approach for this level of stochastic heterogeneity. Implementation of hysteresis was necessary for correct prediction of the observed speed of NAPL migration as well as the amount of immobilized NAPL. The three hysteretic models were similar in their overall prediction error‐based performance. The HVGM model produced less overestimation of NAPL saturations but instead underestimated the entrapment at capillary barriers in comparison to the HBCB and HVGBCB models. The HVGM model also overestimated the speed of NAPL migration, which is attributed to its closed‐form kr‐S function, for which the VG parameter m has to be fitted under the constraint m = 1 − 1/n. The HVG (and VG) Pc‐S function, in contrast, used a different set of VG parameters produced with no constraint on m, which better represented the pore size distributions of the sands. A relation for partial nonwetting phase immobility during drainage is also presented.
Rapid changes in ocean circulation and atmospheric radiocarbon

A latitude-depth, coupled global ocean-ice-atmosphere model is extended to include a simple biosphere component. A physically reasonable adjustment of runoff into the North Atlantic is invoked to achieve a transient response to glacial meltwater perturbations, which closely resembles the Younger Dryas climate event. We then investigate the evolution of the isotopic ratio of atmospheric radiocarbon, Δ14C, due to the rapid changes of deep ocean circulation. When the North Atlantic branch of the conveyor belt circulation is interrupted, the oceanic uptake of radiocarbon is reduced, resulting in an increase of atmospheric Δ14C by about 35 ‰. The reduction of ventilation in the North Atlantic is partly compensated by an increase of the 14C ratios of the biosphere, the Southern Ocean, and the upper ocean above 1000 m depth. A plateau of the 14C year/calendar year relation can be generated at the time of the rapid reinitiation of deep ocean ventilation which begins coincident with the major temperature increase and lasts for about 60 years. It is hence significantly shorter than that found by analyzing tree rings during the termination of Younger Dryas (longer than 400 years). A sensitivity study reveals that the duration of the plateau depends strongly on the transient evolution of the gas exchange rate and can increase to 150–300 years if changes of pCO2 or sea ice coverage are taken into account.
On bed particle diffusion in gravel bed flows under weak bed load transport

We introduce a new conceptual model for longitudinal and transverse diffusion of moving bed particles under weak bed load transport. For both rolling/sliding and saltating modes the model suggests that the particle motion is diffusive and comprises at least three ranges of temporal and spatial scales with different diffusion regimes: (1) the local range (ballistic diffusion), (2) the intermediate range (normal or anomalous diffusion), and (3) the global range (subdiffusion). The local range corresponds to ballistic particle trajectories between two successive collisions with the static bed particles. The intermediate range corresponds to particle trajectories between two successive periods of rest. These trajectories consist of many local trajectories and may include tens or hundreds of collisions with the bed. The global range of scales corresponds to particle trajectories consisting of many intermediate trajectories, just as intermediate trajectories consist of many local trajectories. Our data from the Balmoral Canal (the intermediate range) and Drake et al.'s [1988] data from the Duck Creek (the global range) provide strong support for this conceptual model and identify anomalous diffusion regimes for the intermediate range (superdiffusion) and the global range (subdiffusion).
Water temperatures within spawning beds in two chalk streams and implications for salmonid egg development

Water temperatures within brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) spawning gravels were measured in two Hampshire chalk streams from October 1995 to April 1996 inclusive. During the winter, mean intra-gravel water temperatures were higher than those in the stream, and increased with depth in the gravel bed. The amplitude of diel fluctuations in water temperature decreased with depth in the gravel bed, although diel fluctuations were still evident at a depth of 30 cm. Differences in intra-gravel temperature gradients between the two study sites were attributed to differences in the amplitude of stream water temperature fluctuations and there was no evidence that either of the study sites were located in zones of upwelling groundwater. Published equations are used to predict, from temperature, the timing of important stages in the development of brown trout embryos (eyeing, hatching and emergence) for eggs spawned in the autumn and winter and buried at different depths in the gravel bed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Long‐term record of CO2 degassing along Mt. Etna's flanks and its relationship with magma dynamics and eastern flank instability

A record of soil CO2 flux data on the lower flanks of Mt. Etna, measured from 1989 to 2008, is discussed in the framework of multidisciplinary observations, including seismicity, ground deformations, and flank instability. A huge increase in soil CO2 fluxes appears to be related to the dynamics of magma ascent in the upper portions of the volcano (0–3 km) and the intrusion of dykes along the southern rift, as mainly observed before the 1991–93 eruption. Even after the 1991–93 eruption, the recharge of the shallow/central reservoir was accompanied by a long‐term increase in soil CO2 degassing mainly in the southwestern area. The 2001 eruption marked dramatic changes in the areal distribution of seismicity, the deformation pattern, and the soil CO2 degassing. Indeed, while the soil CO2 degassing showed background values in the southwestern area, it progressively increased in the eastern sector and along the Pernicana fault. This has been related to the marked sliding of the eastern flank since the 2002–03 eruption and the associated seismicity. This study provides evidence that the extent of soil CO2 degassing on the lower flanks of Mt. Etna is controlled by (1) the volume of involved magma, (2) the intrusion of dykes in the upper parts of the volcano, and (3) fault movement and seismicity. This implies that different degassing structures must be monitored simultaneously when attempting to understand the behavior of the volcano as a whole.
Letter regarding “The usefulness of metabolic score for insulin resistance for the prediction of incident non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Korean adults”

, who were recruited from the outpatient diabetes clinic of a university hospital in Mexico City. Among the 125 subjects, 68 had type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and 57 did not. The subjects with DM were included if they met the following conditions: their glycated hemoglobin concentration was <8%; they did not take insulin; and they were treated with only metformin. However, the number of patients used to develop this score was too small. Furthermore, the composition of the discovery population was heterogeneous. No precise definition of how the METS-IR discovery population was recruited was provided. Although the factors included in the METS-IR score reflect IR, the question is, whether an appropriate patient population was recruited to develop the METS-IR. Second, NAFLD progresses from simple steatosis, steato-hepatitis, and fibrosis to cirrhosis. 4,5 The authors argued that METS-IR can be used to predict the incidence of NAFLD. 3 As mentioned in the editorial by Kim and Cheong, 6 METS-IR was inversely correlated with the prediction of fibrosis in patients with NAFLD in another study. 5 The same authors explained that a reduction in triglycerides with the progression of liver fibrosis was one hypothesis. 5 Serum triglyceride levels decrease as liver disease progresses to liver fibrosis. 7 As triglyc-Letter
The Mjáuvøtn tephra and other Holocene tephra horizons from the Faroe Islands: a link between the Icelandic source region, the Nordic Seas, and the European continent

Six different tephra horizons were found in peat and lacustrine sediments on the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic. Their geochemistry showed that they were of Icelandic origin. Three of these can be correlated with previously described tephra horizons from the Faroe Islands: the Saksunarvatn tephra (c. 9000 BP), the Hekla-4 (c. 3800 BP) and Hekla-Selsund (c. 3600 BP). A previously unrecorded basaltic tephra dated to c. 5700-5300 BP was found in two lacustrine successions. This horizon is named the Mjáuvøtn tephra after Mjáuvøtn Lake on the island of Streymoy. Two further tephras were recorded: the basaltic phase of the ‘Landnám’ tephra (VIIa, c. AD 870s), and the rhyolitic Tjørnuvik tephra. These were found in sediments deposited shortly after the first phase of human settlement at Tjørnuvik, which is AMS dated to AD 675-861 (calibrated age). The Faroe Islands are an important link between the volcanic sources on Iceland, and the established tephrochronological frameworks on the British Isles, Scandinavia and Germany. Their position within a sensitive region of the northeastern branch of the North Atlantic Drift make the Faroe Islands ideal for registering climate changes during the Holocene. The establishment of a modern tephrochronology may provide a tool for more precisely dating and correlating regional climate events in and around the Nordic Seas.
Distribution and type of sticky spots at the centre of a deglacial streamlined lobe in northeastern Manitoba, Canada

The distribution of basal drag zones (sticky spots) underneath palaeo‐ice streams or lobes is largely unknown. We investigated the centre of the large (300 km long and up to 400 km wide) deglacial Hayes Lobe in NE Manitoba, Canada, by focusing on surficial till and its composition to get insights into dispersal patterns and their potential relationships to areas of basal drag. Subglacial bed roughness is a good criterion to identify areas of basal drag, but till composition may provide important insights across smoother beds. The onset zone of the Hayes Lobe overlies Palaeozoic Carbonate Platform rocks, whereas the majority of the lobe overlies the low‐lying Canadian Shield. We show that, within a 3500‐km2 central area of this lobe, calcareous detritus within the till has been transported over 100 km within subglacial environments of reduced ice‐bed coupling and fast ice flow. Six per cent of samples (n = 782), however, outline 0.2 to 4 km wide spots with a dominantly local composition. The glacial history and composition indicate that the till within these spots contains high inheritance from a pre‐Late Wisconsinan ice‐flow phase, which we suggest was protected beneath sticky spots (low erosion, high strength) during transport of substantial calcareous detritus to the area. Furthermore, our findings show that local till spots are present within streamlined landforms, as well as till blankets or veneers over bedrock. This diverse geomorphology indicates that the process of drumlinization within the deglacial Hayes Lobe does not appear to have been responsible for significant sediment transport or deposition across the study area. The overall record thus indicates potentially complex spatiotemporal shifts between calcareous till deposition, sticky conditions, erosion and drumlinization – which supports the subglacial bed mosaic model.