Evolution of a ~2.7 Ga large igneous province: A volcanological, geochemical and geochronological study of the Agnew Greenstone Belt, and new regional correlations for the Kalgoorlie Terrane (Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia)

The thick package of ~2.7 Ga mafic and ultramafic lavas and intrusions preserved among the Neoarchean of the Kalgoorlie Terrene in Western Australia provides valuable insight into geological processes controlling the most prodigious episode of growth and preservation of juvenile continental crust in Earth’s history. Limited exposure of these rocks results in uncertainty about their age, physical and chemical characteristics, and stratigraphic relationships. This in turn prevents confident correlation of regional occurrences of mafic and ultramafic successions (both intrusive and extrusive) and hinders the interpretation of tectonic setting and magmatic evolution. A recent stratigraphic drilling program of the Neoarchean stratigraphy of the Agnew Greenstone Belt in Western Australia has provided continuous exposures through a c. 7 km thick sequence of mafic and ultramafic units. In this study, we present a volcanological, lithogeochemical and chronological study of the Agnew Greenstone Belt, and provide the first pre-2690 Ma regional correlation across the Kalgoorlie Terrane. The Agnew Greenstone Belt records ~30 m.y. of episodic ultramafic-mafic magmatism that includes two cycles, each defined by a komatiite that is overlain by units that become more evolved and contaminated with time. The sequence is divided into nine conformable packages, each consisting of stacked subaqueous lava flows and comagmatic intrusions, as well as two sills without associated extrusions. Lavas, with the exception of intercalations between two units, form a layer-cake stratigraphy and were likely erupted from a system of fissures tapping the same magma source. The komatiites are not contaminated by continental crust ([La/Sm]PM ~0.7) and are of the Al-undepleted Munro-type. Crustal contamination is evident in many units (Songvang Basalt, Never Can Tell Basalt, Redeemer Basalt, and Turrett Dolerite), as judged by [La/Sm]>1, negative Nb and Ti anomalies, and geochemical mixing trends towards felsic contaminants. Crystal fractionation was also significant, with early olivine and chromite (Mg#>65) followed by plagioclase and clinopyroxene removal (Mg<65), and in the most evolved case, titanomagnetite accumulation. Three new TIMS dates on granophyric zones of mafic sills and one ICP-MS date from an interflow felsic tuff are presented and used for regional stratigraphic correlation. Cycle I magmatism began at ~2720 Ma and ended ~2705 Ma, whereas cycle II began ~2705 Ma and ended at 2690.7±1.2 Ma. Regional correlations indicate the western Kalgoorlie Terrane consists of a remarkably similar stratigraphy that can be recognised at Agnew, Ora Banda and Coolgardie, whereas the eastern part of the terrane (e.g., Kambalda Domain) does not include cycle I, but correlates well with cycle II. This research supports an autochthonous model of greenstone formation, in which one large igneous province, represented by two complete cycles, is constructed on sialic crust. New stratigraphic correlations for the Kalgoorlie Terrane indicate that many units can be traced over distances >100 km, which has implications for exploration targeting for stratigraphically hosted ultramafic Ni and VMS deposits.

Counterclockwise exhumation of a hot orogen: The Paleoproterozoic ultrahigh-temperature granulites in the North China Craton

Regional metamorphic belts provide important constraints on the plate tectonic architecture of orogens. We report here a detailed petrologic examination of the sapphirine-bearing ultra-high temperature (UHT) granulites from the Jining Complex within the Khondalite Belt of the North China Craton (NCC). These granulites carry diagnostic UHT assemblages and their microstructures provide robust evidence to trace the prograde, peak and retrograde metamorphic evolution. The P–T conditions of the granulites estimated from XMgGrt(Mg/Fe + Mg) − XMgSpr isopleth calculations indicate temperature above 970 °C and pressures close to 7 kbar. We present phase diagrams based on thermodynamic computations to evaluate the mineral assemblages and microstructures and trace the metamorphic trajectory of the rocks. The evolution from Spl–Qtz–Ilm–Crd–Grt–Sil to Spr–Qtz–Crd–Opx–Ilm marks the prograde stage. The Spl–Qtz assemblage appears on the low-pressure side of the P–T space with Spr–Qtz stable at the high-pressure side, possibly representing an increase in pressure corresponding to compression. The spectacular development of sapphirine rims around spinel enclosed in quartz supports this inference. An evaluation of the key UHT assemblages based on model proportion calculation suggests a counterclockwise P–T path. With few exceptions, granulite-facies rocks developed along collisional metamorphic zones have generally been characterized by clockwise exhumation trajectories. Recent evaluation of the P–T paths of metamorphic rocks developed within collisional orogens indicates that in many cases the exhumation trajectories follow the model subduction geotherm, in accordance with a tectonic model in which the metamorphic rocks are subducted and exhumed along a plate boundary. The timing of UHT metamorphism in the NCC (c. 1.92 Ga) coincides with the assembly of the NCC within the Paleoproterozoic Columbia supercontinent, a process that would have involved subduction of passive margins sediments and closure of the intervening ocean. Thus, the counterclockwise P–T path obtained in this study correlates well with a tectonic model involving subduction and final collisional suturing, with the UHT granulites representing the core of the hot or ultra-hot orogen developed during Columbia amalgamation.

The Municipal Budgetary Response to Changing Labor Costs: The Case of San Francisco

"This paper analyzes how expenditures of the city of San Francisco were altered in response to changes in municipal labor costs over the period 1945 through 1976. A hybrid of the "demands" and the "organizational" models of budgeting is used to measure the budgetary response to changes in the relative prices of labor inputs. Descriptive and econometric evidence reveals significant adjustments both among and within departments in reaction to changes in relative labor costs. The empirical evidence demonstrates that the city's budgetary process is guided by simple allocative rules modified by price-responsive adjustments."

Mediaş Jewish Community Photograph Collection 1900-1930s bulk: undated

The collection contains more than 60 black and white photographs from the first decades of the 20th century found in the synagogue of Mediaş (Mediasch, Medgyes), Romania. The photographs were found in the process of an on-going clean-up and restoration project and for the most part are unidentified. The photographs are of community members and their relatives and friends; they consist of group family portraits, individual portraits, babies, and children. Some of the photographs originate from Mediaş and other nearby Transylvanian towns, while others were printed by foreign printing shops and were presumably sent to relatives living in Mediaş.

Potencial de propagación con fertilización y sin fertilización de seis especies forrajeras arbustivas existentes en la comunidad de Pacora, San Francisco Libre

El presente trabajo se llevó a cabo en la comunidad de Pacora del municipio de San Francisco Libre a 17 km al noroeste del empalme de la carretera San Francisco Libre- Managua, localizada geográficamente a losl2° 29' 54" latitud norte y los 86° 16' 54" longitud oeste. Se tomaron en consideración 4 fincas para el establecimiento del ensayo. El objetivo general del experimento fue identificar el grado de propagación de seis especies forrajeras arbustivas nativas de la comunidad de Pacora bajo la modalidad de estacas. Primero se realizó un sondeo para obtener información sobre las especies forrajeras arbustivas de la zona. El trabajo tuvo una duración de 92 días, realizando conteos y mediciones de los rebrotes a Jos 22, 44, 63, 80 y 92 días de establecido el ensayo. Se evaluaron seis especies (madero negro, genízaro, tigüilote, jocote, jícaro y muanda) y dos sustrato: tierra de rio + estiércol de caballo (S1) y tierra de 1 lugar (S2) para un total de 12 combinaciones. Las variables estudiadas fueron: porcentaje de prendimiento, porcentaje de sobrevivencia de las estacas; número de rebrotes por estacas y longitud de los rebrotes. Se empleó un modelo aditivo lineal bifactorial; para la interpretación del sondeo se hizo un análisis de frecuencia, las variables porcentaje de prendimiento y porcentaje de sobrevivencia se analizaron a través de sus fórmulas y realizando la desviación a través de su fórmula, en los datos procesados para las variables número y longitud de los rebrotes se utilizó el programa estadístico SAS, haciendo uso también de la transformación de x para su posterior análisis, se hizo la separación de medias por medio de Tukey. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran que existen una gran diversidad de árboles de utilización forrajera de los cuales el productor puede valerse como una alternativa para la alimentación animal; de las especies evaluadas el madero negro obtuvo los mayores porcentajes de prendimiento con 35% (S1) y 52.5% (S2). Para el porcentaje de sobrevivencia el jocote obtuvo los mayores valores con 46.42% (S l) y 66.5% (S2). La mayor cantidad de rebrotes y longitud de los rebrotes lo presentó el madero negro con un promedio de 5.89 rebrotes / estaca y 2.32 cm/ longitud / rebrote respectivamente

Diagnostico del estado reproductivo de las fincas bovinas en el municipio de San Francisco de Cuapa, Chontales

La presente investigación se realizó en base alos objetivos asignados: Realizar mediante palpaciones rectales un diagnóstico reproductivo de los hatos bovinos de doble propósito del municipio de cuapa-chontales y así determinar por comarcas el intervalo parto-concepción, intervalo parto-parto y diagnóstico reproductivo por eso se propuso este trabajo investigativo que lleva por título “Diagnóstico reproductivo de las fincas bovinas en el municipio de san francisco de cuapa-chontales “se realizó en el periodo comprendido de septiembre 2009 a marzo de 2010, el cual se basó en establecer el diagnóstico reproductivos mediante la palpación rectal en cada una de las vacas, incluyendo ganado parido y vacas horras de cada hato de los productores, la cantidad de productor para realizar este trabajo investigativo fue de 21 productor asociados a una cooperativa llamada La unión de dicho municipio. Las variables evaluadas fueron intervalo parto-concepción: con un índice de mayor de 150 días, intervalo parto-parto: con índice de 17 meses. El diagnóstico reproductivo total fue de 48.5% de vacas gestadas, el 45.1% de vacas vacías y 6.4 % de vacas servidas. Este trabajo investigativo se realizo en un periodo de seis meses mediante la estadía en el municipio de la investigación ,los datos recopilados se obtuvieron mediante formatos utilizados para cada productor ,dentro de ellos tenemos: inventarios de las fincas y diagnóstico reproductivo de cada fincas de los productores.Los resultados que obtuvimos de los productores hacia nosotros fueron satisfactorios para efectuar el trabajo investigativo y además pudimos recolectar toda la información que necesitábamos.