Frações de carbono e nitrogênio em função da textura, do relevo e do uso do solo na microbacia do agreste em Vaca Brava (PB)

A produtividade em sistemas agrícolas de subsistência ou de baixos insumos depende do fornecimento de nutrientes oriundos da mineralização da matéria orgânica do solo (MOS). Portanto, a quantidade e a qualidade da MOS são duas variáveis fundamentais relacionadas com a sustentabilidade da produção agropecuária de subsistência. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi analisar as inter-relações de usos do solo, as posições no relevo e suas texturas com os teores totais de C (Ct) e N (Nt), a fração de C oxidável por KMnO4 16,5 mol L-1 (Cox) e a fração de N aminoaçúcar (N amino). Esses atributos foram quantificados em 260 amostras simples de solo (0-20 cm) retiradas da microbacia Vaca Brava (PB), em áreas de uso agropecuário, num sistema de amostragem com arranjo fatorial de estratos. Os teores de Ct, Nt e N amino decresceram na seqüência: pastagem > capineira > roçado. Em relação ao relevo, tanto os teores de Ct e Nt quanto suas frações apresentaram os maiores teores nas áreas de várzea, siltosas e os menores nas áreas de rampa pedimentada, mais arenosas. A redistribuição de sedimentos nas vertentes foi ocasionada por processos erosivos da camada superficial das encostas, nas quais predominam texturas finas. Em relação às classes texturais, os teores de MOS e de suas frações foram maiores (p < 0,05) nas amostras de textura argilo-arenosa e menores nas de textura areia franca. Em todas as situações analisadas, os teores de Cox e N amino tenderam a acompanhar as variações nos teores de Ct e Nt. Por conta desta última tendência, os índices Cox/Ct e Nt/N amino, que representam a qualidade da MOS, indicaram poucas mudanças significativas nesse atributo de acordo com o uso, relevo ou classe textural.

Determinação in Loco da difusividade térmica num solo da região de Caatinga (PB)

Um estudo experimental detalhado sobre transferências de calor e água no complexo solo - vegetação - atmosfera, em uma região de caatinga no semi-árido paraibano, mostrou que o comportamento termodinâmico do solo exerce papel fundamental no processo de evaporação do solo e nos fluxos de calor sensível. Este trabalho objetivou mostrar como a difusividade térmica do solo in loco foi determinada. Três métodos diferentes, embasados sobre hipóteses bem distintas, foram utilizados, e os seus resultados foram comparados. O método harmônico não se mostrou adequado para o tipo de solo encontrado. Para a camada superficial do solo (0-5 cm), o método CLTM (Corrected Laplace Transform Method) mostrou-se bem adaptado. Em todos os casos, o método NHS (método de Nassar & Horton), que considera variações verticais da difusividade térmica, apresentou uma dispersão elevada dos seus pontos, porém forneceu valores próximos dos valores estimados pelo método CLTM na camada superior e valores coerentes nas outras camadas. A umidade do solo, na profundidade média de 5 cm, foi medida por uma sonda TDR devidamente calibrada. Assim, pôde se determinar a relação entre a difusividade térmica e a umidade volumétrica para o solo estudado. Os valores muito baixos de difusividade constituem um condicionante importante do clima local.

Efeito da adição de fontes de matéria orgânica como amenizantes do efeito tóxico de B, Zn, Cu, Mn e Pb no cultivo de Brassica juncea

Atividades humanas como mineração, siderurgia e aplicação de fertilizantes tornam a poluição por metais sério problema ambiental na atualidade. A fitorremediação - uso de plantas e da microbiota, associada ou não a adições de amenizantes de solo, para extrair, seqüestrar e, ou, reduzir a toxicidade dos poluentes - tem sido descrita como uma tecnologia efetiva, não-destrutiva, econômica e socialmente aceita para remediar solos poluídos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a eficiência da mostarda na remoção de Zn, Cu, Mn, Pb e B de um solo contaminado e o efeito da adição de materiais orgânicos na redução da disponibilidade de metais pesados e B para essa planta. O trabalho foi realizado em casa de vegetação, com delineamento inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial 3 x 5 com quatro repetições, utilizando 0, 7, 14, 21 e 28 g kg-1 de C no solo. Os materiais orgânicos utilizados foram: solomax, turfa e concentrado húmico mineral (CHM). A adição de turfa e concentrado húmico mineral reduziu os teores de Zn, Cu, Pb e B extraíveis do solo e na parte aérea da mostarda; contudo, essa redução não foi suficiente para impedir os efeitos fitotóxicos dos elementos. A adição dos materiais orgânicos promoveu aumento nos teores de Mn no solo, entretanto apenas o solomax proporcionou aumento na concentração do elemento na parte aérea das plantas. Os efeitos da turfa e do CHM sobre a disponibilidade de Zn, Cu, Mn, Pb e B no solo, a concentração na parte aérea e o crescimento das plantas indicaram o potencial desses materiais como agentes amenizantes de toxicidade e do solomax como auxiliar em programas de fitoextração induzida.

Metallogenic model of the Trepca Pb-Zn-Ag skarn deposit, Kosovo: Evidence from fluid inclusions, Rare Earth Elements, and stable isotope data

The Trepca Pb-Zn-Ag skarn deposit (29 Mt of ore at 3.45% Pb, 2.30% Zn, and 80 g/t Ag) is located in the Kopaonik block of the western Vardar zone, Kosovo. The mineralization, hosted by recrystallized limestone of Upper Triassic age, was structurally and lithologically controlled. Ore deposition is spatially and temporally related with the postcollisional magmatism of Oligocene age (23-26 Ma). The deposit was formed during two distinct mineralization stages: an early prograde closed-system and a later retrograde open-system stage. The prograde mineralization consisting mainly of pyroxenes (Hd(54-100)Jo(0-45)Di(0-45)) resulted from the interaction of magmatic fluids associated with Oligocene (23-26 Ma) postcollisional magmatism. Whereas there is no direct contact between magmatic rocks and the mineralization, the deposit is classified as a distal Pb-Zn-Ag skarn. Abundant pyroxene reflects low oxygen fugacity (<10(-31) bar) and anhydrous environment. Fluid inclusion data and mineral assemblage limit the prograde stage within a temperature range between 390 degrees and 475 degrees C. Formation pressure is estimated below 900 bars. Isotopic composition of aqueous fluid, inclusions hosted by hedenbergite (delta D = -108 to -130 parts per thousand; delta O-18 = 7.5-8.0 parts per thousand), Mn-enriched mineralogy and high REE content of the host carbonates at the contact with the skarn mineralization suggest that a magmatic fluid was modified during its infiltration through the country rocks. The retrograde mineral assemblage comprises ilvaite, magnetite, arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, marcasite, pyrite, quartz, and various carbonates. Increases in oxygen and sulfur fugacities, as well as a hydrous character of mineralization, require an open-system model. The opening of the system is related to phreatomagmatic explosion and formation of the breccia. Arsenopyrite geothermometer limits the retrograde stage within the temperature range between 350 degrees and 380 degrees C and sulfur fugacity between 10(-8.8) and 10(-7.2) bars. The principal ore minerals, galena, sphalerite, pyrite, and minor chalcopyrite, were deposited from a moderately saline Ca-Na chloride fluid at around 350 degrees C. According to the isotopic composition of fluid inclusions hosted by sphalerite (delta D = -55 to -74 parts per thousand; delta O-18 = -9.6 to -13.6 parts per thousand), the fluid responsible for ore deposition was dominantly meteoric in origin. The delta S-31 values of the sulfides spanning between -5.5 and +10 parts per thousand point to a magmatic origin of sulfur. Ore deposition appears to have been largely contemporaneous with the retrograde stage of the skarn development. Postore stage accompanied the precipitation of significant amount of carbonates including the travertine deposits at the deposit surface. Mineralogical composition of travertine varies from calcite to siderite and all carbonates contain significant amounts of Mn. Decreased formation temperature and depletion in the REE content point to an influence of pH-neutralized cold ground water and dying magmatic system.

La mineralització kàrstica (Ba,Cu,Pb,Zn,Sb) de Rocabruna i de Can Pubill, Pirineo Oriental: geologia, morfologia i gènesi

La mineralització consisteix en el rebliment de cavitats mètriques de morfologia kàrstica, encaixades en dolomies Cambro-Ordovicianes. Les cavitats són plenes de baritina amb una aurèola centi a mil·limètrica de quars i sulfurs (tetraedrita-tennantita, calcopirita, galena, esfalerita). La mineralització és situada a prop i per sota d'una paleosuperficie sobre la qual es depositaren els red-beds, amb disseminacions de baritina, de fàcies garumniana (Cretaci superior-Paleocè). Les condicions de deposició son coherents amb una precipitació a partir de solucions, inicialment àcides, que omplien cavitats preexistents.

El depósito volcanogénico de Cu-Zn-Pb-Au El Cobre, Cuba Oriental: estructura y mineralogía

El depósito "El Cobre" encaja en series volcanosedimentarias del arco de islas Paleógeno de Cuba Oriental. Los tipos de mineralización presentes son estratiforme, estratoligada y filoniana. Los depósitos estratiformes (anhidrita, barita o criptomelana) se formaron por precipitación de fluidos hidrotermales en un fondo submarino. La mineralización filoniana constituye la zona de raíz de los depósitos estratiformes, presentando morfología de stockwork en sectores superficiales, pero hacia los sectores profundos disminuye la anchura de la zona mineralizada. En ella predominan pirita y calcopirita en asociación con cuarzo, excepto en algunos filones más superficiales en donde predomina esfalerita asociada a anhidrita. Las alteraciones asociadas son cloritización y silicificación en los sectoresmás profundos; en los más superficiales se dan sericitización y caolinitización. La mineralización estratoligada es contemporánea con la mineralización filoniana y se produce por reemplazamiento de diversos niveles favo r a bles de la serie: calizas en la parte inferior y el nivel exhalativo de sulfato en la parte superior (donde se producen las concentraciones de oro más elevadas del depósito). En base a los tipos de mineralización presentes y de acuerdo al carácter singenético de los depósitos con las rocas vulcanosedimentarias de la secuencia media del Grupo El Cobre, se propone un modelo de formación exhalativo vulcanogénico en un contexto geodinámico de arco de islas, similar al modelo Kuroko.

High-precision U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar dating of an Alpine ophiolite (Gets nappe, French Alps)

Coarse-grained gabbros from two different localities in the Gets nappe (Upper Prealps) have been dated by U-Pb and Ar-40/Ar-39 isotopic analyses. Zircons from both gabbros gave identical concordant U-Pb ages of 166 +/- 1 Ma (Fig. 4). Amphibole from one of them gave an Ar-40/Ar-39 plateau age of 165.9 +/- 2.2 Ma (Fig. 5). This concordance implies that 166 +/- 1 Ma is the age of magmatic crystallization of these gabbros. The Gets wildflysch with its mafic and ultramafic lenses is an ophiolitic melange, that we infer to come from a proximal part of the accretionary prism at the foot of the active SE margin of the Piemont ocean. In this position we can expect to find remnants of the oldest parts of the Piemont oceanic crust. These are the first high-precision dates using modern techniques from an Alpine ophiolite and are in excellent agreement with the following: 1) The few, somewhat younger, reliable ages on ophiolites from the probable continuation of the Piemont basin into the Apennines and Corsica; 2) Recent data on the age of the first supra-ophiolitic sediments (Late Bathonian to Early Callovian radiolarites); 3) The structural and stratigraphic evolution of the Brianconnais (s.s.) domain, the future NW margin of the Piemont ocean. We note a remarkable coincidence, in Late Bajocian time, between: (A) the end of tensile fracturing in the Brianconnais continental crust; (B) the beginning of its subsidence; (C) the age of the Gets ophiolites. This coincidence is consistent with an ocean opening mechanism based on a combination of subhorizontal extension and thermally driven vertical movements of the lithosphere.

La composicion isotopica del azufre y del plomo en las mineralizaciones de Zn-Pb del Valle de Aran (Pirineo Central) y su significado metalogenetico

La composición isotópica del azufre en sulfuros (834S) de las mineralizaciones tipo sedimentario-exhalativo del Ordovícico superior del valle de Arán (Pirineos Centrales) varía entre +3,5 y +15,1 %0 en los encajados en carbonatos y entre -2,7 y +5,5 %0 en los encajados en materiales detríticos. Estos valores sugieren que dichos depósitos se formaron a partir de dos fuentes de azufre distintas: una originada por reducción de sulfato de origen marino y otra por lixiviación de materiales detríticos y/o volcánicos de edad cambro-ordovícica.

Elements traça en esfalerites i galenes del dipòsit de Cierco (Pb-Zn). Alta Ribagorça, Pirineu Central

El diposit consisteix en dos filons E-W, tallats per un altre N-S. El rebliment filonia ès zonat amb esfalerita- galena-calcita als nivells profunds i galena-baritina als superiors. Els elements traça en esfalerites i galenes, plenament separades, han estat analitzats mitjancant fluorescència de raigs X. Els resultats mostren que l'esfalerita concentra la majoria d'elements traça, preferentment Fe, Co, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ga, Cu, Ge i Ag, amb una bona correlació entre els sis primers. La galena concentra únicament Sb, Ag i As, amb bona correlació entre els dos primers. Els continguts en elements traça estan homogèniament distribuits en tot el diposit.

Precise U-Pb age constraints for end-Triassic mass extinction, its correlation to volcanism and Hettangian post-extinction recovery

New precise zircon U-Pb ages are proposed for the Triassic-Jurassic (Rhetian-Hettangian) and the Hettangian-Sinemurian boundaries, The ages were obtained by ID-TIMS dating of single chemical-abraded zircons from volcanic ash layers within the Pucara Group, Aramachay Formation in the Utcubamba valley, northern Peru. Ash layers situated between last and first occurrences of boundary-defining ammonites yielded Pb-206/U-238 ages of 201.58 +/- 0.17/0.28 Ma (95% c.l., uncertainties without/with decay constant errors, respectively) for the Triassic-Jurassic and of 199.53 +/- 0.19/0.29 Ma for the Hettangian-Sinemurian boundaries. The former is established on a tuff located 1 m above the last local occurrence of the topmost Triassic genus Choristoceras, and 5 m below the Hettangian genus Psiloceras. The latter sample was obtained from a tuff collected within the Badouxia canadensis beds. Our new ages document total duration of the Hettagian of no more than c. 2 m.y., which has fundamental implications for the interpretation and significance of the ammonite recovery after the topmost Triassic extinction. The U-Pb age is about 0.8 +/- 0.5% older than Ar-40-Ar-39 dates determined on flood basalts of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). Given the widely accepted hypothesis that inaccuracies in the K-40 decay constants or physical constants create a similar bias between the two dating methods, our new U-Pb zircon age determination for the T/J boundary corroborates the hypothesis that the CAMP was emplaced at the same time and may be responsible for a major climatic turnover and mass extinction. The zircon Pb-206/U-238 age for the T/J boundary is marginally older than the North Mountain Basalt (Newark Supergroup, Nova Scotia, Canada), which has been dated at 201.27 +/- 0.06 Ma [Schoene et al., 2006. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 70, 426-445]. It will be important to look for older eruptions of the CAMP and date them precisely by U-Pb techniques while addressing all sources of systematic uncertainty to further test the hypothesis of volcanic induced climate change leading to extinction. Such high-precision, high-accuracy data will be instrumental for constraining the contemporaneity of geological events at a 100 kyr level. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dating human skeletal remains using a radiometric method: Biogenic versus diagenetic (90)Sr and (210)Pb in vertebrae.

In forensic science, there is a strong interest in determining the post-mortem interval (PMI) of human skeletal remains up to 50 years after death. Currently, there are no reliable methods to resolve PMI, the determination of which relies almost exclusively on the experience of the investigating expert. Here we measured (90)Sr and (210)Pb ((210)Po) incorporated into bones through a biogenic process as indicators of the time elapsed since death. We hypothesised that the activity of radionuclides incorporated into trabecular bone will more accurately match the activity in the environment and the food chain at the time of death than the activity in cortical bone because of a higher remodelling rate. We found that determining (90)Sr can yield reliable PMI estimates as long as a calibration curve exists for (90)Sr covering the studied area and the last 50 years. We also found that adding the activity of (210)Po, a proxy for naturally occurring (210)Pb incorporated through ingestion, to the (90)Sr dating increases the reliability of the PMI value. Our results also show that trabecular bone is subject to both (90)Sr and (210)Po diagenesis. Accordingly, we used a solubility profile method to determine the biogenic radionuclide only, and we are proposing a new method of bone decontamination to be used prior to (90)Sr and (210)Pb dating.

Lifetime of an ocean island volcano feeder zone: constraints from U-Pb dating on coexisting zircon and baddeleyite, and 40Ar/39Ar age determinations, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands

High-precision isotope dilution - thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) U-Pb zircon and baddeleyite ages from the PX1 vertically layered mafic intrusion Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, indicate initiation of magma crystallization at 22.10 +/- 0.07 Ma. The magmatic activity lasted a minimum of 0.52 Ma. Ar-40/Ar-39 amphibole dating yielded ages from 21.9 +/- 0.6 to 21.8 +/- 0.3, identical within errors to the U-Pb ages, despite the expected 1% theoretical bias between Ar-40/Ar-39 and U-Pb dates. This overlap could result from (i) rapid cooling of the intrusion (i. e., less than the 0.3 to 0.6 Ma 40Ar/39Ar age uncertainties) from closure temperatures (T-c) of zircon (699-988 degrees C) to amphibole (500-600 degrees C); (ii) lead loss affecting the youngest zircons; or (iii) excess argon shifting the plateau ages towards older values. The combination of the Ar-40/Ar-39 and U/Pb datasets implies that the maximum amount of time PX1 intrusion took to cool below amphibole T-c is 0.8 Ma, suggesting PX1 lifetime of 520 000 to 800 000 Ma. Age disparities among coexisting baddeleyite and zircon (22.10 +/- 0.07/0.08/0.15 Ma and 21.58 +/- 0.15/0.16/0.31 Ma) in a gabbro sample from the pluton margin suggest complex genetic relationships between phases. Baddeleyite is found preserved in plagioclase cores and crystallized early from low silica activity magma. Zircon crystallized later in a higher silica activity environment and is found in secondary scapolite and is found close to calcite veins, in secondary scapolite that recrystallised from plagioclase. close to calcite veins. Oxygen isotope delta O-18 values of altered plagioclase are high (+7.7), indicating interaction with fluids derived from host-rock carbonatites. The coexistence of baddeleyite and zircon is ascribed to interaction of the PX1 gabbro with CO2-rich carbonatite-derived fluids released during contact metamorphism.

Topological magnetic irreversibility in superconducting Pb samples of various shapes

The magnetic-field dependence of the magnetization of cylinders, disks, and spheres of pure type-I superconducting lead was investigated by means of isothermal measurements of first magnetization curves and hysteresis cycles. Depending on the geometry of the sample and the direction and intensity of the applied magnetic field, the intermediate state exhibits different irreversible features that become particularly highlighted in minor hysteresis cycles. The irreversibility is noticeably observed in cylinders and disks only when the magnetic field is parallel to the axis of revolution and is very subtle in spheres. When the magnetic field decreases from the normal state, the irreversibility appears at a temperature-dependent value whose distance to the thermodynamic critical field depends on the sample geometry. The irreversible features in the disks are altered when they are submitted to an annealing process. These results agree well with very recent high-resolution magneto-optical experiments in similar materials that were interpreted in terms of transitions between different topological structures for the flux configuration in the intermediate state. A discussion of the relative role of geometrical barriers for flux entry and exit and pinning effects as responsible for the magnetic irreversibility is given.