{"title":"Use of the magnetic, geochemical, and sedimentary records in establishing paleoclimate change in the environment of Sebkha: Case of the Sebkha Mhabeul in southeastern Tunisia","authors":"Mariem Ben Ameur , Sameh Masmoudi , Abdelhakim Abichou , Mounir Medhioub , Chokri Yaich","doi":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.10.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.10.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, we explored the evidence of late Holocene climate changes in southern Tunisia, examining extreme events of flood and sandstorm sedimentary succession records, in Sebkha Mhabeul. A sediment-derived climatic proxy was inferred from a 93.5-cm-deep core (Mh1), whose dating by tephrochronology has already been achieved in previous works. Multiple geochemical, sedimentological, magnetic susceptibility, and quartz grain microtexture proxies were used to determine the shifts in regional climatic conditions. The Sebkha core captured sensitive changes in the precipitation/evaporation (P/E) balance by adjustments in salinity, and is especially valuable for reconstructing variability over centennial timescales. The Sebkha Mhabeul area showed higher salinity during the Roman Warm Period (RWP: 2100–1400 cal yr BP), the Medieval Warm Period (MWP: 1000–600 cal yr BP) and the present era, and generally lower salinity during the Dark Ages (DA: 1400-1000 cal yr BP) and the Little Ice Age (LIA: 600-200 cal yr BP).</p><p>In southeastern Tunisia, the hydrological behavior was sometimes consistent with the flood activities in the eastern Mediterranean, and sometimes contemporaneous with the flood pulsations of the western Mediterranean.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50651,"journal":{"name":"Comptes Rendus Geoscience","volume":"351 7","pages":"Pages 487-497"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.crte.2019.10.003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43440638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Developments in the stratigraphy of the Deccan Volcanic Province, peninsular India","authors":"Omkar Verma , Ashu Khosla","doi":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.10.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.10.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Deccan Volcanic Province has been considered as one of the largest magmatic regions, involving an aerial coverage of ca. 500,000 km<sup>2</sup>. It is subdivided into four sub-provinces, and holds a unique position in global tectonic models for understanding earth's geodynamics and the impact of voluminous eruptions on the contemporary biosystem and climate system. Published stratigraphic data suggest that volcanic eruption took place from 69 to 64 million years (Ma) ago when the Indian plate passed over the Réunion hotspot. The main phase of volcanic activity consisting of about 80% of total basaltic lava, erupted rapidly, during a short span (<1 Ma) or even less (two or three hundred thousand years), close to chron 29R, straddling to the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary. Recent high-precision age data show that the main volcanic phase is genetically linked to the Chicxulub impact and plume-head of the hotspot, and largely contributed to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. To assess the links of the province to the K–Pg boundary, Chicxulub impact, Réunion plume, and Late Cretaceous global climate crisis, it is crucial to have a current state of knowledge of the understanding of its stratigraphy. A review of published data shows a surge in the province research that has considerably advanced the understanding of its stratigraphy. This province is intercalated with numerous infra- and intertrappean sedimentary beds that have yielded diverse biota, providing a reliable relative time control for duration of the volcanic activity. This paper presents a review of the stratigraphic developments of the province (lithostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and chronostratigraphy) from the very beginning to the present, and discusses the role of the Réunion plume in its formation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50651,"journal":{"name":"Comptes Rendus Geoscience","volume":"351 7","pages":"Pages 461-476"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.crte.2019.10.002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45747171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kiswendsida Samiratou Ouermi , Jean-Emmanuel Paturel , Julien Adounpke , Agnidé Emmanuel Lawin , Bi Tié Albert Goula , Ernest Amoussou
{"title":"Comparison of hydrological models for use in climate change studies: A test on 241 catchments in West and Central Africa","authors":"Kiswendsida Samiratou Ouermi , Jean-Emmanuel Paturel , Julien Adounpke , Agnidé Emmanuel Lawin , Bi Tié Albert Goula , Ernest Amoussou","doi":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.08.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.08.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The present work reports on the study and the comparison of the performance of three “Génie rural” (GR) and two Water Balance (WB) models. The calibration and robustness performances are analysed in the light of the hydro-climatic conditions. The study shows that the GR models are much more efficient and robust than the WB models. The behaviour of calibration performance as a function of hydroclimatic variables varies according to the model and goodness-of-fit criteria (GOFC). The GR models are more robust in terms of NSE(Q) and NSE(√Q) and the WB models in terms of KGE. For more robustness of the models, it is better to transfer the parameters to wetter periods or periods with a lower Potential EvapoTranspiration (PET) than the calibration period. For a loss of robustness of less than 20% for GR and 30% for WB, the variation between calibration and rain validation/PET periods must be around ±15%/±1.5%.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50651,"journal":{"name":"Comptes Rendus Geoscience","volume":"351 7","pages":"Pages 477-486"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.crte.2019.08.001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45872796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohamed Abioui , Serge Ferry , Danièle Grosheny , Nourrissaid Içame , Emmanuel Robert , Mohammed Benssaou
{"title":"The Cretaceous marine onlap on Palaeozoic deposits (Smara–Lâayoune Basin, South Morocco). Comparison with neighbouring regions","authors":"Mohamed Abioui , Serge Ferry , Danièle Grosheny , Nourrissaid Içame , Emmanuel Robert , Mohammed Benssaou","doi":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Cretaceous marine transgression proceeded through successive steps from the Albian to the Turonian (dated with ammonites). The onlapping wedge begins with coastal transgressive–regressive short-term sequences on massive, probably fluvial sandstones to be correlated with the very thick continental Lower Cretaceous succession found in the Puerto Cansado well in the Tarfaya sub-basin to the north. A second step, of probable Cenomanian age, reached the Palaeozoic basement. A third, more pronounced step occurred during the earliest Turonian with platy laminated limestone overlain by marlstone bearing pyritized ammonites. At early Turonian peak transgression, a marine connection was possibly established between the Atlantic and the Tethyan margins, between the Anti-Atlas and the Reguibat Shield. From large-scale correlation integrating what occurred along the southwestern shoulder of the Atlas rift, the South Moroccan Atlantic margin may have undergone a short-lived tectonic uplift around the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50651,"journal":{"name":"Comptes Rendus Geoscience","volume":"351 7","pages":"Pages 498-507"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.crte.2019.09.003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41938945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Graham Gower, Lindsey E Fenderson, Alexander T Salis, Kristofer M Helgen, Ayla L van Loenen, Holly Heiniger, Emilia Hofman-Kamińska, Rafał Kowalczyk, Kieren J Mitchell, Bastien Llamas, Alan Cooper
{"title":"Widespread male sex bias in mammal fossil and museum collections.","authors":"Graham Gower, Lindsey E Fenderson, Alexander T Salis, Kristofer M Helgen, Ayla L van Loenen, Holly Heiniger, Emilia Hofman-Kamińska, Rafał Kowalczyk, Kieren J Mitchell, Bastien Llamas, Alan Cooper","doi":"10.1073/pnas.1903275116","DOIUrl":"10.1073/pnas.1903275116","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A recent study of mammoth subfossil remains has demonstrated the potential of using relatively low-coverage high-throughput DNA sequencing to genetically sex specimens, revealing a strong male-biased sex ratio [P. Pečnerová et al., <i>Curr. Biol.</i> 27, 3505-3510.e3 (2017)]. Similar patterns were predicted for steppe bison, based on their analogous female herd-based structure. We genetically sexed subfossil remains of 186 Holarctic bison (<i>Bison</i> spp.), and also 91 brown bears (<i>Ursus arctos</i>), which are not female herd-based, and found that ∼75% of both groups were male, very close to the ratio observed in mammoths (72%). This large deviation from a 1:1 ratio was unexpected, but we found no evidence for sex differences with respect to DNA preservation, sample age, material type, or overall spatial distribution. We further examined ratios of male and female specimens from 4 large museum mammal collections and found a strong male bias, observable in almost all mammalian orders. We suggest that, in mammals at least, 1) wider male geographic ranges can lead to considerably increased chances of detection in fossil studies, and 2) sexual dimorphic behavior or appearance can facilitate a considerable sex bias in fossil and modern collections, on a previously unacknowledged scale. This finding has major implications for a wide range of studies of fossil and museum material.</p>","PeriodicalId":50651,"journal":{"name":"Comptes Rendus Geoscience","volume":"337 1","pages":"19019-19024"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6754617/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75933243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Crustal structure beneath the Mount Cameroon region derived from recent gravity measurements","authors":"Severin Nguiya , Marcelin Mouzong Pemi , Alain Pierre Tokam , Évariste Ngatchou Heutchi , Willy Lemotio","doi":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.05.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.05.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, the recent update of the gravity database with new measurements has raised the opportunity of improving the knowledge of the crustal structure beneath the large volcanic system called Mount Cameroon, and its implication in the regional tectonics. The multi-scale wavelet analysis method was applied to highlight the geologic features of the area, and their depths were estimated using the logarithmic power spectrum method. The results reveal a complex crustal structure beneath Mount Cameroon with high variation in the lateral distribution of crustal densities. The upper and lower crusts are intruded by dense materials originating from the mantle with less lateral extension. The trends of Tiko and Ekona faults along the intrusion suggest tectonic activities as deep as 25 km. The difference in mantle composition or temperature between the East and the West of the studied area is clearly seen in detailed wavelet images and agrees with a mantle origin for the Cameroon Volcanic Line.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50651,"journal":{"name":"Comptes Rendus Geoscience","volume":"351 6","pages":"Pages 430-440"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2019-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.crte.2019.05.001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45271431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nadia El Kiram , Mohammed Jaffal , Azzouz Kchikach , Driss El Azzab , Mustapha El Ghorfi , Oussama Khadiri , Es-Said Jourani , Ahmed Manar , Mohamed Nahim
{"title":"Phosphatic series under Plio-Quaternary cover of Tadla Plain, Morocco: Gravity and seismic data","authors":"Nadia El Kiram , Mohammed Jaffal , Azzouz Kchikach , Driss El Azzab , Mustapha El Ghorfi , Oussama Khadiri , Es-Said Jourani , Ahmed Manar , Mohamed Nahim","doi":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.05.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crte.2019.05.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Ouled Abdoun sedimentary basin in Morocco contains the largest phosphate reserves in the world. To the Northwest of the basin, the phosphate layers crop out or are at a shallow depth and are exploited in open pit mines. By contrast, towards the central and southwestern parts of the basin, the phosphate layers lay below the Plio-Quaternary sediments of the Tadla Plain. This study aims to characterize the distribution and structure of the phosphatic series at depth under this cover, in particular to guide the future exploration and exploitation of the phosphate deposits. The work is based on gravimetric and seismic data acquired in a previous oil exploration study, calibrated by borehole data. The analysis of the gravity data controlled by boreholes first reveals the existence of large regional faults in the basin, forming pronounced gradients in the gravity data. The faults are also seen in the seismic profiles. In the Southeast of the basin, the phosphatic series exhibit a stairway structure controlled by some of these regional faults.</p><p>The drilling data and the isochron maps established from the seismic profiles show that the base of the phosphatic series is more than 500 m deep in the southeastern area of the basin. As the phosphatic layers get buried deeper, they also become thicker. The phosphate reserves thus increase towards the southeast, and our analysis identifies the areas where this reserve is larger. Our results eventually suggest that the mining methods currently adopted in the Khouribga mining district will need to be modified and adapted to the more complex situation of the phosphatic series deeply buried in the basin.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50651,"journal":{"name":"Comptes Rendus Geoscience","volume":"351 6","pages":"Pages 420-429"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2019-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.crte.2019.05.002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47697264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}