Challenges encountered during acid resin transfer preparation of fossil fish from Monte Bolca, Italy

Copyright: Palaeontological Association May 2015. This is an open access article, available to all readers online, published under a creative commons licensing (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The file attached is the published version of the article

Northeast Glaciers

This reference guide provides a brief review of glaciers in the Northeastern U.S. It then focuses on the glacial affects in four areas, an inland basin near the Finger Lakes area of New York, the Appalachian/Piedmont through New York and Pennsylvania, the coastal plain and the exotic terrane of New England. Topics covered include glacial scouring, glacial deposits and periglacial features. Educational levels: Middle school, High school

Limitations of the Standard Procedure for the Evaluation of Marble and Limestone for Use in Construction: A Critical Analysis and Proposal for Modification

The selection of natural stone for each specific use must be based on determinations which assess their technical quality and ensure their suitability for the environment in which they will be utilized. Among the criteria to be considered, a petrographic characterization is basic to deduce the behaviour of the stone to external agents. Current European regulations for the valuation and use of a stone present serious constraints in connection with the petrographic characterization and with the definition of some of the technological tests, which can endanger the suitability of a stone for use in construction. Two commercial limestones and one marble, are studied following the existing European Standards, to explain reasonably the behavior of these materials and deduce the most appropriate uses. Finally the results lead to certain recommendations to modify existing regulations

Europa: Prospects for an ocean and exobiological implications

As far as we know, Earth is the only planet in our solar system that supports life. It is natural, therefore, that our understanding of life as a planetary phenomenon is based upon Earth-like planets. There are environments in the solar system where liquid water, commonly believed to be a prerequisite for biological activity, may exist in a distinctly non-Earth-like environment. One such location is Europa, one of the Galilean satellites of Jupiter. The possibility that liquid water exists on Europa presents us with some interesting exobiological implications concerning the potential of the satellite to support life. Topics include the following: an ocean on Europa; thermal evolution of Europa; Europa's three models; exobiological implications; early conditions of Europa; low-temperature abiotic chemistry; possibility of the emergence of life on Europa; prerequisites for the habitability of Europa; energy sources for biosynthesis and metabolic activity; habitability of Europa by anaerobic life; and habitability by aerobic life

New insights on Anthracotherium monsvialense De Zigno, 1888 (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) from the lower Oligocene of Monteviale (Vicenza, northeastern Italy)

In Italy, anthracotheres are represented by a few fossils, most of them described during the XIX century and without a standardized scientific method. Anthracotherium monsvialense De Zigno, 1888 was originally erected from a fossil discovered in the site of Monteviale (Vicenza, northeastern Italy), whose Rupelian (MP21) lignitic beds yielded the richest lower Oligocene evidence of the genus Anthracotherium in Europe. A. monsvialense ranges from MP21 to MP23 and its small size has been interpreted as a consequence of the insular environment, at least at Monteviale. In this study, we summarize the long history of Italian findings providing new descriptions of dental and postcranial morphological features of A. monsvialense, and comparing such small anthracothere with its Asian and European relatives. Morphometric analyses are also performed on teeth, in order to verify the presence of evolutionary trends of the genus Anthracotherium

Mars: A reassessment of its interest to biology

Of all the planets in the solar system, Mars is certainly the one that has inspired the most speculation concerning extraterrestrial life. Observers had long ago noticed that Mars exhibits changes in its polar caps and alterations in its surface coloration that parallel seasonal changes on Earth. The fascination with Mars and the possibility of life on Mars continued into the spacecraft era and was directly expressed in the Viking Missions. These highly successful missions had the search for life on Mars as one of their principal goals. A review of Viking Missions experiments is presented. Results of these investigations are summarized. While the Viking Missions returned a negative answer to the question of life on Mars, they also showed that many years ago Mars was a very different place and enjoyed conditions that may have been conducive to the origin of life - life that may have long since become extinct. Evidence for the existence of water on Mars in the past is presented. Techniques used to study early life on Earth, which may also be used for similar studies on Mars, are described

A Triassic to Cretaceous Sundaland–Pacific subduction margin in West Sarawak, Borneo

Metamorphic rocks in West Sarawak are poorly exposed and studied. They were previously assumed to be pre-Carboniferous basement but had never been dated. New 40Ar/39Ar ages from white mica in quartz-mica schists reveal metamorphism between c. 216 to 220 Ma. The metamorphic rocks are associated with Triassic acid and basic igneous rocks, which indicate widespread magmatism. New U-Pb dating of zircons from the Jagoi Granodiorite indicates Triassic magmatism at c. 208 Ma and c. 240 Ma. U-Pb dating of zircons from volcaniclastic sediments of the Sadong and Kuching Formations confirms contemporaneous volcanism. The magmatic activity is interpreted to represent a Triassic subduction margin in westernmost West Sarawak with sediments deposited in a forearc basin derived from the magmatic arc at the Sundaland–Pacific margin. West Sarawak and NW Kalimantan are underlain by continental crust that was already part of Sundaland or accreted to Sundaland in the Triassic. One metabasite sample, also previously assumed to be pre-Carboniferous basement, yielded Early Cretaceous 40Ar/39Ar ages. They are interpreted to indicate resumption of subduction which led to deposition of volcaniclastic sediments and widespread magmatism. U-Pb ages from detrital zircons in the Cretaceous Pedawan Formation are similar to those from the Schwaner granites of NW Kalimantan, and the Pedawan Formation is interpreted as part of a Cretaceous forearc basin containing material eroded from a magmatic arc that extended from Vietnam to west Borneo. The youngest U-Pb ages from zircons in a tuff layer from the uppermost part of the Pedawan Formation indicate that volcanic activity continued until c. 86 to 88 Ma when subduction terminated

Testing the durability of limestone for Cathedral façade restoration

This research aimed to specify an optimum replacement stone for Truro Cathedral. A variety of petrographically and visually similar material to the original Bath stone was initially selected. The stones were subjected to three different durability tests; Sodium sulphate crystallisation and large scale testing with both accelerated and climatic freeze-thaw cyclic loading. The most suitable stone was determined as the one with the best performance characteristics overall

Masterov Kliuch and the Early Upper Palaeolithic of the Transbaikal, Siberia

In 1996, archaeological excavations were conducted at the Masterov Kliuch site, located east of Lake Baikal, Siberia. Three archaeological components were uncovered, all occurring in colluvial deposits. The two lower components (I and II) are Palaeolithic in age and character. Component I is an early Upper Palaeolithic industry dated to 32,500-30,000 years ago (B.P.), and is in a primary context. Component II is undated but is also assignable to the early Upper Palaeolithic based on typology, although it appears to have been redeposited. Artifact assemblages from these two components are blade-based and include retouched blades and flakes, knives, denticulates, end scrapers, gravers, and burins. Component III represents a Bronze Age occupation dated to around 2900 B.P. The Palaeolithic industries at Masterov Kliuch are technologically/typologically similar to other initial Upper Palaeolithic industries in Siberia, and appear to represent some of the easternmost manifestations of an early Upper Palaeolithic technocomplex that spanned inner Asia from Uzbekistan to the Transbaikal between about 42,000 and 30,000 B.P. Our findings have further implications for Upper Palaeolithic research in northern Asia, especially regarding site formation processes and hunter-gatherer raw material procurement. First, like Masterov Kliuch, most early Upper Palaeolithic sites across northern Asia lie in colluvial settings and may not be in pristine, primary contexts, so that interpretations of stone features such as hearths or dwellings may be suspect. Second, study of the Masterov Kliuch lithic industries indicates that huntergatherers exclusively utilized local lithic resources in the manufacture of tools, and that raw material procurement strategies were embedded within other subsistence pursuits. This pattern of local, embedded raw material procurement is seen in virtually all other early Upper Palaeolithic sites in Siberia, while "logistical," longdistance procurement strategies, characteristic of the early Upper Palaeolithic of western Eurasia, did not appear in Siberia until much later in time, after about 25,000 B.P. KEYWORDS: Siberia, early Upper Palaeolithic, geoarchaeology, lithic technology, raw material procurement

Back-reacted saponite in Jurassic mudstones and limestones intruded by a Tertiary sill, Isle of Skye

The Lón Ostatoin stream section, Trotternish Peninsula, Isle of Skye, exposes a sequence of Middle Jurassic mudstones and limestones which have been locally metasomatized by a transgressive sill of Tertiary age. Limestones in the sequence, including some previously reported as bentonite, have been altered to an unusual assemblage of grossular garnet and saponite clay. The mudstones also contain large proportions of saponite together with pyroxene and zeolites. Saponite also occurs within the basalt intrusion. Grossular and pyroxene represent artifacts of relatively high-temperature assemblages that formed during an early phase of alteration. As the intrusion and adjacent altered country rocks cooled, lower-temperature fluids flowed through a late set of contraction (micro)fractures. Back-reacted saponite, analcime and clinoptilolite were formed, possibly as alteration products of the unstable higher-temperature minerals. The lower-temperature mineral assemblage eventually sealed the late fracture system. This paper highlights an important concept for the study of analogue sites used to investigate thermal effects on engineered liners or barrier host rocks for the landfill and radioactive-waste industries. This is that the original thermally altered mineral assemblage may be overprinted by later, lower-temperature back-reactions. A detailed understanding of both processes is necessary in order to construct a sensible model for the thermal and mineralogical evolution of the site