Palaeoenvironment of Eocene prodelta in Spitsbergen recorded by the trace fossil Phycosiphon incertum

Ichnological, sedimentological and geochemical analyses were conducted on the Eocene Frysjaodden Formation in order to interpret palaeoenvironment prodelta sediments in the Central Basin of Spitsbergen. Phycosiphon incertum is the exclusive ichnotaxon showing differences in size, distribution, abundance and density, and relation to laminated/bioturbated intervals. Large P. incertum mainly occur dispersed, isolated and randomly distributed throughout the weakly laminated/non-laminated intervals. Small P. incertum occur occasionally in patches of several burrows within laminated intervals or as densely packed burrows in thin horizons in laminated intervals or constituting fully bioturbated intervals that are several centimetres thick. Ichnological changes are mainly controlled by oxygenation, although the availability of benthic food cannot be discarded. Changes in oxygenation and rate of sedimentation can be correlated with the registered variations in the Bouma sequence of the distal turbiditic beds within prodeltal shelf sediments.Funding for this research was provided by Project CGL2012-33281 (Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, Spain), Project RYC-2009-04316 (Ramón y Cajal Programme) and Projects RNM-3715 and RNM-7408 and Research Group RNM-178 (Junta de Andalucía). The authors benefited from a bilateral agreement between the universities of Granada and Oslo, supported by the University of Granada

Evolution of the gulf of Cadiz margin and southwest Portugal contourite depositional system : Tectonic, sedimentary and paleoceanographic implications from IODP expedition 339

Acknowledgments This research used samples and data collected through the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). The research was partially supported through the CTM 2008-06399-C04/MAR, CTM 2012-39599-C03, CGL2011-26493, CTM2012-38248, SA263U14, IGCP-619, INQUA 1204 and FWF P25831-N29 Projects. Some data were collected with 94-1090-C03-03 (FADO) and MAR-98-0209 (TASYO) Projects. Research was conducted in the framework of the Continental Margins Research Group of the Royal Holloway University of London, People and the Program (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union's Seventh Framework Program FP7/2007-2013/ under REA Grant Agreement No. 290201 MEDGATE’. We are very grateful to REPSeOL, TGS–NOPEC, and the CSIC-Institut Jaume Almera (http://geodb.ictja.csic.es) for allowing us to use an unpublished seismic data from the Gulf of Cadiz. We thank J. Aguire (UGR, Spain) for comments and suggestions concerning the Pliocene and Quaternary outcrops, B. van den Berg (USAL) for organizing a thought-provoking field-trip to Cadiz, Spain in November, 2014, M. Ángel Caja, L. García Diego, and J. Tritlla (REPSOL) for provenance and diagenetic analysis of early Pliocene sandstones and debrites, and L.J. Lourens (Utrecht University) for providing us the eccentricity and 200-Kys glacio-eustatic sea-level curves included in the Figure 16. Both Prof. D.A.V. Stow (Heriot-Watt Univ., UK) and F.J. Hernández-Molina (RHUL, UK), as the main co-proponents of the IODP Proposal 644 and the co-chiefs of the IODP Exp. 339, thanks to IODP, Exp. IODP 339 Scientists; JR crew and technicians, as well as all people, institutions and companies involved in making IODP a success since 2003. Finally, we also thank the editor, Gert J. De Lange and the reviewers T. Mulder (Bourdeaux Univ.); D. Van Rooij (Ghent Univ) and J. Duarte (Monash Univ.) for their very positive and helpful feedback and discussions in publishing this research.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Guillain-Barré syndrome following the 2009 pandemic monovalent and seasonal trivalent influenza vaccination campaigns in Spain from 2009 to 2011: Outcomes from active surveillance by a neurologist network, and records from a country-wide hospital discharge database

Background: Studies have shown a slight excess risk in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) incidence associated with A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccination campaign and seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine immunisations in 2009-2010. We aimed to assess the incidence of GBS as a potential adverse effect of A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccination. Methods: A neurologist-led network, active at the neurology departments of ten general hospitals serving an adult population of 4.68 million, conducted GBS surveillance in Spain in 2009-2011. The network, established in 1996, carried out a retrospective and a prospective study to estimate monthly alarm thresholds in GBS incidence and tested them in 1998-1999 in a pilot study. Such incidence thresholds additionally to observation of GBS cases with immunisation antecedent in the 42 days prior to clinical onset were taken as alarm signals for 2009-2011, since November 2009 onwards. For purpose of surveillance, in 2009 we updated both the available centres and the populations served by the network. We also did a retrospective countrywide review of hospital-discharged patients having ICD-9-CM code 357.0 (acute infective polyneuritis) as their principal diagnosis from January 2009 to December 2011. Results: Among 141 confirmed of 148 notified cases of GBS or Miller-Fisher syndrome, Brighton 1-2 criteria in 96 %, not a single patient was identified with clinical onset during the 42-day time interval following A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccination. In contrast, seven cases were seen during a similar period after seasonal campaigns. Monthly incidence figures did not, however, exceed the upper 95 % CI limit of expected incidence. A retrospective countrywide review of the registry of hospital-discharged patients having ICD-9-CM code 357.0 (acute infective polyneuritis) as their principal diagnosis did not suggest higher admission rates in critical months across the period December 2009-February 2010. Conclusions: Despite limited power and underlying reporting bias in 2010-2011, an increase in GBS incidence over background GBS, associated with A(H1N1)pdm09 monovalent or trivalent influenza immunisations, appears unlikely

Contourite depositional system after the exit of a strait: Case study from the late Miocene South Rifian Corridor, Morocco

Idealized facies of bottom current deposits (contourites) have been established for fine-grained contourite drifts in modern deep-marine sedimentary environments. Their equivalent facies in the ancient record however are only scarcely recognized due to the weathered nature of most fine-grained deposits in outcrop. Facies related to the erosional elements (i.e. contourite channels) of contourite depositional systems have not yet been properly established and related deposits in outcrop appear non-existent. To better understand the sedimentary facies and facies sequences of contourites, the upper Miocene contourite depositional systems of the South Rifian Corridor (Morocco) is investigated. This contourite depositional system formed by the dense palaeo-Mediterranean Outflow Water. Foraminifera assemblages were used for age-constraints (7.51 to 7.35 Ma) and to determine the continental slope depositional domains. Nine sedimentary facies have been recognized based on lithology, grain-size, sedimentary structures and biogenic structures. These facies were subsequently grouped into five facies associations related to the main interpreted depositional processes (hemipelagic settling, contour currents and gravity flows). The vertical sedimentary facies succession records the tectonically induced, southward migration of the contourite depositional systems and the intermittent behaviour of the palaeo-Mediterranean Outflow Water, which is mainly driven by precession and millennial-scale climate variations. Tides substantially modulated the palaeo-Mediterranean Outflow Water on a sub-annual scale. This work shows exceptional examples of muddy and sandy contourite deposits in outcrop by which a facies distribution model from the proximal continental slope, the contourite channel to its adjacent contourite drift, is proposed. This model serves as a reference for contourite recognition both in modern environments and the ancient record. Furthermore, by establishing the hydrodynamics of overflow behaviour a framework is provided that improves process-based interpretation of deep-water bottom current deposits

Evidence of early bottom water current flow after the Messinian Salinity Crisis in the Gulf of Cadiz

Highlights • Stratigraphic framework over the Miocene-Pliocene boundary at IODP Site U1387. • Abrupt sedimentary changes over the Miocene-Pliocene boundary. • Clear hints for onset of Mediterranean Outflow after the Messinian Salinity Crisis. • Evidence of bottom water currents in contouritic sedimentation and elevated Zr/Al. • Quiet, hemipelagic sediment deposition during the Messinian in the Gulf of Cadiz. Abstract Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 339 cored multiple sites in the Gulf of Cadiz in order to study contourite deposition resulting from Mediterranean Outflow water (MOW). One hole, U1387C, was cored to a depth of 865.6 meters below seafloor (mbsf) with the goal of recovering the Latest Miocene to Pliocene transition in order to evaluate the history of MOW immediately after the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. To understand this history, an accurate age model for the succession is needed, but is challenging to construct, because the Miocene-Pliocene boundary is not marked by a clear biostratigraphic event in the Atlantic and coring gaps occur within the recovered stratigraphic record. These limitations are overcome by combining a variety of chronostratigraphic datasets to construct an age-model that fits the currently available age indicators and demonstrates that coring in Hole U1387C did indeed recover the Miocene-Pliocene boundary at around 826 mbsf. This boundary is associated with a distinct and abrupt change in depositional environment. During the latest Messinian, hemipelagic sediments exhibiting precession-induced climate variability were deposited. These are overlain by Pliocene sediments deposited at a much higher sedimentation rate, with much higher and more variable XRF-scanning Zr/Al ratios than the underlying sediment, and that show evidence of winnowing, particle sorting and increasing grain size, which we interpret to be related to the increasing flow of MOW. Pliocene sedimentary cyclicity is clearly visible in both the benthic δ18O record and the Zr/Al data and is probably also precessionally controlled. Two contouritic bigradational sandy-beds are revealed above the third sedimentary cycle of the Pliocene. On the basis of these results, we conclude that sedimentation associated with weak Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange, began in the Gulf of Cadiz virtually at or shortly after the Miocene-Pliocene boundary

Life and death in the Chicxulub impact crater: A record of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Thermal stress on the biosphere during the extreme warmth of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was most severe at low latitudes, with sea surface temperatures at some localities exceeding the 35 C at which marine organisms experience heat stress. Relatively few equivalent terrestrial sections have been identified, and the response of land plants to this extreme heat is still poorly understood. Here, we present a new record of the PETM from the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater that has been identified based on nannofossil biostratigraphy, an acme of the dinoflagellate genus Apectodinium, and a negative carbon isotope excursion. Geochemical and microfossil proxies show that the PETM is marked by elevated TEXH 86-based sea surface temperatures (SSTs) averaging 37:8 C, an in- crease in terrestrial input and surface productivity, salinity stratification, and bottom water anoxia, with biomarkers for green and purple sulfur bacteria indicative of photic zone euxinia in the early part of the event. Pollen and plants spores in this core provide the first PETM floral assemblage described from Mexico, Central America, and the northern Caribbean. The source area was a diverse coastal shrubby tropical forest with a remarkably high abundance of fungal spores, indicating humid conditions. Thus, while seafloor anoxia devastated the benthic marine biota and dinoflagellate assemblages were heat-stressed, the terrestrial plant ecosystem thrived

Foraminiferal assemblages as palaeoenvironmental bioindicators in Late Jurassic epicontinental platforms: relation with trophic conditions

Foraminiferal assemblages from the neritic environment reveal the palaeoecological impact of nutrient types in relation to shore distance and sedimentary setting. Comparatively proximal siliciclastic settings from the Boreal Domain (Brora section, Eastern Scotland) were dominated by inner−shelf primary production in the water column or in sea bottom, while in relatively seawards mixed carbonate−siliciclastic settings from the Western Tethys (Prebetic, Southern Spain), nutrients mainly derived from the inner−shelf source. In both settings, benthic foraminiferal assemblages increased in diversity and proportion of epifauna from eutrophic to oligotrophic conditions. The proximal setting example (Brora Brick Clay Mb.) corresponds to Callovian offshore shelf deposits with a high primary productivity, bottom accumulation of organic matter, and a reduced sedimentation rate for siliciclastics. Eutrophic conditions favoured some infaunal foraminifera. Lately, inner shelf to shoreface transition areas (Fascally Siltstone Mb.), show higher sedimentation rates and turbidity, reducing euphotic−zone range depths and primary production, and then deposits with a lower organic matter content (high−mesotrophic conditions). This determined less agglutinated infaunal foraminifera content and increasing calcitic and aragonitic epifauna, and calcitic opportunists (i.e., Lenticulina). The comparatively distal setting of the Oxfordian example (Prebetic) corresponds to: (i) outer−shelf areas with lower nutrient input (relative oligotrophy) and organic matter accumulation on comparatively firmer substrates (lumpy lithofacies group) showing dominance of calcitic epifaunal foraminifera, and (ii) mid−shelf areas with a higher sedimentation rate and nutrient influx (low−mesotrophic conditions) favouring potentially deep infaunal foraminifers in comparatively unconsolidated and nutrient−rich substrates controlled by instable redox boundary (marl−limestone rhythmite lithofacies).This research was carried out with the financial support of projects CGL2005−06636−C0201 and CGL2005−01316/BTE, and University of Oslo, Norway−Statoil cooperation. M.R. holds a Juan de la Cierva grant from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Spain

The European Solar Telescope

The European Solar Telescope (EST) is a project aimed at studying the magnetic connectivity of the solar atmosphere, from the deep photosphere to the upper chromosphere. Its design combines the knowledge and expertise gathered by the European solar physics community during the construction and operation of state-of-the-art solar telescopes operating in visible and near-infrared wavelengths: the Swedish 1m Solar Telescope, the German Vacuum Tower Telescope and GREGOR, the French Télescope Héliographique pour l'Étude du Magnétisme et des Instabilités Solaires, and the Dutch Open Telescope. With its 4.2 m primary mirror and an open configuration, EST will become the most powerful European ground-based facility to study the Sun in the coming decades in the visible and near-infrared bands. EST uses the most innovative technological advances: the first adaptive secondary mirror ever used in a solar telescope, a complex multi-conjugate adaptive optics with deformable mirrors that form part of the optical design in a natural way, a polarimetrically compensated telescope design that eliminates the complex temporal variation and wavelength dependence of the telescope Mueller matrix, and an instrument suite containing several (etalon-based) tunable imaging spectropolarimeters and several integral field unit spectropolarimeters. This publication summarises some fundamental science questions that can be addressed with the telescope, together with a complete description of its major subsystems