Carbonate isotope chemostratigraphy suggests revisions to the geological history of the West Finnmark Caledonides, northern Norway

Strontium and carbon isotopic data from amphibolite-facies marbles of the Falkenes formation, Sørøy succession (structurally upper Kalak Nappe Complex) in West Finnmark, northern Norway, indicate that the marbles were deposited between 760 and 710 Ma. Marbles of similar age have previously been identified only in the Uppermost Allochthon in north–central Norway, where they are considered to have a Laurentian ancestry. A similar origin and tectonostratigraphic position appears likely for the Falkenes formation. In contrast, structurally lower units within the Kalak Nappe Complex appear to have Baltican affinities. This dichotomy requires that commonly held ideas regarding the tectonostratigraphy of the West Finnmark Caledonides be revised. Combined with recent U–Pb dating of zircon and monazite from rocks associated with the marbles, the isotopic data suggest that the Sørøy succession of the Kalak Nappe Complex is not a continuous, depositional sequence as previously thought, but rather consists of a number of disparate and probably unrelated thrust-sheets, assembled during Late Silurian, Scandian orogenesis. This work shows that the West Finnmark Caledonides share a generally similar tectonometamorphic history with certain other parts of the Scandinavian Caledonides, and contributes to already existing data that may allow ‘chemostratigraphic’ correlation and reconstruction of the entire Caledonian belt

Emerging viral diseases of South-East Asia and the Western Pacific: A brief review

Over the past 6 years, a number of zoonotic and vectorborne viral diseases have emerged in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Vectorborne disease agents discussed in this article include Japanese encephalitis, Barmah Forest, Ross River, and Chikungunya viruses. However, most emerging viruses have been zoonotic, with fruit bats, including flying fox species as the probable wildlife hosts, and these will be discussed as well. The first of these disease agents to emerge was Hendra virus, formerly called equine morbillivirus. This was followed by outbreaks caused by a rabies-related virus, Australian bat lyssavirus, and a virus associated with porcine stillbirths and malformations, Menangle virus. Nipah virus caused an outbreak of fatal pneumonia in pigs and encephalitis in humans in the Malay Peninsula. Most recently, Tioman virus has been isolated from flying foxes, but it has not yet been associated with animal or human disease. Of nonzoonotic viruses, the most important regionally have been enterovirus 71 and HIV