Geología y petrología de los granitoides del sur de la Sierra de Comechingones, Córdoba, Argetina

The petrography and petrology characteristics of a group of granitoid bodies from the crystalline basement of Southern Comechingones Hills, is described here.In the metamorphic Complex biotitic gneisses, anphibolites, marbles and metabasic rocks were recognized. The main metamorphic episode in this area reached high-temperature within medium grade conditions.These granitoid are: biotitic granites, leucogranites and gneissic granites.The biotitic granites, with biotite, apatite sillimanite and garnet, are elongate bodies, concordant with the main penetrative schistosity. Have medium to small grain, with an important foliation, shown by the lineation of micaceous minerals.The muscovite, garnet, tourmaline, dumortierite and biotite leucogranites have tabular shape, and an extension more than one kilometre.The gneissic granites are plutons that intruded concordant to the regional structural trend. Biotite, sillimanite, monacite and apatite minerals are characteristic of these rocks. Radimetric ages obtained in nearby areas, show that granitoids may be of Lower Paleozoic age.Geology and petrology characteristics of granitoids suggest that they may have been produced by partial melt of crustal metasedimentary rocks.Se describe la petrografía y petrología de los granitoides aflorantes en el basamento cristalino del sur de la Sierra de Comechingones.Dentro del complejo metamórfico regional predominan gneises biotíticos, paranfibolitas, mármoles y metabasitas. El evento metamórfico principal alcanzó condiciones de alta temperatura dentro del grado medio.Entre los granitoides se reconocieron los siguientes tipos litológicos: granitos biotíticos, leucogranitos y granitos gnéisicos.Los granitos biotíticos con apatito, sillimanita y granate conforman cuerpos elongados, concordantes con la esquistosidad penetrativa principal. Son de grano fino a medio, con marcada foliación, dada por la alineación de elementos micáceos.Los leucogranitos, cuyos minerales accesorios son moscovita, granate, turmalina, dumortierita y biotita, se presentan como un conjunto de cuerpos tubulares, de poca potencia y superan el kilómetro de largo.Los granitos gnéisicos aparecen en pequeños a medianos plutones concordantes siguiendo el tren de la estructura regional. Biotita, sillimanita, monacita y apatito son los minerales accesorios más frecuentes.Edades radimétricas obtenidas en áreas cercanas permiten inferir que los granitoides son de edad paleozoica inferior.Las características geológicas y petrológicas de los granitoides sugieren que su origen se debe relacionar a procesos de fusión parcial en la corteza

Cosmopolitan Early Jurassic Marine Gastropods from West-Central Patagonia, Argentina

A new, relatively diverse gastropod fauna is reported from the Chubut province of west−central Patagonia. The gastro− pod association at the “El Córdoba ” fossiliferous locality (Lower Toarcian of Osta Arena Formation) consists of three new species: the eucyclid Amberleya? espinosa sp. nov. and two procerithiids Cryptaulax damboreneae sp. nov. and Cryptaulax nulloi sp. nov. Other members of the association are the ataphrid Striatoconulus sp., discohelicid Colpom− phalus? sp., and an undetermined zygopleurid. Knowledge on Early Jurassic gastropods from South America and other southern continents is reviewed to show that the taxonomic composition of the El Cordoba association strongly resem− bles other gastropod associations of this age (even those from Europe), suggesting a wide distribution of cosmopolita

A Multicenter Study on Legionella Air Contamination in Italian Healthcare Facilities: Comparison of Different Sampling Methods

Background: Healthcare facilities (HF) represent an at-risk environment for legionellosis transmission occuring after inhaling aerosols produced from contaminated water sources. The control of water is preferred to that of air because to date there are not standardized protocols sampling. Methods: Legionella air contamination was investigated in the bathrooms of 11 HF contaminated with Legionella by active sampling (Surface Air System and Coriolis®?) and passive sampling. During the 8-hour sampling, hot tap water was sampled three times and analyzed for Legionella. Air samples were evaluated using culture based methods, whereas liquid samples collected using the Coriolis©? were also analyzed by real-time PCR. Legionella presence in air and water was compared by sequence-based typing (SBT) methods. Results: Air contamination was found in four HF (36.4%) by at least one of the culturable methods. The culturable investigation by Coriolis did not yield Legionella. However, molecular investigation using Coriolis resulted in eight HF being positive for Legionella in air, which was greater than the number of positives obtained by culturable methods

The Mencué Batholith: Permian episodic arc-related magmatism in the western North Patagonian Massif, Argentina

The Mencué Batholith, western North Patagonian Massif, includes three major bodies. The Mencué Granodiorite, Cura Lauquén Granite and La Blancura Syenogranite. There are dikes of granitic and basaltic rocks cutting the above-cited rocks. The Mencué Batholith represents several episodes of magmatism, with ages varying between 294 and 239 Ma. The Mencué Granodiorite and the Cura Lauquén Granite are solid-state deformed and are S-type. They have high-K and normal calc-alkaline affinities. These rocks contain significant quantities of subduction-zone chemical components that decrease towards younger lithofacies. La Blancura Syenogranite lack subduction zone chemical components and represent A-type granite, typical of within-plate magmatism. The partial melting of metapelites could be the process of formation of these bodies. The older lithofacies of the Mencué Batholith, found westernmost, display a stronger deformation, but there is a progressive eastward change to younger and mildly deformed bodies and even non-deformed bodies. We conclude that the evolution of the Mencué Batholith start in the Sakmarian-Roadian (Early Permian) period. At this time, a subduction zone was active to the west and its thermal influence affected sedimentary or metamorphic rocks producing S-type granites During the Wordian and Capitanian, (Middle Permian) periods, the Mencué Batholith was mildly deformed, possibly in the process of the vanishing of the deformation and has a minor subduction chemical signature. Between the Wuchiapingian and Olenekia periods, the alkaline facies of the Mencué Batholith show an absence of deformation and the characteristics of within-plate magmatism. The Early Permian magmatic events in the western North Patagonian Massif are represented by the older bodies of the Mencué Batholith and were produced by subduction in the western margin of the Gondwanan continent. The Late Permian-Early Triassic magmatic events show a noticeable decreasing influence of subduction and an increasing influence of within-plate chemical components.Fil: Gregori, Daniel Alfredo. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Cátedra de Geología Argentina; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Strazzere, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Barros, Mercedes Virginia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Benedini, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Marcos, Paulo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Kostadinoff, Jose. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Cátedra de Geología Argentina; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; Argentin

Plume Subduction Beneath the Neuquén Basin and the Last Mountain Building Stage of the Southern Central Andes

The occurrence of a Neogene shallow subduction stage, as well as, a Pliocene slab-tearing, and steepening of the Nazca plate in the southern Central Andes are well established. However, a satisfactory explanation for the origin and connection between these complex processes is still elusive. In this contribution, we revise the late Cenozoic tectonic and magmatic evolution of the southern Central Andes between 35° and 38° S and discuss different proposals for the Miocene slab shallowing and its Pliocene destabilization. Recent plate kinematic reconstructions show that Neogene arc-front expansion linked to slab shallowing, fold belt reactivation in the main cordillera and intraplate contraction in the San Rafael Block correlates with the subduction of the ancient Payenia plume, a deep mantle anomaly potentially rooted in the lower mantle. Also, the Nazca slab tear determined from tomographic analyses and subsequent slab steepening may also be a direct consequence of this plume subduction process. Considering the westward drift of South America and the presence of several neighbor hotspots over the Nazca plate, the Payenia plume overriding could be the first of future episodes of plume?trench interaction in the Andes.Fil: Gianni, Guido Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Pesce, Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: García, Luciano Héctor. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Lupari, Marianela Nadia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Correa Otto, Sebastian Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Nacif Suvire, Silvina Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Folguera Telichevsky, Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; Argentin