The Monterey event in the Mediterranean: A record from shelf sediments of Malta

Oligo-Miocene carbonate platform and shelf sediments outcropping on the Maltese Islands provide an excellent archive of the paleoceanography of the central Mediterranean. A sequence of shallow water limestones, than shelf limestones, and marls, followed again by shallow water limestones, reflects drowning of a carbonate platform, the establishment of a shelf environment and, in the late Miocene, renewed progradation and aggradation of shallow water carbonates. The sequence recording the deepening of the Maltese platform contains several phosphorite hardgrounds and phosphorite pebble beds. These phosphorites were dated with strontium isotopes. Major episodes of phosphogenesis occurred between 25 and 16 Ma, and they are coeval with those phosphorite events reported from Florida and North Carolina. A Miocene carbon isotope and oxygen isotope stratigraphy was established on planktic and benthic foraminifera and on bulk samples. A major carbon isotope excursion with an amplitude of up to +l‰ between 18 and 12.5 Ma can be correlated with the globally recognized Monterey carbon isotope excursion. This is the first record of this event both in shallow water sediments and in the Mediterranean. The carbon isotope excursion precedes an oxygen isotope excursion which also was recognized in deep-sea records. Major episodes of phosphogenesis and platform drowning preceded the carbon isotope excursion by up to millions of years

Mesozoic climates and oceans – a tribute to Hugh Jenkyns and Helmut Weissert

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.The study of past greenhouse climate intervals in Earth history, such as the Mesozoic, is an important, relevant and dynamic area of research for many sedimentary geologists, geochemists, palaeontologists and climate modellers. The Mesozoic sedimentary record provides key insights into the mechanics of how the Earth system works under warmer conditions, providing examples of natural climate change and perturbations to ocean chemistry, including anoxia, that are of societal relevance for understanding and contextualizing ongoing and future environmental problems. Furthermore, the deposition of widespread organic-carbon-rich sediments (‘black shales’) during the Mesozoic means that this is an era of considerable economic interest. In July 2015, an international group of geoscientists attended a workshop in Ascona, Switzerland, to discuss all aspects of the Mesozoic world and to celebrate the four-decade-long contributions made by Hugh Jenkyns (University of Oxford) and Helmut Weissert (ETH Zürich) to our understanding of this fascinating era in Earth history. This volume of Sedimentology arose from that meeting and contains papers inspired by (and co-authored by!) Hugh and Helmi. Here, a brief introduction to the volume is provided that reviews aspects of Hugh and Helmi's major achievements; contextualizes the papers of the Thematic Issue; and discusses some of the outstanding questions and areas for future research

The valanginian weissert oceanic anoxic event recorded in central-Eastern Sardinia (Italy)

Investigations on the S\u2019Ozzastru section from the northern part of the Mt Albo area (central-eastern Sardinia, Italy) for integrated litho- bio- and chemostratigraphy allowed the identification of the Valanginian Weissert Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE), testified by a positive carbon isotope excursion (CIE). The section, which represents the deepest-water succession of the Valanginian in Sardinia, is composed of the Schiridd\ue8 Limestone followed by the Siniscola Marl, both proposed as new lithostratigraphic units. The presence among the ammonites of Busnardoites campylotoxus allows the attribution of the Schiridd\ue8 Limestone to the upper Lower Valanginian Inostranzewi Zone of Reboulet et al. 2014. Further characterization of this unit was not possible since it is barren/almost barren of nannofossils. The Siniscola Marl can be ascribed to the lower Upper Valanginian on the basis of the ammonite fauna indicating the Verrucosum Zone, and of the nannofossil content suggesting the Zone NK3. The carbon isotope record in the Siniscola Marl is characterized by a positive excursion with values up to 2.98 \u2030. In the nannofossil assemblages, nannoconids are not particularly abundant and are found, among others, together with C. oblongata, D. lehmanii, and pentaliths. The scarcity of nannoconids is regarded as a biostratigraphic support for the identification of the Weissert OAE, as it possibly reflects the \u201cnannoconid decline\u201d interval which characterizes this event. The end of the Weissert OAE CIE is not recorded probably because of suppression of the upper part of the succession for tectonic causes

Environmental consequences of Ontong Java Plateau and Kerguelen Plateau Volcanism

The mid-Cretaceous was marked by emplacement of large igneous provinces (LIPs) that formed gigantic oceanic plateaus, affecting ecosystems on a global scale, with biota forced to face excess CO2 resulting in climate and ocean perturbations. Volcanic phases of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) and the southern Kerguelen Plateau (SKP) are radiometrically dated and correlate with paleoenvironmental changes, suggesting causal links between LIPs and ecosystem responses. Aptian biocalcifi cation crises and recoveries are broadly coeval with C, Pb, and Os isotopic anomalies, trace metal infl uxes, global anoxia, and climate changes. Early Aptian greenhouse or supergreenhouse conditions were followed by prolonged cooling during the late Aptian, when OJP and SKP developed, respectively. Massive volcanism occurring at equatorial versus high paleolatitudes and submarine versus subaerial settings triggered very different climate responses but similar disruptions in the marine carbonate system. Excess CO2 arguably induced episodic ocean acidifi cation that was detrimental to marine calcifi ers, regardless of hot or cool conditions. Global anoxia was reached only under extreme warming, whereas cold conditions kept the oceans well oxygenated even at times of intensifi ed fertility. The environmental disruptions attributed to the OJP did not trigger a mass extinction: rock-forming nannoconids and benthic communities underwent a signifi cant decline during Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) 1a, but recovered when paroxysmal volcanism fi nished. Extinction of many planktonic foraminiferal and nannoplankton taxa, including most nannoconids, and most aragonitic rudists in latest Aptian time was likely triggered by severe ocean acidifi cation. Upgraded dating of paleoceanographic events, improved radiometric ages of the OJP and SKP, and time-scale revision are needed to substantiate the links between magmatism and paleoenvironmental perturbations

Subnational climate entrepreneurship: innovative climate action in California and São Paulo

The distinct role of subnational governments such as states and provinces in addressing climate change has been increasingly acknowledged. But while most studies investigate the causes and consequences of particular governments’ actions and networking activities, this article argues that subnational governments can develop climate action as a collective entrepreneurial activity. Addressing many elements explored in this special issue, it focuses on the second question and identifies climate entrepreneurship in two subnational governments—the states of California (USA) and São Paulo (Brazil). Examining internal action, as well as interaction with local authorities, national governments and the international regime, entrepreneurial activities are identified in the invention, diffusion and evaluation of subnational climate policy in each case. The article draws from the recent scholarship on policy innovation, entrepreneurship and climate governance. It contributes to the literature by exploring entrepreneurial subnational government activity in addressing climate change and expanding the understanding of the effects of policy innovation at the subnational level

NCF1 gene and pseudogene pattern: association with parasitic infection and autoimmunity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neutrophil cytosolic factor 1, p47^phox(NCF1) is a component of the leukocyte NADPH oxidase complex mediating formation of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) which play an important role in host defense and autoimmunity. An individual genomic pattern of <it>ncf1 </it>and its two types of pseudogenes (reflected by the ΔGT/GTGT ratio) may influence the individual capacity to produce ROI.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>NCF1ΔGT/GTGT ratios were correlated with clinical parameters and ROI production during <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>malaria and with susceptibility to the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among Gabonese children with severe malaria, ROI production from peripheral blood tended to be higher in individuals with a ΔGT/GTGT ratio ≤ 1:1. ΔGT/GTGT ratios were not associated with susceptibility to MS, but to age-of-onset among MS patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The genomic pattern of <it>NCF1 </it>and its pseudogenes might influence ROI production but only marginally influence susceptibility to and outcome of malaria and MS.</p

BurkDiff: A Real-Time PCR Allelic Discrimination Assay for Burkholderia Pseudomallei and B. mallei

A real-time PCR assay, BurkDiff, was designed to target a unique conserved region in the B. pseudomallei and B. mallei genomes containing a SNP that differentiates the two species. Sensitivity and specificity were assessed by screening BurkDiff across 469 isolates of B. pseudomallei, 49 isolates of B. mallei, and 390 isolates of clinically relevant non-target species. Concordance of results with traditional speciation methods and no cross-reactivity to non-target species show BurkDiff is a robust, highly validated assay for the detection and differentiation of B. pseudomallei and B. mallei

An extraterrestrial trigger for the Early Cretaceous massive volcanism? Evidence from the paleo-Tethys Ocean

The Early Cretaceous Greater Ontong Java Event in the Pacific Ocean may have covered ca. 1% of the Earth's surface with volcanism. It has puzzled scientists trying to explain its origin by several mechanisms possible on Earth, leading others to propose an extraterrestrial trigger to explain this event. A large oceanic extraterrestrial impact causing such voluminous volcanism may have traces of its distal ejecta in sedimentary rocks around the basin, including the paleo-Tethys Ocean which was then contiguous with the Pacific Ocean. The contemporaneous marine sequence at central Italy, containing the sedimentary expression of a global oceanic anoxic event (OAE1a), may have recorded such ocurrence as indicated by two stratigraphic intervals with 187Os/188Os indicative of meteoritic influence. Here we show, for the first time, that platinum group element abundances and inter-element ratios in this paleo-Tethyan marine sequence provide no evidence for an extraterrestrial trigger for the Early Cretaceous massive volcanism

Oceanic response to Pliensbachian and Toarcian magmatic events: Implications from an organic-rich basinal succession in the NW Tethys

The Bächental bituminous marls (Bächentaler Bitumenmergel) belonging to the Sachrang Member of the Lower Jurassic Middle Allgäu Formation were investigated using a multidisciplinary approach to determine environmental controls on the formation of organic-rich deposits in a semi-restricted basin of the NW Tethys during the Early Jurassic. The marls are subdivided into three units on the basis of mineralogical composition, source-rock parameters, redox conditions, salinity variations, and diagenetic processes. Redox proxies (e.g., pristane/phytane ratio; aryl isoprenoids; bioturbation; ternary plot of iron, total organic carbon, and sulphur) indicate varying suboxic to euxinic conditions during deposition of the Bächental section. Redox variations were mainly controlled by sea-level fluctuations with the tectonically complex bathymetry of the Bächental basin determining watermass exchange with the Tethys Ocean. Accordingly, strongest anoxia and highest total organic carbon content (up to 13%) occur in the middle part of the profile (upper tenuicostatum and lower falciferum zones), coincident with an increase in surface-water productivity during a period of relative sea-level lowstand that induced salinity stratification in a stagnant basin setting. This level corresponds to the time interval of the lower Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (T-OAE). However, the absence of the widely observed lower Toarcian negative carbon isotope excursion in the study section questions its unrestricted use as a global chemostratigraphic marker. Stratigraphic correlation of the thermally immature Bächental bituminous marls with the Posidonia Shale of SW Germany on the basis of C27/C29 sterane ratio profiles and ammonite data suggests that deposition of organic matter-rich sediments in isolated basins in the Alpine realm commenced earlier (late Pliensbachian margaritatus Zone) than in regionally proximal epicontinental seas (early Toarcian tenuicostatum Zone). The late Pliensbachian onset of reducing conditions in the Bächental basin coincided with an influx of volcaniclastic detritus that was possibly connected to complex rifting processes of the Alpine Tethys and with a globally observed eruption-induced extinction event. The level of maximum organic matter accumulation in the Bächental basin corresponds to the main eruptive phase of the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous province (LIP), confirming its massive impact on global climate and oceanic conditions during the Early Jurassic. The Bächental marl succession is thus a record of the complex interaction of global (i.e., LIP) and local (e.g., redox and salinity variations, basin morphology) factors that caused reducing conditions and organic matter enrichment in the Bächental basin. These developments resulted in highly inhomogeneous environmental conditions in semi-restricted basins of the NW Tethyan domain during late Pliensbachian and early Toarcian time