Analyse d'un exemple de fossilisation d'une trace de pas de Dinosaure (Lias inférieur des Causses)

A calcareous block made of algo-laminated (stromatolitic) material exhibits at its upper surface a foot print of a Dinosaurian. A vertical section (sawing) and a thin section allow to make detailed observations. The early diagenesis permits the preservation of the deformations caused by the foot print

High resolution δ18O seasonality record in a French Eemian tufa stromatolite (Caours, Somme Basin)

International audienc

La fossilisation des empreintes de pattes et autres traces biologiques : rôle du voile algaire et de la diagenèse précoce

In the inter/supratidal algal mats, the early diagenesis products a progressive induration. It is enough to preserve all the deformations affecting the mats, including footprints of vertebrates, tracks and burrows of small invertebrates, and physical actions (desiccation cracks)

Magnetic fields generated by submarine power cables have a negligible effect on the swimming behavior of Atlantic lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) juveniles

Submarine power cables carry electricity over long distances. Their geographic distribution, number, and areal coverage are increasing rapidly with the development of, for example, offshore wind facilities. The flow of current passing through these cables creates a magnetic field (MF) that can potentially affect marine organisms, particularly those that are magnetosensitive. The lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) is a migratory species that is widely distributed in the North Atlantic Ocean and Barents Sea. It migrates between coastal spawning grounds and pelagic offshore feeding areas. We tested whether lumpfish respond to MFs of the same intensity as those emitted by high voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine power cables. Laboratory experiments were conducted by placing juvenile lumpfish in an artificial MF gradient generated by a Helmholtz coil system. The intensity of the artificial MF used (230 µT) corresponded to the field at 1 m from a high-power submarine cable. The fish were filmed for 30 min with the coil either on or off. Swimming speeds, and presence in the different parts of a raceway, were extracted from the videos and analyzed. Juvenile lumpfish activity, defined as the time that the fish spent swimming relative to stationary pauses (attached to the substrate), and the distance travelled, were unaffected by exposure to the artificial MF. The swimming speed of juvenile lumpfish was reduced (by 16%) when the coil was on indicating that the fish could either sense the MF or the induced electric field created by the movement of the fish through the magnetic field. However, it seems unlikely that a 16% decrease in swimming speed occurring within 1 m of HVDC cables would significantly affect Atlantic lumpfish migration or homing.publishedVersio

Effect of sea lice chemotherapeutant hydrogen peroxide on the photosynthetic characteristics and bleaching of the coralline alga Lithothamnion soriferum

The proliferation of sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) represents a major challenge for the salmonid aquaculture industry in Norway. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a chemotherapeutant frequently used on Norwegian farms, however, its toxicity to non-target benthic species and habitats remains poorly understood. Maerl beds are constructed by the accumulation of non-geniculate coralline algae and provide important ecological functions. Due to the rapid expansion of aquaculture in Norway and the continued use of H2O2 as an anti-sea lice treatment, it is crucial to understand the impact of H2O2 on the physiology of maerl-forming species. The effects of a 1 h exposure to H2O2 on the photophysiology and bleaching of the coralline alga Lithothamnion soriferum were examined here through a controlled time-course experiment. PAM fluorimetry measurements showed that H2O2 concentrations ≥ 200 mg l−1 negatively affected photosystem II (PSII) in thalli immediately after exposure, which was observed through a significant decline in maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) and relative electron transport rate (rETR). The negative effects on PSII induced by oxidative stress, however, appear to be reversible, and full recovery of photosynthetic characteristics was observed 48 h to 28 days after exposure to 200 mg H2O2 l−1 and 2000 mg H2O2 l−1, respectively. At 28 days after exposure, there was evidence of two- to four-times more bleaching in thalli treated with concentrations ≥ 200 mg H2O2 l−1 compared to those in the control. This indicates that despite the recovery of PSII, persistent damages can occur on the structural integrity of thalli, which may considerably increase the vulnerability of coralline algae to further exposure to H2O2 and other chemical effluents from salmonid farms.publishedVersio

Castillo-palacio de La Calahorra, Granada: influencia de los factores climáticos y arquitectónicos en el deterioro diferencial de sus fábricas pétreas

El castillo-palacio de La Calahorra es un edificio histórico (s. XVI) con una doble funcionalidad. El exterior es un castillo-fortaleza de estilo tardo-medieval, construido con mampuestos y sillarejos de una caliza cristalina de gran dureza y resistencia. El interior es un palacio renacentista, hecho con sillares de caliza micrítica y arenisca dolomítica, ambos materiales pétreos son porosos, blandos y poco resistentes. Todo el edificio tiene una tonalidad anaranjada debido a la pátina de hierro que tiñe sus fábricas y que es consecuencia de la acción del viento. Existe un deterioro diferencial entre sus fábricas externas e internas, según el tipo de piedra empleado, la acción del agua de lluvia y el viento, y los defectos constructivos detectados. Mientras que la piedra exterior está en buen estado de conservación, las interiores sufren importantes procesos de deterioro, principalmente la caliza micrítica presente en las zonas ornamentales y decorativas del patio central.The castle-palace of La Calahorra is a historical building (s. XVI) with a dual-function. The exterior is a castlefortress of late-medieval style, built with masonry and ashlar of a crystalline limestone of great hardness and strength. The interior is a Renaissance palace, made with ashlar limestone micritic and dolomitic sandstone, both stone materials are porous, soft and little resistant. The entire building has an orange hue due to the patina of iron that stained their factories and that is a consequence of the action of the wind. There is a differential deterioration among its external and internal, depending on the type of stone used factories, the action of rain and wind and the construction defect detected. While the exterior stone is in good state of conservation, the interiors are important processes of deterioration, mainly the limestone micritic present in the ornamental and decorative areas of the central courtyard.Este trabajo ha sido cofinanciado por la Comunidad de Madrid a través del programa Geomateriales (S2009/MAT- 1629) y por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) a través del programa Consolider-Ingenio 2007 (CSD2007-0058). Además forma parte de las actividades del grupo de investigación de la UCM “Alteración y Conservación de los Materiales Pétreos del Patrimonio” (ref. 921349)

Unusually thick dinosaur eggshell fragments from the Spanish Late Cretaceous

[EN] Fieldwork carried out recently in the southeastern branch of the Iberian Range (Valencia Province, Spain) has led to the collection of a large volume of dinosaur eggshell fragments of unusual thickness. These specimens, up to 4.9 mm thick, were recovered from palustrine grey marls of the upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian Sierra Perenchiza Formation, which comprises a wetland paleoenvironment deposit. These eggshell fragments have a characteristic compactituberculate ornamentation, dinosauroid-spherulitic organisation, and exhibit a complex canaliculate respiratory system. The external tuberculate surface of the shell as well as the internal microstructure enable referral to Megaloolithus aff. siruguei, the most common megaloolithid oospecies known from the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. The biostratigraphic range of M. siruguei matches the temporal distribution of titanosaurid dinosaurs across the Iberian Range, tentatively considered to be potential producers.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain [Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion, projects CGL2013-47521-P and CGL2014-53548-P]Company Rodríguez, J. (2017). Unusually thick dinosaur eggshell fragments from the Spanish Late Cretaceous. Historical Biology (Online). 31(2):203-210. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2017.1357717S203210312Allain, R., & Suberbiola, X. P. (2003). Dinosaurs of France. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 2(1), 27-44. doi:10.1016/s1631-0683(03)00002-2Bravo, A. M., & Gaete, R. (2014). Titanosaur eggshells from the Tremp Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Southern Pyrenees, Spain). Historical Biology, 27(8), 1079-1089. doi:10.1080/08912963.2014.934231Canudo, J. I., Oms, O., Vila, B., Galobart, À., Fondevilla, V., Puértolas-Pascual, E., … Blanco, A. (2016). The upper Maastrichtian dinosaur fossil record from the southern Pyrenees and its contribution to the topic of the Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction event. Cretaceous Research, 57, 540-551. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.06.013Cruzado-Caballero, P., Ruiz-Omeñaca, J. I., Gaete, R., Riera, V., Oms, O., & Canudo, J. I. (2013). A new hadrosaurid dentary from the latest Maastrichtian of the Pyrenees (north Spain) and the high diversity of the duck-billed dinosaurs of the Ibero-Armorican Realm at the very end of the Cretaceous. Historical Biology, 26(5), 619-630. doi:10.1080/08912963.2013.822867Chiappe, L. M., Coria, R. A., Dingus, L., Jackson, F., Chinsamy, A., & Fox, M. (1998). Sauropod dinosaur embryos from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. Nature, 396(6708), 258-261. doi:10.1038/24370Company J. 2004. Vertebrados continentales del Cretácico superior (Campaniense-Maastrichtiense) de Valencia [PhD dissertation]. Valencia: Universidad de Valencia.Company, J., & Szentesi, Z. (2012). Amphibians from the Late Cretaceous Sierra Perenchiza Formation of the Chera Basin, Valencia Province, Spain. Cretaceous Research, 37, 240-245. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2012.04.003Csiki-Sava, Z., Buffetaut, E., Ősi, A., Pereda-Suberbiola, X., & Brusatte, S. L. (2015). Island life in the Cretaceous - faunal composition, biogeography, evolution, and extinction of land-living vertebrates on the Late Cretaceous European archipelago. ZooKeys, 469, 1-161. doi:10.3897/zookeys.469.8439Erben, H. K., Hoefs, J., & Wedepohl, K. H. (1979). Paleobiological and isotopic studies of eggshells from a declining dinosaur species. Paleobiology, 5(4), 380-414. doi:10.1017/s0094837300016900García, R. A. (2007). An «egg-tooth»–like structure in titanosaurian sauropod embryos. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 27(1), 247-252. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[247:aesits]2.0.co;2Garcia, G., & Vianey-Liaud, M. (2001). Dinosaur eggshells as biochronological markers in Upper Cretaceous continental deposits. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 169(1-2), 153-164. doi:10.1016/s0031-0182(01)00215-2Grellet-Tinner, G., Chiappe, L. M., & Coria, R. (2004). Eggs of titanosaurid sauropods from the Upper Cretaceous of Auca Mahuevo (Argentina). Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 41(8), 949-960. doi:10.1139/e04-049Grigorescu, D., Garcia, G., Csiki, Z., Codrea, V., & Bojar, A.-V. (2010). Uppermost Cretaceous megaloolithid eggs from the Haţeg Basin, Romania, associated with hadrosaur hatchlings: Search for explanation. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 293(3-4), 360-374. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.03.031Izquierdo LA, Montero D, Pérez G, Urién V, Meijide M. 2001. Macroestructura de huevos de dinosaurios en el Cretácico superior de “La Rosaca” (Burgos, España). Actas de las I Jornadas Internacionales Sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno. Ed. Colectivo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de Salas. Salas de los Infantes. p. 389–395.Jackson FD. 2007. Titanosaur reproductive biology: comparison of the Auca Mahuevo Titanosaur nesting locality (Argentina), to the Pinyes Megaloolithus nesting locality (Spain) [PhD dissertation]. Bozeman (MT): Montana State University.Jackson, F. D., Garrido, A., Schmitt, J. G., Chiappe, L. M., Dingus, L., & Loope, D. B. (2004). Abnormal, multilayered titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) eggs from in situ clutches at the Auca Mahuevo locality, Neuquen Province, Argentina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 24(4), 913-922. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2004)024[0913:amtdse]2.0.co;2Jackson, F. D., Varricchio, D. J., Jackson, R. A., Vila, B., & Chiappe, L. M. (2008). Comparison of water vapor conductance in a titanosaur egg from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina and a Megaloolithus siruguei egg from Spain. Paleobiology, 34(2), 229-246. doi:10.1666/0094-8373(2008)034[0229:cowvci]2.0.co;2López-Martı́nez, N., Moratalla, J. J., & Sanz, J. L. (2000). Dinosaurs nesting on tidal flats. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 160(1-2), 153-163. doi:10.1016/s0031-0182(00)00063-8Mohabey, D. M. (1998). Systematics of Indian Upper Cretaceous dinosaur and chelonian eggshells. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 18(2), 348-362. doi:10.1080/02724634.1998.10011063Moratalla JJ. 1993. Restos indirectos de dinosaurios del registro español: paleoicnología de la Cuenca de (Jurásico superior-Cretácico inferior) y paleoología del Cretácico superior [PhD dissertation]. Madrid: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.Moreno-Azanza, M., Bauluz, B., Canudo, J. I., Gasca, J. M., & Torcida Fernández-Baldor, F. (2016). Combined Use of Electron and Light Microscopy Techniques Reveals False Secondary Shell Units in Megaloolithidae Eggshells. PLOS ONE, 11(5), e0153026. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0153026Moreno-Azanza, M., Bauluz, B., Canudo, J. I., Puértolas-Pascual, E., & Sellés, A. G. (2013). A re-evaluation of aff. Megaloolithidae eggshell fragments from the uppermost Cretaceous of the Pyrenees and implications for crocodylomorph eggshell structure. Historical Biology, 26(2), 195-205. doi:10.1080/08912963.2013.786067Oms, O., Dinarès-Turell, J., Vicens, E., Estrada, R., Vila, B., Galobart, À., & Bravo, A. M. (2007). Integrated stratigraphy from the Vallcebre Basin (southeastern Pyrenees, Spain): New insights on the continental Cretaceous−Tertiary transition in southwest Europe. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 255(1-2), 35-47. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.02.039Ortega, F., Bardet, N., Barroso-Barcenilla, F., Callapez, P. M., Cambra-Moo, O., Daviero- Gómez, V., … Sanz, J. L. (2015). The biota of the Upper Cretaceous site of «Lo Hueco» (Cuenca, Spain). Journal of Iberian Geology, 41(1). doi:10.5209/rev_jige.2015.v41.n1.48657Rasskin-Gutman, D., Elez, J., Esteve-Altava, B., & López-Martínez, N. (2020). Reconstruction of the internal structure of the pore system of a complex dinosaur eggshell (Megaloolithus siruguei). Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 28(1), 61. doi:10.7203/sjp.28.1.17831Riera, V., Oms, O., Gaete, R., & Galobart, À. (2009). The end-Cretaceous dinosaur succession in Europe: The Tremp Basin record (Spain). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 283(3-4), 160-171. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2009.09.018Sellés, A. G., Bravo, A. M., Delclòs, X., Colombo, F., Martí, X., Ortega-Blanco, J., … Galobart, À. (2013). Dinosaur eggs in the Upper Cretaceous of the Coll de Nargó area, Lleida Province, south-central Pyrenees, Spain: Oodiversity, biostratigraphy and their implications. Cretaceous Research, 40, 10-20. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2012.05.004Tanaka, K., & Zelenitsky, D. K. (2014). Comparisons between experimental and morphometric water vapor conductance in the eggs of extant birds and crocodiles: implications for predicting nest type in dinosaurs. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 92(12), 1049-1058. doi:10.1139/cjz-2014-0078Vianey-Liaud, M., Khosla, A., & Garcia, G. (2003). Relationships between European and Indian dinosaur eggs and eggshells of the oofamily Megaloolithidae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 23(3), 575-585. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2003)023[0575:rbeaid]2.0.co;2Vianey-Liaud, M., & Lopez-Martinez, N. (1997). Late Cretaceous dinosaur eggshells from the Tremp Basin, southern Pyrenees, Lleida, Spain. Journal of Paleontology, 71(6), 1157-1171. doi:10.1017/s002233600003609xVila, B., Galobart, À., Canudo, J. I., Le Loeuff, J., Dinarès-Turell, J., Riera, V., … Gaete, R. (2012). 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Multi-storey calcrete profiles developed during the initial stages of the configuration of the Ebro Basins exorrheic fluvial network

Multi-storey calcrete profiles developed in the Quaternary on strath terraces of the Cinca and Alcanadre rivers, tributaries of the Ebro River inNE Spain. Two calcrete profiles (Tor 1 and Tor 2) near the village of El Tormillo show horizons with an arrangement that differs from that of commonly described calcrete profiles. Significant lateral changes occur in these profiles within a distance of less than 200 m, reflecting their pedofacies relationship. The Tor 1 profile on terraceQt1 (the highest and oldest) consists of six horizons (frombottomto top): 1) coarse fluvial gravels; 2) mudstones with carbonate nodules; 3) a chalky horizon; 4) laminar horizons, including one peloidal horizon; 5) amulti-storey horizon formed of at least six minor sequences, each ofwhich includes a lower detrital layer, a pisolithic horizon, and a thin discontinuous laminar horizon (these sequences indicate several cycles of brecciation and/or reworking); and 6) a topmost laminar and brecciated horizon also including reworked pisoliths. Some200 mto the north of Tor 1, horizon 5 undergoes a lateral change to channel fill-deposits. The infill of the channels shows a fining-upwards sequence ranging fromclasts of about 10 cmin diameter to red siltswith sparse pebbles. All the clasts come fromthe underlying calcrete horizons. Laminar horizons are interbeddedwith the clastic channel deposits. The youngest calcrete profiles developed on terraceQt3 of the Cinca River and on the Qp4 and Qp6mantled pediment levels. All showrelatively simple profiles composedmostly of lower horizons of coated gravels, with thin laminar horizons at the top. Most of the horizons, especially the laminar ones, show biogenic features such as alveolar septal structures, calcified filaments, biofilms, spherulites, micropores and needle-like calcite crystals. These features indicate the important role of vegetation in the formation of all the above profiles. The interbedding of clastic sediments and pisolithic horizons within the Tor 2 profile indicates several stages of stabilisation during profile formation. These sequences are an indication of the sedimentation, soil formation and reworking processes operating on the soil surface. The alternation of these processes is interpreted as the result of climate–vegetation changes. The channel-fills of Tor 2 indicate erosion and reworking of the hard laminar calcrete horizon. Both Tor 1 and Tor 2 are multi-storey profiles reflecting the complex sedimentation–erosion–pedogenesis relationships at the final stages of the development of its corresponding fluvial terrace. The study of these calcretes shows that these supposedly abandoned terraces continue to be active even though the fluvial network is entrenched. Both the pedofacies relationships and the complexity shown by Tor 1 and Tor 2 reflect the complex and unstable geomorphic setting inwhich these profiles developed. After the establishment of the exorrheic network, less complex calcrete profiles were produced in the lower terraces

Pedogenic carbonates as a proxy for palaeo-CO2 in the Palaeozoic atmosphere

According to a model by Cerling (1991, 1999), the carbon isotope composition of calcretes should depend on the soil type and the CO2-concentration in the atmosphere. We have tested Cerling’s model by investigating 14 Palaeozoic sections with soil profiles. A large number of carbonate types of different genetic origin exist in the localities examined. Comparing the Palaeozoic samples with recent and subrecent calcretes, it can be demonstrated that anhedral, cryptocrystalline (<10 μm) and subhedral microcrystalline (10 - 40 μm) carbonates are clearly of pedogenic origin. Crystals of larger size with a poikilotopic texture are of groundwater or burial diagenetic origin. Macro- and micromorphological features, typical of recent calcretes, occur in several soil profiles, but thin section microscopy reveals a strong diagenetic overprint of most pedogenic carbonates. Time equivalent sections with comparable soil types (protosols, calcisols and vertisols) show large variations in carbon isotope composition. On the other hand, different carbonate generations at one site do not differ much. Therefore Palaeozoic calcretes appear to be unsuitable for a deduction of the Palaeozoic CO2-concentration.German Research Foundation (DFG)researc