With some investments already feeling the pain of the looming cliff, millions of Americans are at risk of being affected. The first to consider is the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts, according to CNBC's Jackie Deangelis.
By Allison Linn, TODAY
If you?re the type of person who likes to file your income tax return as soon as possible, then you?ve got another reason to be frustrated by the fiscal cliff stalemate in Washington, D.C.
Most of the tax changes being discussed as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations would go into effect in 2013, meaning that taxpayers would first have to account for them when they went to file those tax returns in early 2014.
But a handful of the provisions under discussion could affect Americans? 2012 taxes. The down-to-the-wire negotiations in the nation's capital could leave the IRS scrambling to adopt the changes in its systems, delaying the agency?s ability to accept some people?s returns.
?Congress oftentimes waits until the last minute to pass legislation, and then that in a turn affects the IRS,? said Bob Meighan, vice president with tax software provider TurboTax.
That's definitely been the case this time around. Just a few days before the end of the year, Congress has not been able to come to an agreement over a series of tax increases that are scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1. President Barack Obama said Friday that he was "modestly optimistic" a deal could still be reached to avert going over the so-called fiscal cliff.?
Acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller has already warned that there could be serious filing delays if Congress doesn?t provide a patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax. An IRS spokesman said Friday that the agency did not have any further information beyond the warnings Miller gave to lawmakers in a letter earlier this month.
The AMT is a provision in the tax code that was designed to ensure that wealthy taxpayers have to?pay at least a minimum amount of taxes. It was never indexed for inflation, however, so Congress has had to provide temporary fixes over the years to ensure that lower-income taxpayers aren?t affected.
That hasn?t happened yet this year because of the fiscal cliff stalemate. In the letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp earlier this month, Miller, the acting IRS commissioner, warned that if Congress doesn?t provide a patch this year, then the IRS would have to make significant programming changes to account for that.
?In that event, given the magnitude and complexity of the changes needed, I want to reiterate that most taxpayers may not be able to file their 2012 tax returns until late in March of 2013, or even later,? Miller wrote in the Dec. 19 letter.
Miller also warned that as many as 30 million additional taxpayers could be subject to the AMT if a patch isn?t put in place.
For now, Miller said the IRS is acting as if Congress will provide an AMT patch.
Meighan, of TurboTax, said his company also has prepared its software as if a patch will be in place. But he said the company also is ready to?switch gears quickly if it must.
Meighan said a few other provisions under discussion as part of the fiscal cliff negotiation could affect a minority of taxpayers in 2012. Those include a deduction teachers get for school supplies they purchase for their classrooms and a tuition and fees deduction that applies to some students.
"It's really gotten to a point now where you have the ideological divisions in the country overlapped now with the partisan divisions," said CNBC's Chief Washington Correspondent John Harwood.
The IRS has had to ask people to delay filing their returns before. In 2010, Congress passed last-minute tax law changes on Dec. 17. As a result, the IRS said it wouldn?t be able to accept returns with itemized deductions until February of 2011 because it needed time to adjust its systems.
If people are forced to wait to file their tax returns, that would also mean a delay in getting tax refunds. Roberton Williams, a senior fellow with the Tax Policy Center, said that in turn could have some effect on the economy because many people count on that money to pay off debt or buy big-ticket items.
If the AMT isn?t patched at all, he noted, that would be an even bigger economic hit because some taxpayers wouldn?t get their expected refund at all.
?That will have a major effect on the economy,? Williams said. ?It will be pulling a lot of money out of the economy that people are expecting.?
Despite the Congressional deadlock, experts say they are still assuming a deal will be made to put the patch in place.
?For most people, come 2013 they?ll be able to file their taxes, they?ll get their refund and life goes on,? Meighan said.
THE honeymoon period for Aurora customers is to come to an end, with electricity disconnections set to more than double in Tasmania in the next 12 months.
Aurora had given Tasmanian customers a four-month amnesty on disconnections as they rolled out a new billing system in the last half of this year.
However, the company has warned it will soon be operating like energy companies in other states, which have been disconnecting customers at a growing rate.
In Victoria, 24,000 households had their power cut off in the past year -- a 33 per cent increase from 2011. Disconnections in South Australia have grown by 38 per cent, Queensland 20 per cent, and New South Wales 25 per cent.
Aurora spokesman Richard Wilson said the company expected 2000 disconnections next year -- double the average of 1000 disconnections a year for the past two years.
Only 226 Aurora customers lost their power in 2011-12 because of the four-month amnesty on disconnections to allow a new billing system to be installed, Mr Wilson said.
Disconnections dropped from 998 in 2010-11 to 226 in 2011-12. Of these, 178 were residential customers and 11 were businesses.
Mr Wilson said making regular payments through a payment plan was the best way to avoid a disconnection.
"Disconnections are the worst outcome for everyone but especially for the customer," he said. "It affects their credit rating and they lose their electricity supply."
Mr Wilson said the company had arranged 2490 payment plans in the last quarter.
The increased disconnections will come as a blow to the State Government, which is set to sell Aurora customers at the end of the year into a full retail contestable market.
Energy expert Frontier Economics director Danny Price told the Mercury in late October concerns about the credit ratings of Aurora customers and Aurora's market monopoly were scaring off energy retailers.
He said the sale of energy customers on the mainland had generated about $1000 to $1500 per customer but Aurora would be lucky to get $300 per customer.
Chalkboard paint has been a trendy item for a few years now. Many home improvement shows, blogs, and magazines have featured it at one point or another, and with a few companies producing this paint it?s very accessible to the average consumer. Chalkboard paint is both fun and functional and can be used anywhere in a home. However, it?s most often found in only black and green. A few products in other colors are available but have only recently been easier to find and are often in far fewer colors.
Source: colorchats.benjaminmoore.com via Santa Rosa Tile?s Pinterest
There?s a solution, though! Mixing a bit of un-sanded grout into latex paint will give you a chalk-friendly surface in any color you want. Acrylic paints should work, too, but avoid oil-based paints ? they won?t create the right surface texture.
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The best ratio to use varies depending on who you ask, but 2 tablespoons grout per cup of paint seems like a good place to start. You can always add more grout, but don?t mix it up so thick you can?t paint with it and be sure to thoroughly mix in the grout without lumps.
Source: abeautifulmess.com via Santa Rosa Tile?s Pinterest
As for how to use chalkboard paint? Here are just a few ideas:
Message board from framed plywood or a painted canvas
Trays ? especially great for parties because you can label what?s being served
Inside of a pantry or kitchen cabinet door ? perfect for grocery lists or keeping track of all those hard-to-see cans and jars
Mini signs for placecards or an appetizer table
Paint an entire refrigerator
Kids? rooms or playrooms can use a little chalkboard paint right on the wall
Source: mycakies.com via Santa Rosa Tile?s Pinterest
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Source: marthastewart.com via Santa Rosa Tile?s Pinterest
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Since you know how to make any paint into chalkboard paint, you don?t have to worry about the chalkboard blending into your decor!
Source: astylistslife.com via Santa Rosa Tile?s Pinterest
Unsanded grout can be purchased at your local tile or hardware store, or if you or someone you know recently remodeled, you might be able to snag just a little bit from them. It?s best to use regular chalk on these surfaces; chalk pens may not erase properly. Make sure you ?prime? the surface after painting but before using it by completely covering it with chalk then wiping off with a dry towel.
While some Directioners may still be in denial, it's looking like Harry Styles and Taylor Swift's relationship is getting serious!
The couple most recently spent some time together in Utah for a ski resort getaway and prior to that, they got all cozy in Harry's hometown in England!
Not only was Swifty introduced to Harry's family, but it sounds like she really bonded with his sister, Gemma, after clearing her schedule for the trip!
Reportedly, Taylor was overheard telling Gemma that she thinks the 1D heartthrob is "amazing," while they were all out together at the pub!
However, though Haylor makes for a SUPER cute young Hollywood couple? could they be moving too quickly??
An insider revealed:
"This [relationship] has gone from zero to 60 in seconds. Harry is totally in love. I can see them getting married in a week, just going for it."
Holy shiz! Could there really be a Haylor wedding on the horizon?!
We hope they aren't rushing anything!
Take your time, you two ? no breakup songs just yet!
[Images via WENN.]
Tags: couple, harry styles, love, marriage, married, relationship, serious, taylor swift
FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) ? Thousands of Iraqi Sunnis massed along a major western highway and in other parts of the country Friday for what appear to be the largest protests yet in a week of demonstrations, intensifying pressure on the Shiite-led government.
The rallies underscore the strength of a tenacious movement that appears to be gathering support. The largest demonstrations took place on a highway leading to Jordan and Syria in the Sunni-dominated desert province of Anbar west of Baghdad.
Protesters in the Anbar city of Fallujah held aloft placards declaring the day a "Friday of honor." Some carried old Iraqi flags used during the era of former dictator Saddam Hussein, whose Sunni-dominated government was ousted in the U.S.-led invasion nearly a decade ago.
Others raised the current flag, which was approved in 2008. A few raised the banner of the predominantly Sunni rebels across the border who are fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.
In the northern city of Mosul, around 3,000 demonstrators took to the streets to denounce what they called the sidelining of Sunnis in Iraq and to demand the release of Sunni prisoners. As in protests earlier in the week, demonstrators there chanted the Arab Spring slogan: "The people want the downfall of the regime."
Thousands likewise took to the streets in the northern Sunni towns of Tikrit and Samarra, where they were joined by lawmakers and provincial officials, said Salahuddin provincial spokesman Mohammed al-Asi.
At a conference in Baghdad, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned against a return to sectarian conflict and cautioned that the country is close to returning to the "dark days when people were killed because of their names or identities."
He also used the occasion to take a jab at the protesters in Anbar.
"Nations that look for peace, love and reconstruction must choose civilized ways to express themselves. It is not acceptable to express opinions by blocking the roads, encouraging sectarianism, threating to launch wars and dividing Iraq," he said. "Instead we need to talk, to listen to each other and to agree ... to end our differences."
The demonstrations follow the arrest last week of 10 bodyguards assigned to Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi, who comes from Anbar and is one of the central government's most senior Sunni officials.
While the detentions triggered the latest bout of unrest, the demonstrations also tap into deeper Sunni fears that they are being marginalized by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Although the government includes some Sunni Arabs and Kurdish officials as part of a power-sharing agreement, it draws the bulk of its support from Iraq's majority Shiites.
Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, another top-ranking Sunni politician, is now living in exile in Turkey after being handed multiple death sentences earlier this year for allegedly running death squads ? a charge he dismisses as politically motivated.
Sunni-dominated Anbar province has been the scene of several large demonstrations and road blockages since last Saturday. The vast territory was once the heart of the deadly Sunni insurgency that emerged after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Al-Qaida is believed to be rebuilding in pockets of Anbar, and militants linked to it are thought to be helping Sunni rebels in Syria.
___
Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin and Adam Schreck in Baghdad contributed reporting.
MANHEIM, Pa. --?A central Pennsylvania man suffocated his 17-year-old girlfriend by sitting on her head after he intentionally drove into a guardrail at about 100 miles per hour in the middle of the night, authorities said.
Police filed homicide and other charges Friday against Benjamin Daniel Klinger, 19, for the Dec. 4 death of Sammi Heller on an interstate near Manheim. Klinger is accused of crashing on purpose, then killing Heller by sitting on her until she asphyxiated.
"At first glance, this appeared to be simply another tragic vehicle accident," Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman told the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era. "However, the police worked hand-in-hand with our forensic experts and saw this was far more complicated, sinister and certainly criminal."
A man who answered the telephone at Klinger's Elizabethtown home Thursday said Klinger did not have a lawyer and declined to comment.
Heller, a senior at J.P. McCaskey High School, was described in her obituary as athletic and a lover of motorcycles and horses.
She allegedly told a friend that Klinger previously tried to scare her while driving and that he had threatened to kill them both in a crash. Another witness told detectives that Heller said that Klinger would push Heller into walls and once pushed her down a set of stairs, police alleged.
Heller may have been pregnant, and police fielded conflicting reports about whether Klinger was the father.
A truck driver who came upon the 2 a.m. crash heard Heller screaming and was told by 911 operators not to move the crash victims. When police arrived, Klinger was sitting on top of Heller's head and torso, according to the arrest affidavit.
"Klinger was observed by the officers to be what appeared as 'slipping in and out of consciousness' because he would close his eyes for several seconds, moan, and then reopen his eyes while continuing to be positioned on top of the victim's head and torso while the victim was face down," police wrote.
Based on medical records, investigators later concluded Klinger was feigning being unconscious.
Detectives recovered marijuana, cash, a digital scale, a pipe, pills and a black air pistol from the wreckage.
Klinger was also charged with aggravated assault, drug offenses and driving violations.
Separately, he faces a charge of simple assault for allegedly running over Heller's foot in May and two counts of disseminating explicit sexual materials to a minor for allegedly sending out photos and video of Heller.
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Dmitry Kratov, sits in a court, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The Tverskoy court on Friday will rule in the case of Dmitry Kratov, formerly deputy chief physician in the Butyrskaya prison, the only official charged with the lawyer?s death. The Moscow court is expected to hand down a verdict on Friday for the first and only official charged with the death of whistleblowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a case his family dismissed as sham and humiliation. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)
Dmitry Kratov, sits in a court, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The Tverskoy court on Friday will rule in the case of Dmitry Kratov, formerly deputy chief physician in the Butyrskaya prison, the only official charged with the lawyer?s death. The Moscow court is expected to hand down a verdict on Friday for the first and only official charged with the death of whistleblowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a case his family dismissed as sham and humiliation. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)
Dmitry Kratov, sits in a courtroom, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The Tverskoy court on Friday will rule in the case of Dmitry Kratov, formerly deputy chief physician in the Butyrskaya prison, the only official charged with the lawyer?s death. The Moscow court is expected to hand down a verdict on Friday for the first and only official charged with the death of whistleblowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a case his family dismissed as sham and humiliation. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)
FILE In this Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 file photo Nataliya Magnitskaya, mother of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky who died in jail, holds a photo of her son as she speaks during an interview with the AP in Moscow. The Moscow court is expected to hand down a verdict on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, for the first and only official charged with the death of whistleblowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a case his family dismissed as sham and humiliation. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
MOSCOW (AP) ? The only official charged with the death of a Russian whistleblowing lawyer walked free on Friday after a Moscow court acquitted him of negligence, in a case that has become a rallying point for human rights advocates and sparked escalating legislation in the U.S. and Russia.
Sergei Magnitsky died in jail in 2009 after his pancreatitis went untreated, and an investigation by Russia's presidential council on human rights concluded he was severely beaten and denied medical treatment. Prison doctor Dmitry Kratov was the only person to face trial in the case.
Judge Tatyana Neverova said she found no evidence that Kratov's negligence could have caused the lawyer's death. The acquittal was widely expected after prosecutors earlier this week dropped their accusations, saying they had decided there was no connection between Kratov's actions and Magnitsky's death.
The case has angered both Russian activists and the West. The U.S. Congress passed legislation this month in Magnitsky's name, calling for sanctions against officials ? including Kratov ? deemed to be connected with human rights abuses. The bill provoked retaliation from Moscow, including a measure barring Americans from adopting Russian children that President Vladimir Putin signed on Friday.
Magnitsky, a lawyer for the Hermitage Capital fund, was arrested in 2008 on suspicion of tax evasion by the same Interior Ministry officials he accused of using false tax documents to steal $230 million from the state. He died while in custody awaiting trial.
Government officials have dismissed calls to investigate police officials and the only official charged in his death was Kratov, who was deputy chief physician at the Butyrskaya prison where Magnitsky was held.
Hermitage's owner, Bill Browder, said the outcome of the trial shows the government's unwillingness to find and try the culprits.
"Even though Kratov was only a minor player in the overall persecution of Sergei, the fact that the Russian authorities can't even scapegoat their one scapegoat says everything about this case," Browder said.
Kratov pleaded not guilty to charges of negligence leading to death, saying he was unable to ensure medical care for Magnitsky because of a shortage of staff.
The prison doctor thanked "everyone who believed in me and my innocence" after the verdict.
The lawyer's family has described the trial as a sham, maintaining that Kratov played a minor role in the man's death and that officials responsible must face justice.
The lawyer's mother and attorney did not attend the ruling in protest.
"Participation in this court hearing would have been humiliating for me," Nataliya Magnitskaya said in a statement. "I understand that everything has been decided in advance and everything has been pre-determined."
Browder said that he does not doubt that "people responsible for Magnitsky's death are being protected by the president of Russia.
"In this case, there was overwhelming evidence of Kratov's involvement and his acquittal goes against any logic or concept of justice," he said
Valery Borshchev, a human rights advocate who spearheaded the presidential commission's investigation into Magnitsky's death, was outraged with the court's decision. Borshchev insisted that authorities must investigate overwhelming evidence collected by his commission that points to the fact that Magnitsky was tortured.
"Kratov and others are guilty because there were inadequate conditions to treat Magnitsky," he told the Interfax news agency. "The conditions in jail were torturous, and doctors didn't do anything to change that."
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who topped an illustrious military career by commanding the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991 but kept a low public profile in controversies over the second Gulf War against Iraq, died Thursday. He was 78.
Schwarzkopf died in Tampa, Fla., where he had lived in retirement, according to a U.S. official, who was not authorized to release the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
A much-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was known popularly as "Stormin' Norman" for a notoriously explosive temper.
He served in his last military assignment in Tampa as commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, the headquarters responsible for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly 20 countries from the eastern Mediterranean and Africa to Pakistan.
Schwarzkopf became "CINC-Centcom" in 1988 and when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait three years later to punish it for allegedly stealing Iraqi oil reserves, he commanded Operation Desert Storm, the coalition of some 30 countries organized by President George H.W. Bush that succeeded in driving the Iraqis out.
"Gen. Norm Schwarzkopf, to me, epitomized the 'duty, service, country' creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our most trying international crises," Bush said in a statement. "More than that, he was a good and decent man ? and a dear friend."
At the peak of his postwar national celebrity, Schwarzkopf ? a self-proclaimed political independent ? rejected suggestions that he run for office, and remained far more private than other generals, although he did serve briefly as a military commentator for NBC.
While focused primarily in his later years on charitable enterprises, he campaigned for President George W. Bush in 2000 but was ambivalent about the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying he doubted victory would be as easy as the White House and Pentagon predicted. In early 2003 he told the Washington Post the outcome was an unknown:
"What is postwar Iraq going to look like, with the Kurds and the Sunnis and the Shiites? That's a huge question, to my mind. It really should be part of the overall campaign plan," he said.
Initially Schwarzkopf had endorsed the invasion, saying he was convinced that former Secretary of State Colin Powell had given the United Nations powerful evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. After that proved false, he said decisions to go to war should depend on what U.N. weapons inspectors found.
He seldom spoke up during the conflict, but in late 2004, he sharply criticized then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon for mistakes that included inadequate training for Army reservists sent to Iraq and for erroneous judgments about Iraq.
"In the final analysis I think we are behind schedule. ... I don't think we counted on it turning into jihad (holy war)," he said in an NBC interview.
Schwarzkopf was born Aug. 24, 1934, in Trenton, N.J., where his father, Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., founder and commander of the New Jersey State Police, was then leading the investigation of the Lindbergh kidnap case, which ended with the arrest and 1936 execution of German-born carpenter Richard Hauptmann for stealing and murdering the famed aviator's infant son.
The elder Schwarzkopf was named Herbert, but when the son was asked what his "H'' stood for, he would reply, "H." Although reputed to be short-tempered with aides and subordinates, he was a friendly, talkative and even jovial figure who didn't like "Stormin' Norman" and preferred to be known as "the Bear," a sobriquet given him by troops.
He also was outspoken at times, including when he described Gen. William Westmoreland, the U.S. commander in Vietnam, as "a horse's ass" in an Associated Press interview.
As a teenager Norman accompanied his father to Iran, where the elder Schwarzkopf trained the country's national police force and was an adviser to Reza Pahlavi, the young Shah of Iran.
Young Norman studied there and in Switzerland, Germany and Italy, then followed in his father's footsteps to West Point, graduating in 1956 with an engineering degree. After stints in the U.S. and abroad, he earned a master's degree in engineering at the University of Southern California and later taught missile engineering at West Point.
In 1966 he volunteered for Vietnam and served two tours, first as a U.S. adviser to South Vietnamese paratroops and later as a battalion commander in the U.S. Army's Americal Division. He earned three Silver Stars for valor ? including one for saving troops from a minefield ? plus a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and three Distinguished Service Medals.
While many career officers left military service embittered by Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was among those who opted to stay and help rebuild the tattered Army into a potent, modernized all-volunteer force.
After Saddam invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Schwarzkopf played a key diplomatic role by helping to persuade Saudi Arabia's King Fahd to allow U.S. and other foreign troops to deploy on Saudi territory as a staging area for the war to come.
On Jan. 17, 1991, a five-month buildup called Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as allied aircraft attacked Iraqi bases and Baghdad government facilities. The six-week aerial campaign climaxed with a massive ground offensive on Feb. 24-28, routing the Iraqis from Kuwait in 100 hours before U.S. officials called a halt.
Schwarzkopf said afterward he agreed with Bush's decision to stop the war rather than drive to Baghdad to capture Saddam, as his mission had been only to oust the Iraqis from Kuwait.
But in a desert tent meeting with vanquished Iraqi generals, he allowed a key concession on Iraq's use of helicopters, which later backfired by enabling Saddam to crack down more easily on rebellious Shiites and Kurds.
While he later avoided the public second-guessing by academics and think tank experts over the ambiguous outcome of Gulf War I and its impact on Gulf War II, he told the Washington Post in 2003, "You can't help but... with 20/20 hindsight, go back and say, 'Look, had we done something different, we probably wouldn't be facing what we are facing today.'"
After retiring from the Army in 1992, Schwarzkopf wrote a best-selling autobiography, "It Doesn't Take A Hero." Of his Gulf war role, he said, "I like to say I'm not a hero. I was lucky enough to lead a very successful war." He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and honored with decorations from France, Britain, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.
Schwarzkopf was a national spokesman for prostate cancer awareness and for Recovery of the Grizzly Bear, served on the Nature Conservancy board of governors and was active in various charities for chronically ill children.
"I may have made my reputation as a general in the Army and I'm very proud of that," he once told the AP. "But I've always felt that I was more than one-dimensional. I'd like to think I'm a caring human being. ... It's nice to feel that you have a purpose."
Schwarzkopf and his wife, Brenda, had three children: Cynthia, Jessica and Christian.
GSA Bulletin celebrates GSA's 125th Anniversary with new geologic time scalePublic release date: 27-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kea Giles kgiles@geosociety.org Geological Society of America
New GSA Bulletin articles posted online ahead of print 1021 Dec. 2012
Boulder, Colo., USA GSA BULLETIN articles posted online between 10 Dec. and 21 Dec. 2012 include a new version of The Geological Society of America's Geologic Time Scale. This paper marks the beginning of a special series of invited papers in celebration of GSA's 125th Anniversary in 2013. Highlights are provided below.
1. A new/revised GSA geologic time scale.
2. Complex mammal fossil record of the Gran Barranca, Patagonia, Argentina.
3. A new and simple method for estimating the rate of sediment delivery to ancient basins.
4. A study of the provenance of volcanic material in ancient Roman masonry.
5. Comparison of different scenarios for the development of the Himalayan Brahmaputra River drainage.
6. A new discovery on Devonian plume-related magmatism in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.
7. Substantial changes in ecosystem properties during the Holocene in northern Minnesota, USA.
8. A study of fault rocks in the West Antarctic Rift System, northern Victoria Land.
9. A survey of nearly 40 years of core-complex literature, along with a discussion of processes and questions and possible directions for future research.
10. Detailed pollen, dinoflagellate cyst, and magnetic susceptibility analysis of a marine sedimentary sequence of late Neogene from the Montemayor-1 core in the lower Guadalquivir Basin, southwestern Spain.
11. Comparison of pre- and post- Sept. 2010 magnitude 7.1 Darfield earthquake (South Island, New Zealand) LiDAR topographic surveys and property boundary surveys.
12. The first published study to interpret the corrugated mountain ranges of western Arizona as folds.
GSA BULLETIN articles published ahead of print are online at http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/early/recent; abstracts are open-access at http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary copies of articles by contacting Kea Giles.
Sign up for pre-issue publication e-alerts at http://www.gsapubs.org/cgi/alerts for first access to new journal content as it is posted. Subscribe to RSS feeds at http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/rss/.
Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to GSA Bulletin in your articles or blog posts. Contact Kea Giles for additional information or assistance.
Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.
The Geological Society of America Time Scale
J.D. Walker et al., Dept. of Geology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30712.1.
The Geological Society of America has maintained and published a geologic time scale for its membership, the scientific community, and the public at large for 30 years. In this paper, J.D. Walker and colleagues present the newest version of the GSA time scale, which is fully updated, incorporating recent advances in understanding numerical ages and the overall succession of rocks and evolution of life on Earth's surface. This paper, one of a series of invited papers for GSA Bulletin in celebration of GSA's 125th anniversary, describes how geologic time scales have been established, including discussion of the underlying methods of determining geologic time. The paper also has an historical focus -- the first geologic time scale, for example, was published 100 years ago by Arthur Holmes -- but this contribution by Walker and colleagues focuses mostly on advances over the last 25 to 30 years. The authors also discuss some of the challenges and opportunities likely to arise over the next 25 years.
A new chronology for middle Eocene-early Miocene South American Land Mammal Ages
Regan E. Dunn et al., Biology, University of Washington, Box 351800, 24 Kincaid Hall, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/ B30660.1.
Patagonia, Argentina, is well-known for fossils of unique and extinct South American mammals. Gran Barranca, the "Great Cliff" has the most complete fossil record of the Cenozoic (Eocene-Miocene, 42-18.5 million years ago) in South America, and it contains abundant faunal remains entombed in datable volcanic rocks. Fossils at Gran Barranca demonstrate faunal evolution, and a record of ancient vegetation in the form of plant-silica is preserved. Regan E. Dunn and colleagues present a new chronology for the Sarmiento Formation based on high-resolution U-Pb isotopic dating techniques. The new dates provide key tie-points for magnetostratigraphy and allow for a new age model to date fossil samples. Because Gran Barranca is the most complete section of its age in South America, it serves as a rosetta stone for estimating ages of similar faunal assemblages found elsewhere. Our data along with other published ages for vertebrate sites in South America provide ages and durations of the so-called South American Land Mammal Ages. The new dates confirm that South America contains the oldest record of "grazer-like" tooth morphologies among Cenozoic plant-eaters globally, and that Gran Barranca preserves the only fossiliferous terrestrial section spanning the Eocene-Oligocene (about 34 million years) in the Southern Hemisphere.
Estimation of the paleoflux of terrestrial-derived solids across ancient basin margins using the stratigraphic record
Andrew Petter et al., Dept. of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, C1100, Austin, Texas 78712-0254, USA. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30603.1.
Siliciclastic shelf margins are depositional features constructed from sediments that were eroded from continents and transported to the edges of deep basins such as oceans. Andrew Petter and colleagues demonstrate a new and simple method for estimating the rate of sediment delivery to ancient basins using the shelf-margin strata preserved within the basins. The method is based on equations for geomorphic modeling and utilizes the rates at which the ancient shelf margins grew to fill the basins as well as the 2-D shapes and dimensions of the shelf-margin bathymetric profiles. The rate of sediment delivery to ancient basins provides a way to reconstruct paleo-environmental conditions, such as climate change and tectonic movement, in the area where the sediments were eroded and produced. This method may also be useful for predicting the presence of hydrocarbon-bearing deepwater sandstones.
Geochemical fingerprints of volcanic materials: Identification of a pumice trade route from Pompeii to Rome
Fabrizio Marra et al., Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30709.1.
The paper presents an innovative analytical approach, based on the use of diagrams of selected trace elements, to the study of provenance of the volcanic material employed as the aggregate in ancient Roman masonry. Samples of pumice and lava from the mortars of Forum of Caesar and Forum of Trajan, employed in the concretes of these monuments, are analyzed and their compositions are compared to those of the volcanic deposits of central Italy, including the districts of Vulsini, Vico, Monti Sabatini, Vesuvius and Phlegrean Fields. Results of this study show that the builders mixed different kind of pumices in the mortars, coming either from deposits of the Monti Sabatini volcanic district near Rome, as well as from those of the Vesuvius and the Phlegrean Fields. Moreover, the peculiar geochemical signature of some pumice and lava samples suggests that these deposits were erupted by peripheral vents located on the southeastern slopes of Vesuvius near Pompeii. The study of the historical sources suggests that a systematic cultivation of lightweight volcanic material for the exportation to Rome occurred in this area during the late Republican era and the early Imperial age, and that its exploitation was re-established soon after the 79 AD eruption.
Tectonics, exhumation, and drainage evolution of the eastern Himalaya since 13 Ma from detrital geochemistry and thermochronology, Kameng River Section, Arunachal Pradesh
Franois Chirouze et al. (Matthias Bernet, corresponding), Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Universit Joseph Fourier / CNRS, BP53, 38041 Grenoble Cedex, France. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30697.1.
In a new study on sedimentary rocks of the foothills of the Himalayas in northeastern India, Franois Chirouze and colleagues propose different scenarios for the development of the Brahmaputra River drainage over the past 13 million years. The interpretations are based on the chemical composition of the sedimentary rocks studied and the rates at which rocks in the Himalaya were eroded in the past. The chemical information was used to determine from which rocks in Himalayas the sedimentary rocks were originally derived. Erosion rates were estimated from the analysis of naturally uranium bearing apatite and zircon crystals in the sedimentary rocks. No evidence was found for a major change in erosion rates influenced by local or regional climate change, as proposed elsewhere. However, this study supports the hypothesis that the Brahmaputra changed its position over time, while erosion rates remained fairly constant. This work is compatible with similar studies conducted in the central Himalayas of Nepal.
Geochronology and geochemistry of basalts from the Karamay ophiolitic mlange in West Junggar (NW China): Implications for Devonian-Carboniferous intra-oceanic accretionary tectonics of the southern Altaids
Gaoxue Yang et al., Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Western China's Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering, Xi'an 710054, China. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30650.1.
According to a current tectonic model, the West Junggar (NW China) has been attributed to an intra-oceanic subduction system, which is illustrated by the fact that there are different models for a single subduction zone, arc-arc collision and ridge-subduction. However, in this paper, Gaoxue Yang and colleagues report new U-Pb age data from zircons and whole-rock major and trace element data from the basaltic units in the Karamay ophiolitic mlange. The data reveal the presence of Devonian OIB-type alkaline basalt in the Karamay ophiolitic mlange, which suggest an intra-oceanic setting. Furthermore, their data provides a new discovery on Devonian plume-related magmatism in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.
Variable ecosystem response to climate change during the Holocene in northern Minnesota, USA
Kendra K. McLauchlan et al., Dept. of Geography, 118 Seaton Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30737.1.
Abrupt climate changes affected the mid-continent of North America during the past 10,000 years, and similar climate changes will likely happen in the future. A small watershed in northern Minnesota, USA, showed only subtle dynamics during rapid climate changes that caused vegetation in the catchment to switch between pine forest, open grassland, and deciduous forest. The most substantial changes in ecosystem properties immediately followed deglaciation of the landscape, formation of the lake, and initial development of pine forests. The lack of response to subsequent dry and wet conditions afterward indicates relative resistance to abrupt climate change at later stages of ecosystem development.
Constraining the timing of fault reactivation: Eocene coseismic slip along a Late Ordovician ductile shear zone (northern Victoria Land, Antarctica)
G. Di Vincenzo et al., Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR, via Moruzzi 1, I Pisa, Italy. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30670.1.
The reactivation of faults or shear zones is a fundamental characteristic of deformation in the continental crust. Faults and shear zones give rise to long-lived zones of weakness which may repeatedly accommodate successive episodes of deformation. A better understanding of reactivation is crucial in order to determine whether a fault is extinct or just temporarily inactive, and this may have implications for seismic hazard assessment. This study by G. Di Vincenzo and colleagues exploits the potential of the 40Ar-39Ar dating method in conjunction with field analysis and electron microscopy down to the nanoscale to assess fault reactivation in fault rocks from the western shoulder of one of the world's largest rifts, the West Antarctic Rift System. The studied fault rocks experienced brittle deformation, with the development of friction-induced melts (pseudotachylyte), overprinting a ductile shear zone. Results reveal that coseismic faulting occurred about 50 million years ago, through coseismic reactivation of a Late Ordovician (460-440 million years) ductile shear zone, implying a period of apparent tectonic quiescence of as much as about 390 million years. The study highlights the inherent difficulty in investigating structures characterized by long periods of tectonic quiescence, for which an accurate evaluation of recurrent periods of fault movement is precluded.
Continental and oceanic core complexes
Donna L. Whitney et al., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, USA. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30754.1.
Core complexes are domal geologic structures that form when continental and oceanic lithosphere extends and, as a result, formerly deep rocks rise toward the surface below normal faults. Because deep rocks are brought close to the surface, the formation of core complexes results in the transfer or large amounts of heat and material from deep to shallow. Core complexes offer a glimpse of the deep crust and upper mantle because these rocks are carried upward as the crust flows to fill the gap created by extension of the upper crust. Formation of these structures is related to crustal evolution, global element cycles, heat budgets of continents and oceans, and ore formation. In this review, Donna L. Whitney and colleagues provide a survey of about 40 years of core-complex literature, discuss processes and questions relevant to the formation and evolution of core complexes in continental and oceanic settings, highlight the significance of core complexes for lithosphere dynamics, and propose a few possible directions for future research.
Vegetation, sea-level, and climate changes during the Messinian salinity crisis
G. Jimnez-Moreno et al., Departamento de Estratigrafa y Paleontologa, Universidad de Granada, Fuente Nueva s/n, 18002, Granada, Spain. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30663.1.
The Mediterranean Sea dried out partly or near completely during the Messinian around six million years ago (the "Messinian salinity crisis" or MSC). However, the relative role that tectonic processes and sea-level changes had, as triggers for restriction and isolation of the Mediterranean Sea from the open ocean, is still under debate. G. Jimnez-Moreno and colleagues present a detailed pollen, dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst), and magnetic susceptibility analysis of a marine sedimentary sequence of late Neogene (between about 7.3 and 5.2 million years ago) from the Montemayor-1 core (lower Guadalquivir Basin, southwestern Spain). Their results show that significant paired vegetation and sea-level changes occurred during the Messinian, likely triggered by orbital-scale climate change. Important cooling events and corresponding glacio-eustatic sea-level drops are observed in this study at ca. 5.95 and 5.75 million years ago coinciding with the timing and duration of oxygen isotopic events TG32 and TG22-20 recorded in marine sediments worldwide. It is generally accepted that the onset of the MSC began about 5.96 million years ago; this study suggests that the restriction of the Mediterranean could have been triggered, at least in part, by a strong glacio-eustatic sea-level drop linked to a climate cooling occurring at the time of the MSC initiation.
Fault kinematics and surface deformation across a releasing bend during the 2010 MW 7.1 Darfield, New Zealand, earthquake revealed by differential LiDAR and cadastral surveying
Brendan Duffy et al., Dept. of Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30753.1.
The magnitude 7.1 Darfield earthquake on 4 September 2010 caused a 30-km-long surface rupture across the Canterbury plains in the South Island of New Zealand. The earthquake started on a steep, relatively small "blind" fault that ruptured into a fault intersection zone and triggered the rupture of the Greendale fault, which generated most of the energy of the earthquake. High-resolution (cm-scale) ground surface displacements in the area of the fault junction were determined by comparing pre- and post-earthquake LiDAR topographic surveys and property boundary surveys, supplemented by mapping of the fault scarp and earthquake-induced flooding. The study revealed exceptionally fine details of ground displacements, including subtle warping over hundreds of meters that was undetectable using traditional earthquake mapping techniques. The magnitude and direction of displacements were used to reconstruct how the faults surrounding the junction interacted with each other during the earthquake to create localized zones of extension and contraction. This study illustrates the value of multi-method investigations and provides a valuable real world example for comparison with dynamic simulations of rupture behavior on fault networks.
Development of extension-parallel corrugations in the Buckskin-Rawhide metamorphic core complex, west-central Arizona
John S. Singleton, Dept. of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30672.1.
Mountain ranges that have undergone large amounts of extension commonly form distinct ridges ("corrugations") that are parallel to the direction of maximum stretching. In western Arizona, these corrugated mountain ranges are as well defined as anywhere on Earth. Despite the significant amount of research that has been devoted to this area and extended regions in general, the origin of corrugations remains controversial. This study by John S. Singleton presents field data and observations from the Buckskin-Rawhide Mountains (east of Parker, Arizona) that indicate that the corrugations formed by folding during extension about 10 to 20 million years ago. This folding developed in response to NW-SE compression across the region. This is the first study to interpret the corrugated mountain ranges of western Arizona as folds.
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GSA Bulletin celebrates GSA's 125th Anniversary with new geologic time scalePublic release date: 27-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kea Giles kgiles@geosociety.org Geological Society of America
New GSA Bulletin articles posted online ahead of print 1021 Dec. 2012
Boulder, Colo., USA GSA BULLETIN articles posted online between 10 Dec. and 21 Dec. 2012 include a new version of The Geological Society of America's Geologic Time Scale. This paper marks the beginning of a special series of invited papers in celebration of GSA's 125th Anniversary in 2013. Highlights are provided below.
1. A new/revised GSA geologic time scale.
2. Complex mammal fossil record of the Gran Barranca, Patagonia, Argentina.
3. A new and simple method for estimating the rate of sediment delivery to ancient basins.
4. A study of the provenance of volcanic material in ancient Roman masonry.
5. Comparison of different scenarios for the development of the Himalayan Brahmaputra River drainage.
6. A new discovery on Devonian plume-related magmatism in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.
7. Substantial changes in ecosystem properties during the Holocene in northern Minnesota, USA.
8. A study of fault rocks in the West Antarctic Rift System, northern Victoria Land.
9. A survey of nearly 40 years of core-complex literature, along with a discussion of processes and questions and possible directions for future research.
10. Detailed pollen, dinoflagellate cyst, and magnetic susceptibility analysis of a marine sedimentary sequence of late Neogene from the Montemayor-1 core in the lower Guadalquivir Basin, southwestern Spain.
11. Comparison of pre- and post- Sept. 2010 magnitude 7.1 Darfield earthquake (South Island, New Zealand) LiDAR topographic surveys and property boundary surveys.
12. The first published study to interpret the corrugated mountain ranges of western Arizona as folds.
GSA BULLETIN articles published ahead of print are online at http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/early/recent; abstracts are open-access at http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary copies of articles by contacting Kea Giles.
Sign up for pre-issue publication e-alerts at http://www.gsapubs.org/cgi/alerts for first access to new journal content as it is posted. Subscribe to RSS feeds at http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/rss/.
Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to GSA Bulletin in your articles or blog posts. Contact Kea Giles for additional information or assistance.
Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.
The Geological Society of America Time Scale
J.D. Walker et al., Dept. of Geology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30712.1.
The Geological Society of America has maintained and published a geologic time scale for its membership, the scientific community, and the public at large for 30 years. In this paper, J.D. Walker and colleagues present the newest version of the GSA time scale, which is fully updated, incorporating recent advances in understanding numerical ages and the overall succession of rocks and evolution of life on Earth's surface. This paper, one of a series of invited papers for GSA Bulletin in celebration of GSA's 125th anniversary, describes how geologic time scales have been established, including discussion of the underlying methods of determining geologic time. The paper also has an historical focus -- the first geologic time scale, for example, was published 100 years ago by Arthur Holmes -- but this contribution by Walker and colleagues focuses mostly on advances over the last 25 to 30 years. The authors also discuss some of the challenges and opportunities likely to arise over the next 25 years.
A new chronology for middle Eocene-early Miocene South American Land Mammal Ages
Regan E. Dunn et al., Biology, University of Washington, Box 351800, 24 Kincaid Hall, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/ B30660.1.
Patagonia, Argentina, is well-known for fossils of unique and extinct South American mammals. Gran Barranca, the "Great Cliff" has the most complete fossil record of the Cenozoic (Eocene-Miocene, 42-18.5 million years ago) in South America, and it contains abundant faunal remains entombed in datable volcanic rocks. Fossils at Gran Barranca demonstrate faunal evolution, and a record of ancient vegetation in the form of plant-silica is preserved. Regan E. Dunn and colleagues present a new chronology for the Sarmiento Formation based on high-resolution U-Pb isotopic dating techniques. The new dates provide key tie-points for magnetostratigraphy and allow for a new age model to date fossil samples. Because Gran Barranca is the most complete section of its age in South America, it serves as a rosetta stone for estimating ages of similar faunal assemblages found elsewhere. Our data along with other published ages for vertebrate sites in South America provide ages and durations of the so-called South American Land Mammal Ages. The new dates confirm that South America contains the oldest record of "grazer-like" tooth morphologies among Cenozoic plant-eaters globally, and that Gran Barranca preserves the only fossiliferous terrestrial section spanning the Eocene-Oligocene (about 34 million years) in the Southern Hemisphere.
Estimation of the paleoflux of terrestrial-derived solids across ancient basin margins using the stratigraphic record
Andrew Petter et al., Dept. of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, C1100, Austin, Texas 78712-0254, USA. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30603.1.
Siliciclastic shelf margins are depositional features constructed from sediments that were eroded from continents and transported to the edges of deep basins such as oceans. Andrew Petter and colleagues demonstrate a new and simple method for estimating the rate of sediment delivery to ancient basins using the shelf-margin strata preserved within the basins. The method is based on equations for geomorphic modeling and utilizes the rates at which the ancient shelf margins grew to fill the basins as well as the 2-D shapes and dimensions of the shelf-margin bathymetric profiles. The rate of sediment delivery to ancient basins provides a way to reconstruct paleo-environmental conditions, such as climate change and tectonic movement, in the area where the sediments were eroded and produced. This method may also be useful for predicting the presence of hydrocarbon-bearing deepwater sandstones.
Geochemical fingerprints of volcanic materials: Identification of a pumice trade route from Pompeii to Rome
Fabrizio Marra et al., Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30709.1.
The paper presents an innovative analytical approach, based on the use of diagrams of selected trace elements, to the study of provenance of the volcanic material employed as the aggregate in ancient Roman masonry. Samples of pumice and lava from the mortars of Forum of Caesar and Forum of Trajan, employed in the concretes of these monuments, are analyzed and their compositions are compared to those of the volcanic deposits of central Italy, including the districts of Vulsini, Vico, Monti Sabatini, Vesuvius and Phlegrean Fields. Results of this study show that the builders mixed different kind of pumices in the mortars, coming either from deposits of the Monti Sabatini volcanic district near Rome, as well as from those of the Vesuvius and the Phlegrean Fields. Moreover, the peculiar geochemical signature of some pumice and lava samples suggests that these deposits were erupted by peripheral vents located on the southeastern slopes of Vesuvius near Pompeii. The study of the historical sources suggests that a systematic cultivation of lightweight volcanic material for the exportation to Rome occurred in this area during the late Republican era and the early Imperial age, and that its exploitation was re-established soon after the 79 AD eruption.
Tectonics, exhumation, and drainage evolution of the eastern Himalaya since 13 Ma from detrital geochemistry and thermochronology, Kameng River Section, Arunachal Pradesh
Franois Chirouze et al. (Matthias Bernet, corresponding), Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Universit Joseph Fourier / CNRS, BP53, 38041 Grenoble Cedex, France. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30697.1.
In a new study on sedimentary rocks of the foothills of the Himalayas in northeastern India, Franois Chirouze and colleagues propose different scenarios for the development of the Brahmaputra River drainage over the past 13 million years. The interpretations are based on the chemical composition of the sedimentary rocks studied and the rates at which rocks in the Himalaya were eroded in the past. The chemical information was used to determine from which rocks in Himalayas the sedimentary rocks were originally derived. Erosion rates were estimated from the analysis of naturally uranium bearing apatite and zircon crystals in the sedimentary rocks. No evidence was found for a major change in erosion rates influenced by local or regional climate change, as proposed elsewhere. However, this study supports the hypothesis that the Brahmaputra changed its position over time, while erosion rates remained fairly constant. This work is compatible with similar studies conducted in the central Himalayas of Nepal.
Geochronology and geochemistry of basalts from the Karamay ophiolitic mlange in West Junggar (NW China): Implications for Devonian-Carboniferous intra-oceanic accretionary tectonics of the southern Altaids
Gaoxue Yang et al., Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Western China's Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering, Xi'an 710054, China. Posted online 10 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30650.1.
According to a current tectonic model, the West Junggar (NW China) has been attributed to an intra-oceanic subduction system, which is illustrated by the fact that there are different models for a single subduction zone, arc-arc collision and ridge-subduction. However, in this paper, Gaoxue Yang and colleagues report new U-Pb age data from zircons and whole-rock major and trace element data from the basaltic units in the Karamay ophiolitic mlange. The data reveal the presence of Devonian OIB-type alkaline basalt in the Karamay ophiolitic mlange, which suggest an intra-oceanic setting. Furthermore, their data provides a new discovery on Devonian plume-related magmatism in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.
Variable ecosystem response to climate change during the Holocene in northern Minnesota, USA
Kendra K. McLauchlan et al., Dept. of Geography, 118 Seaton Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30737.1.
Abrupt climate changes affected the mid-continent of North America during the past 10,000 years, and similar climate changes will likely happen in the future. A small watershed in northern Minnesota, USA, showed only subtle dynamics during rapid climate changes that caused vegetation in the catchment to switch between pine forest, open grassland, and deciduous forest. The most substantial changes in ecosystem properties immediately followed deglaciation of the landscape, formation of the lake, and initial development of pine forests. The lack of response to subsequent dry and wet conditions afterward indicates relative resistance to abrupt climate change at later stages of ecosystem development.
Constraining the timing of fault reactivation: Eocene coseismic slip along a Late Ordovician ductile shear zone (northern Victoria Land, Antarctica)
G. Di Vincenzo et al., Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR, via Moruzzi 1, I Pisa, Italy. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30670.1.
The reactivation of faults or shear zones is a fundamental characteristic of deformation in the continental crust. Faults and shear zones give rise to long-lived zones of weakness which may repeatedly accommodate successive episodes of deformation. A better understanding of reactivation is crucial in order to determine whether a fault is extinct or just temporarily inactive, and this may have implications for seismic hazard assessment. This study by G. Di Vincenzo and colleagues exploits the potential of the 40Ar-39Ar dating method in conjunction with field analysis and electron microscopy down to the nanoscale to assess fault reactivation in fault rocks from the western shoulder of one of the world's largest rifts, the West Antarctic Rift System. The studied fault rocks experienced brittle deformation, with the development of friction-induced melts (pseudotachylyte), overprinting a ductile shear zone. Results reveal that coseismic faulting occurred about 50 million years ago, through coseismic reactivation of a Late Ordovician (460-440 million years) ductile shear zone, implying a period of apparent tectonic quiescence of as much as about 390 million years. The study highlights the inherent difficulty in investigating structures characterized by long periods of tectonic quiescence, for which an accurate evaluation of recurrent periods of fault movement is precluded.
Continental and oceanic core complexes
Donna L. Whitney et al., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, USA. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30754.1.
Core complexes are domal geologic structures that form when continental and oceanic lithosphere extends and, as a result, formerly deep rocks rise toward the surface below normal faults. Because deep rocks are brought close to the surface, the formation of core complexes results in the transfer or large amounts of heat and material from deep to shallow. Core complexes offer a glimpse of the deep crust and upper mantle because these rocks are carried upward as the crust flows to fill the gap created by extension of the upper crust. Formation of these structures is related to crustal evolution, global element cycles, heat budgets of continents and oceans, and ore formation. In this review, Donna L. Whitney and colleagues provide a survey of about 40 years of core-complex literature, discuss processes and questions relevant to the formation and evolution of core complexes in continental and oceanic settings, highlight the significance of core complexes for lithosphere dynamics, and propose a few possible directions for future research.
Vegetation, sea-level, and climate changes during the Messinian salinity crisis
G. Jimnez-Moreno et al., Departamento de Estratigrafa y Paleontologa, Universidad de Granada, Fuente Nueva s/n, 18002, Granada, Spain. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30663.1.
The Mediterranean Sea dried out partly or near completely during the Messinian around six million years ago (the "Messinian salinity crisis" or MSC). However, the relative role that tectonic processes and sea-level changes had, as triggers for restriction and isolation of the Mediterranean Sea from the open ocean, is still under debate. G. Jimnez-Moreno and colleagues present a detailed pollen, dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst), and magnetic susceptibility analysis of a marine sedimentary sequence of late Neogene (between about 7.3 and 5.2 million years ago) from the Montemayor-1 core (lower Guadalquivir Basin, southwestern Spain). Their results show that significant paired vegetation and sea-level changes occurred during the Messinian, likely triggered by orbital-scale climate change. Important cooling events and corresponding glacio-eustatic sea-level drops are observed in this study at ca. 5.95 and 5.75 million years ago coinciding with the timing and duration of oxygen isotopic events TG32 and TG22-20 recorded in marine sediments worldwide. It is generally accepted that the onset of the MSC began about 5.96 million years ago; this study suggests that the restriction of the Mediterranean could have been triggered, at least in part, by a strong glacio-eustatic sea-level drop linked to a climate cooling occurring at the time of the MSC initiation.
Fault kinematics and surface deformation across a releasing bend during the 2010 MW 7.1 Darfield, New Zealand, earthquake revealed by differential LiDAR and cadastral surveying
Brendan Duffy et al., Dept. of Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30753.1.
The magnitude 7.1 Darfield earthquake on 4 September 2010 caused a 30-km-long surface rupture across the Canterbury plains in the South Island of New Zealand. The earthquake started on a steep, relatively small "blind" fault that ruptured into a fault intersection zone and triggered the rupture of the Greendale fault, which generated most of the energy of the earthquake. High-resolution (cm-scale) ground surface displacements in the area of the fault junction were determined by comparing pre- and post-earthquake LiDAR topographic surveys and property boundary surveys, supplemented by mapping of the fault scarp and earthquake-induced flooding. The study revealed exceptionally fine details of ground displacements, including subtle warping over hundreds of meters that was undetectable using traditional earthquake mapping techniques. The magnitude and direction of displacements were used to reconstruct how the faults surrounding the junction interacted with each other during the earthquake to create localized zones of extension and contraction. This study illustrates the value of multi-method investigations and provides a valuable real world example for comparison with dynamic simulations of rupture behavior on fault networks.
Development of extension-parallel corrugations in the Buckskin-Rawhide metamorphic core complex, west-central Arizona
John S. Singleton, Dept. of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030. Posted online 21 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/B30672.1.
Mountain ranges that have undergone large amounts of extension commonly form distinct ridges ("corrugations") that are parallel to the direction of maximum stretching. In western Arizona, these corrugated mountain ranges are as well defined as anywhere on Earth. Despite the significant amount of research that has been devoted to this area and extended regions in general, the origin of corrugations remains controversial. This study by John S. Singleton presents field data and observations from the Buckskin-Rawhide Mountains (east of Parker, Arizona) that indicate that the corrugations formed by folding during extension about 10 to 20 million years ago. This folding developed in response to NW-SE compression across the region. This is the first study to interpret the corrugated mountain ranges of western Arizona as folds.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
By Administrator on Dec 24, 2012 in Home and Family
Handmade cards are always extra special ? so why not show off your scrapbooking skills this Christmas with some beautiful and unique creations for friends and family?
Giving a handmade card is a wonderful way of expressing your personal thoughts and demonstrating to people how much they mean to you.? Card making is rewarding in more ways than one?you can save money too.
And you don?t have to be a scrapbooking expert either when it comes to card making.? ??There are thousands and thousands of websites with a huge range of ideas and illustrations for paper crafts and Christmas ideas, from the craft supplies stores to scrapbooking blogs ? and many of these also have really easy-to-follow tutorials demonstrating how to make cards etc.
Many of the craft store websites and scrapbooking blogs will also have templates for card-making to get you started.
For those who already do scrapbooking, making Christmas cards is a wonderful way of using up all those bits and pieces that you?ve accumulated during the year.? Don?t just think about patterned paper?you can use just about anything for card making and crafting?.lace, ribbon, felt, magazine cuttings, cotton wool, ice cream sticks, fabric scraps, stencils, glitter, marker pens, aluminium foil?the only limit is your imagination.
But don?t forget to match your card to an envelope before you get creative!
Card making can also be a fun way of entertaining kids after all the hullabaloo of Christmas is over?they can make their own ?thank you? cards from your craft supply box in appreciation of their gifts
So, with Christmas around the corner, don?t cut corners when it comes to spreading festive cheer and goodwill?jump online to the craft supply websites and start making your own personalised cards for friends and family to treasure.
The National Football League is America's passion. Dominating the top 10 of Nielsen television ratings, estimates are that 180 million people watched part of a game last week, packed stadia, fantasy fanatics, betters, our collective obsession. This was the marriage made in heaven for contemporary appetites for quick bursts of action in tightly contained segments, made for television and every platform of content supply. But this pacing and immediacy are being severely impacted by endless instant replays and late calls. And the sport is starting to drag.
Scoring plays carry a thrilling ending. There is a buildup and development to a long pass play, a dramatic return, or a brutal struggle by a runner to score. The player dives over a pilon or breaks free into the endzone and the in-stadium crowd and television viewers erupt in exultation or frustration. It is a moment of extreme excitement that separates the sport from others. But, not anymore. Every touchdown is reviewed by a team of supervisors upstairs in the stadium. None of the process is visible on the screen or in person. There is an endless and boring delay. The excitement is replaced by uncertainty. And then comes the announcement: "upon further review," disconnected to the play and anti-climatic. This destroys the immediacy inherent in every scoring play.
Zzzzzzzzzzz.
These delays give defenses a subtle an edge over offenses. They can break the rhythm of a quarterback's play and destroy momentum while giving the defense extra time to rest.
Turnovers are impactful moments in NFL games. A frenetic scramble for a fumbled football is untangled to reveal which player and which team has recovered.
Since turnovers can completely alter momentum and the course of a game, they lead to collective reaction. A key interception is exciting. Not any more. The play is reviewed. Young men turn old, autumn turns to winter, and still there is no decision. Boring. And virtually every pass reception or incompletion seems to engender an interference call. On pass play after pass play either the wide receiver or the defensive back seems unable to conform to the standard of legal conduct and flag after flag after flag ensues. This destroys the immediacy and flow of most pass plays. It is impossible for a fan to display emotion without the referee altering the result. There is no certainty.
Zzzzzzzzzzz.
The action on a NFL field is largely subject to head coach prerogative to challenge a play. Second after second, minute after minute the replay process slugs along and most calls on the field end up being confirmed. Why do we have highly-trained, experienced officials on the field to make calls on the field at all?
If their judgments are going to be reviewed non-stop, what was all the controversy about the ineptitude of replacement referees? If play after play is subject to review we can have fans volunteer as officials, no matter how many times they blow a call it will not matter since boring reviews have replaced real football action and pacing. Who ever guaranteed that football would resemble slide rule or adding machine exactitude. A certain number of questionable calls occur in every team sport. It is desirable to minimize these officiating errors, especially if they alter a game result, but even replays produce debatable decisions. This will always occur as long as fallible humans are evaluating film through imperfect human perception. Every behavioral experiment in observation of identical events shows that honest people have different perceptions of what they see.Fans and players have always complained about but tolerated occasional bad calls as "part of the game". When the urgency and immediacy of fan experience becomes replaced with uncertainty, doubt and enervating delay -- it is time to take a new look at these rules changes.
The games are becoming longer, and the additional time adds nothing to the fan experience. Week 3 in 2011 saw an average game time of 3 hrs and 11 minutes. Week 3 in 2012 had games that averaged 3 hrs and 23 minutes. The longer games are not a one season aberration. Games in 2011 were longer than games in 2010, and 2012 was slower. The NFL adjusted half-time length and time between plays some years ago because it feared the games were running too long. Replays have resulted in slower game times and pacing. Fans accept the commercial breaks and use them as a time to visit the bathroom or kitchen or debate past plays. When thrilling action is replaced by interminable delays and the NFL pacing is replacing by snores, it is time for an instant "review" of the use of instant replay.
Starbucks Corp will use its ubiquitous coffee cups to tell U.S. lawmakers to come up with a deal to avoid going over the "fiscal cliff" and triggering automatic tax hikes and spending cuts.?
Chief Executive Howard Schultz is urging workers in Starbucks' roughly 120 Washington-area shops to write "come together" on customers' cups on Thursday and Friday, as U.S. President Barack Obama and lawmakers return to work and attempt to revive fiscal cliff negotiations that collapsed before the Christmas holiday.?
Starbucks' cup campaign aims to send a message to sharply divided politicians and serve as a rallying cry for the public in the days leading up to lawmakers' January 1 deadline to deliver a plan to avert harsh across-the-board government spending reductions and tax increases that could send the United States back into recession.?
"We're paying attention, we're greatly disappointed in what's going on and we deserve better," Schultz told Reuters in a telephone interview.?
The CEO said he has joined a growing list of high-powered business leaders, politicians and financial experts in endorsing the Campaign to Fix the Debt, (www.fixthedebt.org) a well-funded nonpartisan group that is leaning on lawmakers to put the United States' financial house in order.?
Starbucks plans to amplify its "come together" message via new and old media, including Twitter and Facebook posts, coverage on AOL's local news websites and advertisements in The Washington Post and The New York Times.?
"If (talks) do not progress, we will make this much bigger," Schultz said of the messaging campaign.?
Schultz is no stranger to using the world's biggest coffee chain as a platform to advocate for more political cooperation in Washington.?
During the debt ceiling debate in August 2011, he made a splash by calling for a boycott of political contributions to U.S. lawmakers until they struck a fair and bipartisan deal on the country's debt, revenue and spending.?
"We are facing such dysfunction, irresponsibility and lack of leadership" less than two years after the debt ceiling crisis, Schultz said.?
Washington narrowly avoided a U.S. government default, but not before down-to-the-wire wrangling prompted the country's first-ever debt rating downgrade.?
"There is something so wrong that we can be here again and not have the ability to put party aside for the betterment of the country," said Schultz. "We have the same language and rhetoric. Unfortunately we aren't learning much."?
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Public release date: 27-Dec-2012
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