Exotic Elements Research Articles

Camel Genetic Resources Conservation through Tourism: A Key Sociocultural Approach of Camelback Leisure Riding.

Simple SummaryConsumers’ environmental awareness have appeared on the scene and are bringing nature-based tourism demands to the rise. Related practices have led to camels being used as an income generator for tour companies and locals in exotic appealing destinations. The long-term viability of the respective breeds markedly depends on the fact that the principal income sources for camel breeders in some regions are tourist activities. The present research was intended to outline what are the social and cultural factors that can act as tourism attractions and satisfaction conditioning elements within this particular tourism enterprise. Staff performance, sociospatial motivating factors, diverse and humane close interaction, camel behavior and performance, sociotemporal context, and positive previous experience, are the principal dimensions affecting experiential consumption in camelback riding tours. The understanding of such experiential consumption enables tour operators to customize its camel saddlery offers based on the diverse patterns influencing the buying behavior and general satisfaction of the customers. In its broadest sense, responsible and sustainable camel-based tourism will create positive impacts for destination economies and provide long-term conservation opportunities both at a natural and cultural level.Camels are exotic elements, which can be comprised within adventure travel companies promoting ecotourism activities. Such recreations contribute to sustainable livelihoods for local communities and educational empowerment towards nature and its conservation. At present, some local camel breeds’ survival reduces to this animal-based leisure industry and its reliability to perform and promote customized services accurately. By conducting an on-site questionnaire to customers participating in camelback riding tours, we assessed the motivational factors affecting participation, satisfaction, and loyalty in this tourism segment that may have made it socially differentiated. The sixfold combination of staff performance, culture geography, diverse and humane close interaction, camel behavior and performance, sociotemporal context, and positive previous experience involves the elemental dimensions that explain customer satisfaction and return intention probability within this entertainment business. Customer knowledge is essential for stakeholders to build personalized riding experiences and align profits with environmental sustainability and biodiversity mainstream concerns into their everyday operations. In turn, domestic camel tourist rides could be managed as a viable path to nature conservation by helping endangered local breeds to avoid their functional devaluation and potential extinction.

(Invited) Electrodeposition of Aluminium Containing Alloys from Molten Fluoride Electrolytes Containing Metal Oxides

Aluminium is produced by the Hall-Heroult process by electrowinning in a molten fluoride electrolyte with dissolved alumina at ~955oC. Several metallic impurities typically end up in the produced metal due to the fact that most metals are more noble than aluminium. Such co-deposition of metals may be utilized to form aluminium alloys. Another advantage is that many metal oxides are readily soluble in molten cryolite based electrolytes. The more noble metals will deposit at the limiting current density. The alloy composition is essentially determined by the bath concentration of the dissolved cations of the alloying element. Therefore it is possible to produce alloys of certain compositions by controlled addition of metal oxides. Interesting candidate alloying elements are silicon, iron, titanium, and manganese, but also exotic elements such as scandium are possible. Electrochemical studies were carried out in laboratory experiments and the behaviour of dissolved metal oxides was studied in industrial cells. High current efficiencies for the codeposition of the alloying elements Si, Fe, Ti, and Mn were confirmed. Significant savings for producing alloys by this method are expected.

Detection of weak magnetic fields in two HgMn stars

ABSTRACT The main-sequence mercury–manganese (HgMn) stars are known to exhibit large overabundances of exotic elements and, similar to magnetic Ap/Bp stars, are spectrum variables, implying the presence of an inhomogeneous element distribution over the stellar surface. A number of magnetic field studies have been attempted in the last decades, indicating that magnetic fields in HgMn stars, if they exist, should be rather weak. The presence of tangled magnetic fields was suggested by several authors who detected quadratic magnetic fields using the moment technique. We employ the least-squares deconvolution technique to carry out a sensitive search for weak magnetic fields in spectropolarimetric observations of three HgMn stars, HD 221507, HD 65949, and HD 101189, which have different fundamental parameters and spectral characteristics. A definite weak longitudinal field is discovered in HD 221507 and HD 65949 on single epochs, while only marginal field detections were achieved for HD 101189. The new measurements indicate that the structure of the magnetic fields is probably rather complex: our analysis reveals the presence of reversed Stokes V profiles at the same observational epoch if individual elements are used in the measurements. This is the first observational evidence that individual elements sample distinct local magnetic fields of different polarity across the stellar surface.

Inverse Designed Metalenses with Extended Depth of Focus

Extended depth of focus (EDOF) lenses are important for various applications in computational imaging and microscopy. In addition to enabling novel functionalities, EDOF lenses can alleviate the need for stringent alignment requirements for imaging systems. Existing EDOF lenses, however, are often inefficient or produce an asymmetric point spread function (PSF) that blurs images. Inverse design of nanophotonics, including metasurfaces, has generated strong interest in recent years owing to its potential for generating exotic and innovative optical elements, which are generally difficult to model intuitively. Using adjoint optimization-based inverse electromagnetic design, in this paper, we designed a cylindrical metasurface lens operating at ~ 625nm with a depth of focus exceeding that of an ordinary lens. We validated our design by nanofabrication and optical characterization of silicon nitride metasurface lenses (with lateral dimension of 66.66 {\mu}m) with three different focal lengths (66.66 {\mu}m,100 {\mu}m,133.33 {\mu}m). The focusing efficiencies of the fabricated extended depth of focus metasurface lenses are similar to those of traditional metalenses.

Semiconductor CdTe-Doped CdO Thin Films: Impact of Hydrogenation on the Optoelectronic Properties

Doping or incorporation with exotic elements are two manners to regulate the optoelectronic properties of transparent conducting (TCO) cadmium oxide (CdO). Nevertheless, the method of doping host CdO by CdTe semiconductor is of high importance. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of CdTe-doped CdO films are studied for the sake of promoting their conducting parameters (CPs), including their conductivity, carrier concentration, and carrier mobility, along with transparency in the NIR spectral region; these are then compared with the influence of doping the host CdO by pure Te ions. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical absorption spectroscopy, and electrical measurements are used to characterise the deposited films prepared by thermal evaporation. Numerous results are presented and discussed in this work; among these results, the optical properties are studied through a merging of concurrent BGN (redshift) and BGW (blue shift) effects as a consequence of doping processes. The impact of hydrogenation on the characterisations of the prepared films is investigated; it has no qualitative effect on the crystalline structure. However, it is found that TCO-CPs are improved by the process of CdTe doping followed by hydrogenation. The utmost TCO-CP improvements are found with host CdO film including ~ 1 %Te, in which the resistivity decreases by ~ 750 %, carrier concentration increases by 355 %, and mobility increases by ~ 90% due to the increase of Ncarr. The improvement of TCO-CPs by hydrogenation is attributed to the creation of O-vacancies because of H2 molecule dissociation in the presence of Te ions. These results reflect the potential of using semiconductor CdTe -doped CdO thin films in TCO applications. Nevertheless, improvements of the host CdO CPs with CdTe dopant are of a lesser degree compared with the case of doping the host CdO with pure Te ions.

Johann Adalbert Kratochwill and His Two ‘Indian’ Interiors in Bohemia

ABSTRACTWhile the work of western European lacquer workshops has been described in much detail, the lacquer workshops in central Europe have not been extensively researched. Nevertheless, they, too, reflected the taste for exotic themes and non-traditional techniques imported from the Orient with the same intensity starting in the late seventeenth century, when an increasing number of aristocratic residences in the region were decorated with exotic and iconographical unfamiliar depictions and interiors (featuring imported Oriental pieces or their more readily available copies). They were produced by local artists and craftsmen, who learned to translate motifs from contemporary literature or their own experience using themes from the past. In the same way as neighbouring Saxony had Martin Schnell or Berlin had Gérard Dagly, the territory of Austria had its own peerless lacquer master – Johann Adalbert Kratochwill, who did lacquerware with scenes in the chinoiserie style. In Bohemia Kratochwill was known under the Czech version of his name Jan Vojtěch Kratochvíl or Jan Vojtěch Kratochvíle. In archival sources his surname is sometimes referred to as Cratochwill. His activities are most closely linked with the aristocratic Sachsen-Lauenburg family, namely the Margrave of Baden-Baden, and the family residences in Schlackenwerth (Ostrov nad Ohří) and Rastatt, Germany. Somewhat later, his presence is documented in Vienna and then Prague. In Bohemia, Kratochwill was one of the artists who had a monopoly on exotic decorative elements. In 1712, he obtained an imperial privilege to use varnish paints, which until then had not been used in the Czech Lands. In 1718, he even acquired an imperial patent for a ten-year privilege to paint ‘in the Indian manner’ throughout Austria. His lacquer workshop is also interesting for the fact that it carried on after his death under the management of his widow, the painter Maria Anna Kratochvillin, who headed it for almost twenty years. Kratochwill decorated the Chinese Salon in the palace of prominent nobleman Wenzel Adalbert of Sternberg on the Prague Castle grounds. He drew inspiration from non-European models and emulated the principles of Japanese and Chinese lacquerware imported to Europe by the Dutch East India Company. It has recently been shown that the Oriental Salon in the Sternberg Palace might not have been the only work his workshop did on Bohemian territory. Another newly discovered product of Kratochwill's workshop is the dining hall decoration of the chateau in Zákupy/Reichstadt, North Bohemia. Its connection with this master had not been previously known, but a thorough study reveals a composition similar to that of the panels from the Sternberg Palace in Prague.

Reading the topic of Turandot by the Chinese composer Wei Minglun in the Sichuan National Opera

The study of the first reading by the means of the national musical language and opera and theatrical tradition of China of the Oriental theme Turandot at the opera Wei Minglinu «The Chinese Princess» was conducted with the aim of outlining the specifics of the new figurative role of the heroine, its mental-psychological peculiarities; considering the metamorphosis of the Oriental tradition through the «congenital» of the exotic to the national-authentic. Scientific approaches are taken from the contextual field of comparative and imagoology, the methodology of which touches upon the field of studying the problems of mutual cultural representations of peoples, the assimilation of cultural heritage and images of a certain ethnic group in the consciousness and art of other nations, in correspondence with the actual problems of Orientalism in music. Reading the image of Turandot by a Chinese composer creates an opportunity for a new interpretative turn in the voluminous space of the existence of this text, the emergence of new measurements of the indicators of content and its characteristics. Image Turandot as an original model with the corresponding geocultural imago in the fabulous poetics of the perceptual field «East as Exotics and Danger», passing complex path of modification during the 300- year existence in the adaptation of different cultures, is embodied in means of national semantics of bright ethnographic-anthropological type. The author constructs an ethno-form from an Oriental-exotic heroine, demonstrating his national identity, revealing the typical ethnological features of the whole people. This allows us to interpret this opera as a national first reading, in which the generally accepted European model of Oriental travel fantasy semantics turns into a reasoned, realistic, based on traditional philosophical foundations, Chinese lyrical drama, in which exotic elements of European culture appear. The fact of this transcultural diffusion involves scientific research in the field of dialogue of cultures, encouraging new discoveries when meeting with the Other, re-evaluating, updating, rebuilding the position of "My" and "Other" in relation to to generally human and universal.

" NİKOLAY GUMİLYOV UN "AFRİKA GÜNCESİ" ÜZERİNE BİR DEĞERLENDİRME"

Looking at the history of Russian literature, the image of “the east” is one of the prominent themes in the works of poets and writers such as A.S.Pushkin, I.Bunin, M.Kuzmin. It is the poet and short story writer Nikolai Gumilyov who made this theme a fundamental feature of literary art in twentiethcentury Russian literature. Gumilyov (1886-1921) is one of the important poets of the Silver Age in the history of Russian literature and is considered to be the founder of Akmeizm. African-themed poems and travel writings, embellished with exotic and mystical elements in the early days of the twentieth century, are an important factor in the poet's recognition and getting attention. “Constantinople,“ Giraffe ”“ Algeria ”, “Tunisia“ are just some examples of his poems Gumilyov also writes his impressions about his journeys to the eastern countries at different times as travel notes. These notes include African Diary (Afrikanskiy dnevnik) and African Hunt (Afrikanskaya ohota). In his travel notes ,he also expresses the geographical and cultural impacts of the places he visited. African Diary, which belongs to Gumilev's last voyage to Africa, is among the realist works of prose literature. Diary consists of four parts and expresses his interest and admiration to people who have very different cultures, traditions and way of life. However, it is seen that this admiration does not prevent the objective view in his work. The aim of this study is to reveal how Gumilyov describes the Eastern culture and people in his African Diary.

The geodynamic evolution of the Italian South Alpine basement from the Ediacaran to the Carboniferous: Was the South Alpine terrane part of the peri-Gondwana arc-forming terranes?

Zircon U-Pb LA-ICPMS ages were obtained from three metasedimentary and two metavolcanic samples from the Monte Cavallino (South Tyrol) and the Cima Vallona (Carnic Alps) tectono-metamorphic groups from the eastern South Alpine crystalline basement in NE Italy. These analyses were performed to constrain the maximum depositional ages of the South Alpine domain, and to compare the spatial and temporal provenance variations with those of adjacent terranes. The detrital zircon dataset from the metasedimentary rocks (416 grains) yield populations with age peaks at 2.7–2.9 Ga, 1.8–2.1 Ga, 1.2–0.85 Ga, and 0.65–0.45 Ga, with maximum depositional ages ranging from the latest Neoproterozoic to the Silurian. The metavolcanic zircon dataset (209 grains) documents the presence of a two Ordovician volcanic events in the South Alpine domain. The detrital zircon dataset implies that the clastic units of the South Alpine crystalline basement were (a) deposited on the peri-Gondwanan active continental margin and (b) were originally sourced from the Proterozoic and Paleozoic units of NW Gondwana and hence should no longer be considered as exotic elements. The age spectra of the three metasedimentary units highlight differences between the Ediacaran basement gneiss, the Ordovician greywacke, and the Silurian metaconglomerate, suggesting up-section age variations due to a temporal change in provenance. Collectively, these new detrital zircon U-Pb ages imply that the clastic units within the South Alpine domain recorded sedimentation at c. 550 Ma on the peri-Gondwanan active continental margin, followed by rift-related continental and marine sedimentation in a back-arc basin setting until at least the Silurian. The South Alpine domain ultimately rifted off from Gondwana due to back-arc spreading, and subsequently underwent Variscan metamorphism during accretion onto the Laurussia margin, which started at c. 380 Ma and lasted until at least c. 320 Ma.

Optimizing MoS2 Edges by Alloying Isovalent W for Robust Hydrogen Evolution Activity

Previous studies revealed that HER activities on MoS2 could be boosted through exotic doping to introduce active centers. However, it is difficult to dope exotic elements into MoS2 with a high concentration due to their different chemical properties from host elements. Here, we theoretically and experimentally optimize the MoS2 edges through substituting Mo with different concentrations of isovalent W. The simulations predict that 50% substitution of Mo by W shows the best catalytic activity because of the reduction of H adsorption free energy and facilitation of charge transfer. Experiments demonstrate that the Mo0.5W0.5S2 significantly enhances HER performance of MoS2-based compounds, having an onset potential of −37 mV and achieving 10 mA cm–2 with an overpotential of 138 mV.

Florística e aspectos fitogeográficos dos "campos" do Parque Estadual do Jaraguá, São Paulo, Brasil

As formações campestres e savânicas no Domínio da Mata Atlântica na região metropolitana de São Paulo são bem documentados mas ainda pouco estudados. O Parque Estadual do Jaraguá (PEJ), localizado na cidade de São Paulo, possui uma formação campestre em sua porção mais alta, entre 905 a 1125 m de altitude, vulnerável à perturbação antrópica. O primeiro levantamento florístico realizado no PEJ constatou 55 espécies arbustivo-arbóreas na formação denominada “campos”, sugerindo mais estudos na área. A recente descoberta da presença no PEJ de populações de uma espécie rara, Baccharis trineura Soria & Zardini, motivou este novo levantamento da flora vascular, buscando aprofundar a amostragem sobretudo no componente herbáceo-subarbustivo. A lista de espécies foi então comparada com inventários disponíveis de outras áreas com campos e cerrados de topo de morro das proximidades, inseridas no Domínio da Mata Atlântica. O presente estudo buscou ainda investigar se os campos do PEJ têm origem antrópica ou autóctone, e detectar se sua flora é mais relacionada à da Mata Atlântica circundante ou à do Cerrado. Ao longo de um ano, coletas quinzenais foram realizadas nos 37 hectares de campos do PEJ. Este levantamento registrou 242 espécies nativas de 50 famílias vasculares, dentre as quais 112 são típicas de cerrado e 34 são ruderais. A comparação desses dados com as outras listas florísticas mostra que a vegetação campestre do PEJ apresenta 51 espécies em comum com os do Parque Estadual do Juquery, 20 com o Núcleo Curucutu do Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, 28 com a Estação Ecológica de Santa Bárbara, 16 com a Reserva Biológica de Moji Guaçu e 11 com o Parque das Furnas do Bom Jesus. Os resultados corroboram a suposição de que os campos do PEJ sejam autóctones, pelo contraste do elevado número de espécies nativas com a baixa taxa de espécies ruderais e exóticas, além da presença de espécies ameaçadas ou vulneráveis. O elevado número de espécies típicas da flora do Cerrado e a alta similaridade do PEJ com outras vegetações savânicas já estudadas na região, além do expressivo índice de pirófitas, indicam que a formação campestre do PEJ provavelmente constitua uma área disjunta de cerrado, um notório pirobioma. Uma breve discussão sobre provável natureza relictual essa formação campestre é apresentada.

Two primitive trematopid amphibians (Temnospondyli, Dissorophoidea) from the Upper Carboniferous of the Czech Republic

ABSTRACTSpecimens of trematopid amphibians from the Asturian (Upper Carboniferous) of Nýřany, Czech Republic, are redescribed as two taxa, namelyMordex calliprepesSteen andMattauschia(gen. nov)laticepsFritsch.Mordex calliprepesis represented by a single post-metamorphic specimen and has the diagnostic trematopid characters of the nasal region.Mattauschia laticepsis represented by one adult partial skull and mandible plus some fragments and two small post-metamorphic specimens including the species name-bearer. It has the trematopid-type modified lacrimal and a large but oval naris and appears to be the most primitive trematopid yet described. The stratigraphically sequential large trematopidsMattauschia,Fedexia,EcolsoniaandAchelomashow progressive acquisition of the derived features that characterise the terminal formAcheloma.Mordexhas a combination of primitive and derived characters and its position within the family is less clear. The many ‘branchiosaurs' in the Nýřany assemblage include specimens that could be larvae of bothMordexandMattauschiabut certain attribution is not possible and they are assigned to Olsoniformesincertae sedis.MordexandMattauschiaappear to be terrestrial exotic elements in the Nýřany tetrapod assemblage, but with possible larvae in the lake assemblage. Representatives of at least four Palaeozoic dissorophoid families were present in late Middle Pennsylvanian/Asturian strata implying diversification of the Dissorophoidea prior to this time.

The most northern record of the alien composite thrips Microcephalothrips abdominalis in Europe - short communication

The most northern record of Microcephalothrips abdominalis (Crawford, 1910) (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Europe and the first record in Slovakia was described. The climate change induced introduction in synergy with biological commodity trade globalisation may support the ability of exotic elements to establish adequate populations with suitable fitness. The main threat consists in at least temporary survival in mild climate ecosystems dispersing from artificially heated interiors with the potential to transmit economically important viruses, such as Tobacco streak virus.

Functional traits of indigenous and exotic ground‐dwelling arthropods show contrasting responses to land‐use change in an oceanic island, Terceira, Azores

AbstractAimLand‐use change typically goes hand in hand with the introduction of exotic species, which mingle with indigenous species to form novel assemblages. Here, we compare the functional structure of indigenous and exotic elements of ground‐dwelling arthropod assemblages across four land‐uses of varying management intensity.LocationTerceira Island (Azores, North Atlantic).MethodsWe used pitfall traps to sample arthropods in 36 sites across the four land‐uses and collated traits related to dispersal ability, body size and resource use. For both indigenous and exotic species, we examined the impact of land‐uses on trait diversity and tested for the existence of non‐random assembly processes using null models. We analysed differences in trait composition among land‐uses for both indigenous and exotic species with multivariate analyses. We used point–biserial correlations to identity traits significantly correlated with specific land‐uses for each element.ResultsWe recorded 86 indigenous and 116 exotic arthropod species. Under high‐intensity land‐use, both indigenous and exotic elements showed significant trait clustering. Trait composition strongly shifted across land‐uses, with indigenous and exotic species being functionally dissimilar in all land‐uses. Large‐bodied herbivores dominated exotic elements in low‐intensity land‐uses, while small‐bodied spiders dominated exotic elements in high‐intensity land‐uses. In contrast, with increasing land‐use intensity, indigenous species changed from functionally diverse to being dominated by piercing and cutting herbivores.Main conclusionsOur study revealed two main findings: first, in high‐intensity land‐uses, trait clustering characterized both indigenous and exotic elements; second, exotic species differed in their functional profile from indigenous species in all land‐use types. Overall, our results provide new insights into the functional role of exotic species in a land‐use context, suggesting that, in agricultural landscape, exotic species may contribute positively to the maintenance of some ecosystem functions.

Rewriting the Exotic: Acculturation in Musical Theatre Translation

As a new form of intercultural communication between Chinese and western theatrical arts, the performance of translated musicals has been popular in China in recent years. In the production of the Chinese versions, acculturation of the exotic elements is often a remarkable phenomenon. For the purpose of understanding the phenomenon and guiding the translation practice, this paper investigates the determining factors, specific requirements and typical strategies of acculturation in musical theatre translation by proposing a three-dimensional framework. It arrives at three conclusions. First, acculturation is necessary and inevitable in the translation of musical theatre due to three factors, namely cultural differences, audience reception, and the audiovisual constraints of music and performance. Second, the target text of a musical should meet the requirements of comprehensibility, acceptability, and enjoyability (subdivided into singability and interactivity) for the target audience. Third, in order to satisfy these requirements, a translator has to acculturate the target text by adopting typical strategies such as adapting culture-loaded expressions, filtering information of cultural conflicts, following the target-culture genre conventions of song lyrics, and making recreationalized adjustments.

National Geographic magazine and the Eskimo stereotype: a photographic analysis, 1949–1990

ABSTRACTThe origins of the ‘Eskimo stereotype’ found in the consciousness of today’s American students are explored, tracing its specific elements such as wearing traditional clothing and hunting sea mammals to Robert Peary’s Arctic exploration. Peary’s exploits were followed closely by an eager public reading about the journeys in popular media such as newspapers and magazines, who were especially captivated by his Polar Eskimo companions. National Geographic magazine is hypothesized to have contributed to the Eskimo stereotype by publishing photographs through four decades that continued the traditional themes and activities contained in Peary’s original dispatches. To test that hypothesis, the author evaluated National Geographic photographs from 1949 through 1990 for components of the North American Arctic stereotype begun by Peary, assessing 30% of the nearly 400 Eskimo photographs contained in the magazine during the study period for thematic elements and activities. The results suggested that National Geographic portrayed Eskimos similarly throughout the study period, concentrating more on traditional than modern behaviors. The influence of the Society’s conservative editorial leadership that sought to present its members with more exotic elements of indigenous cultures is considered a primary contributing factor to the magazine continuing the Eskimo stereotype.

Formation of ophiolite-bearing tectono-sedimentary mélanges in accretionary wedges by gravity driven submarine erosion: Insights from analogue models and case studies

Orogenic wedges locally present chaotic tectonostratigraphic units that contain exotic blocks of various size, origin, age and lithology, embedded in a sedimentary matrix. The occurrence of ophiolitic blocks, sometimes huge, in such “mélanges” raises questions on (i) the mechanisms responsible for the incorporation of oceanic basement rocks into an accretionary wedge and (ii) the mechanisms allowing exhumation and redeposition of these exotic elements in “mélanges” during wedge growth.To address these questions, we present the results of a series of analogue experiments performed to characterize the processes and parameters responsible for accretion, exhumation and tectonosedimentary reworking of oceanic basement lithospheric fragments in an accretionary wedge.The experimental setup is designed to simulate the interaction between tectonics, erosion and sedimentation. Different configurations are applied to study the impact of various parameters, such as irregular oceanic floor due to structural inheritance, or the presence of layers with contrasted rheology that can affect deformation partitioning in the wedge (frontal accretion vs basal accretion) influencing its growth. Image correlation technique allows extracting instantaneous velocity field, and tracking of passive particles. By retrieving the particle paths determined from models, the pressure-temperature path of mélange units or elementary blocks can be discussed. The experimental results are then compared with observations from ophiolite-bearing mélanges in Taiwan (Lichi and Kenting mélanges) and Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM) Thermometry data on rocks from the northern Apennines (Casanova mélange). A geological scenario is proposed following basic observations. The tectonic evolution of the retroside of doubly vergent accretionary wedges is mainly controlled by backthrusting and backfolding. The retro wedge is characterized by steep slopes that are prone to gravitational instabilities. It triggers submarine landslides inducing huge mass transfers. This erosion combined with backthrusting could favour exhumation of the ophiolitic fragments formerly accreted at the base of the wedge along the rough seafloor-sediments interface. Such an exhumed material can be reworked and deposited as debris- flows in proximal basins located at the foot of the retrowedge slope forming a tectono-sedimentary mélange. These syntectonic basins are continuously deformed and involved in prograding backthrusting-induced deformation.

Fallacies and fantasies: the theoretical underpinnings of the Coexistence Approach for palaeoclimate reconstruction

Abstract. The Coexistence Approach has been used to infer palaeoclimates for many Eurasian fossil plant assemblages. However, the theory that underpins the method has never been examined in detail. Here we discuss acknowledged and implicit assumptions and assess the statistical nature and pseudo-logic of the method. We also compare the Coexistence Approach theory with the active field of species distribution modelling. We argue that the assumptions will inevitably be violated to some degree and that the method lacks any substantive means to identify or quantify these violations. The absence of a statistical framework makes the method highly vulnerable to the vagaries of statistical outliers and exotic elements. In addition, we find numerous logical inconsistencies, such as how climate shifts are quantified (the use of a "centre value" of a coexistence interval) and the ability to reconstruct "extinct" climates from modern plant distributions. Given the problems that have surfaced in species distribution modelling, accurate and precise quantitative reconstructions of palaeoclimates (or even climate shifts) using the nearest-living-relative principle and rectilinear niches (the basis of the method) will not be possible. The Coexistence Approach can be summarised as an exercise that shoehorns a plant fossil assemblage into coexistence and then assumes that this must be the climate. Given the theoretical issues and methodological issues highlighted elsewhere, we suggest that the method be discontinued and that all past reconstructions be disregarded and revisited using less fallacious methods. We outline six steps for (further) validation of available and future taxon-based methods and advocate developing (semi-quantitative) methods that prioritise robustness over precision.

Plio-Pleistocene floras of the Vildštejn Formation in the Cheb Basin, Czech Republic — A floristic and palaeoenvironmental review

Plant fossil assemblages (foliage, fruits and seeds, pollen, wood) from the Pliocene and early Pleistocene deposits in W Bohemia (the Vildštejn Formation of the Cheb Basin, Tachov/Cheb–Domažlice/ Graben) are newly analysed using several palaeoenvironmental methods with the aim to reconstruct palaeovegetation and palaeoclimatic changes. Floras of four subsequent stratigraphic levels show a decrease of exotic elements in the Pliocene and a massive immigration of boreal elements in the early Pleistocene. Vegetation changes start with broad-leaved deciduous and mixed mesophytic forests and continue towards light forests of the mentioned types in areas of zonal to extrazonal habitats. This vegetational change is characterised by an immigration of dry herbaceous and sclerophyllous elements. Wetland communities from higher positions in the profiles stepwise loose exotic components and point to cool–temperate conditions similar to the present conditions. Palaeoclimatic signals show warmer and more humid conditions for the Pliocene levels (about 15°C of mean annual temperature, 5°C of mean temperature of the coldest month and 25°C of mean temperature of the warmest month, more than 900mm of mean annual precipitation). Early Pleistocene proxy data indicate the beginning of a cooler phase at the Plio-Pleistocene boundary (about 7°C of mean annual temperature and decreasing trend of precipitation), but conditions not colder than those of the present day in the NW part of the Bohemian Massif.

Phreatomagmatic activity and associated hydrothermal processes in the lamproitic Volcano of Cancarix (Southeast Spain)

The study of the Cancarix volcano structure (Sierra de las Cabras, SE Spain) and the regional observations in similar lamproite volcanoes suggest that these magmas were emplaced during the Miocene in relation to transtensive structures at the North end of the Betic Cordillera. These structures were able to reactivate previous basement faults which facilitated the ascending circulation of enriched ultrapotassic magma. Two episodes are distinguished: 1) explosive volcanism due to the interaction between magma and groundwater from the karstic system of the host carbonate rocks, which generated a phreatomagmatic-effusive complex and 2) volcanic-building with crystal-rich magma. The phreatomagmatic breccia distribution is conditioned by the tectonic structure of the host rock, with maximum thickness over the marls basement, mechanically less competent, which is controlling the preferential magma movement towards the S-SE. Chemical, mineralogical and textural study of the host rocks and the volcanic products indicates that following the magmatic activity hydrothermal processes ocurred, with: (1) the genesis of new minerals (namely, saponitic smectite and serpentine minerals) in the host rock clasts from the phreatomagmatic breccia; and (2) the recrystallisation of dolomite and amorphous silica growing up to 20 m from the contact in porous carbonates. In contrast, marls and micritic carbonates show no recrystallisation, only a slight enrichment of Mg and some exotic elements, limited to the first few metres.