http://www.mdpi.com/journal/geosciences Latest open access articles published in Geosciences at http://www.mdpi.com/journal/geosciences http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/2/2/64 An extensive late Aeronian patch reef swarm outcrops for 60–70 km on Anticosti Island, eastern Canada, located in the inner to mid-shelf area of a prominent tropical carbonate platform of southeastern Laurentia, at 20°–25° S paleolatitude of the southern typhoon belt. This complex, described here for the first time, includes more than 100 patch reefs, up to 60–80 m in diameter and 10 m high. Reefs are exposed three-dimensionally on present-day tidal flats, as well as inland along roads and rivers. Down the gentle 1°–2° paleoslope, the reefs grade into coral-sponge biostromes, and westerly they grade into inter-reef or deeper ‘crinoidal meadow’ facies. The reef builders were dominantly tabulate and rugose corals, with lesser stromatoporoids. Other components include crinoids, brachiopods, green algae (especially paleoporellids), and encrusting cyanobacteria: reefs display some of the earliest known symbiotic intergrowths of corals and stromatoporoids. Reefs were variably built on a base of crinoidal grainstones, meadows of baffling tabulate corals, brachiopod shells, or chlorophytes. These reefs mark an early phase of reef recovery after a prominent reef gap of 5–6 million years following the Ordovician/Silurian mass extinction events. The reefs feature a maximal diversity of calcifying cyanobacteria, corals and stromatoporoids, but low diversity of brachiopods, nautiloids and crinoids. Following the North American Stratigraphic Code, we define herein the Menier Formation, encompassing the lower two members of the existing Jupiter Formation. http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/2/2/64 Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 CEST Geosciences 2012-05-24 2 2 Article 64 89 2076-3263 Early Silurian (Aeronian) East Point Coral Patch Reefs of Anticosti Island, Eastern Canada: First Reef Recovery from the Ordovician/Silurian Mass Extinction in Eastern Laurentia 2012-05-24 doi: 10.3390/geosciences2020064 Paul Copper Jisuo Jin http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/2/2/42 Colonial rugose corals are common in western cratonal North America and in some of the allochthonous terranes, now amalgamated against its western margin. Throughout the Late Paleozoic, the coral faunas in these two different settings were significantly different. Comparisons of these faunas suggest that during the Mississippian the Alexander terrane probably was southwest of Arctic Alaska and the Stikine terrane probably lay west of the southern part of the North American craton. The Cache Creek terrane lay far out in the Paleopacific Ocean. The Pennsylvanian faunas suggest that the Quesnellia and Eastern Klamath terranes were situated southwest of Arctic Alaska and the Alexander terrane was somewhat farther southwest and farther from cratonal North America. The Stikine terrane continued to be positioned west of the southern part of the North American craton. During the Early Permian, terranes with a cratonal faunal aspect may have lain 2000–3000 km west of cratonal North America and latitudinally generally southwest of their present positions. In the Middle Permian these terranes were carried southward relative to the North American craton. Simultaneously the Tethyan Realm expanded eastward. http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/2/2/42 Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 CEST Geosciences 2012-05-10 2 2 Article 42 63 2076-3263 Distribution and Diversity of Carboniferous and Permian Colonial Rugose Coral Faunas in Western North America: Clues for Placement of Allochthonous Terranes 2012-05-10 doi: 10.3390/geosciences2020042 Calvin H. Stevens http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/2/2/25 Many paleontologists have noticed the broadly similar patterns between the changes in Cenozoic mammalian diversity and taxonomic dominance and climate changes. Yet detailed studies of fossil population samples with fine-scale temporal resolution during episodes of climate change like the Eocene-Oligocene transition in the White River Group, and the late Pleistocene at Rancho La Brea tar pits, demonstrates that most fossil mammal species are static and show no significant microevolutionary response to major climate changes. This mismatch between patterns seems best explained by species sorting. As the punctuated equilibrium model demonstrated, over long time spans most fossil species are stable and do not respond to climate change. Instead, change occurs at the next hierarchical level, with species sorting adding and subtracting to the total diversity pattern revealed by coarse-scale taxon counting, apparently responding to longer-term changes in climate as revealed by proxies like the oxygen isotope record. http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/2/2/25 Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Geosciences 2012-04-13 2 2 Article 25 41 2076-3263 Cenozoic Mammals and Climate Change: The Contrast between Coarse-Scale versus High-Resolution Studies Explained by Species Sorting 2012-04-13 doi: 10.3390/geosciences2020025 Donald Prothero http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/2/2/11 Recent descriptions of new taxa and recognition of survivorship of Jurassic genera across the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary bring the total number of Cretaceous ichthyosaur genera to eight. Taxa currently known from the Cretaceous include Ophthalmosaurus, Caypullisaurus, Aegirosaurus, Platypterygius, Maiaspondylus, Athabascasaurus, Sveltonectes, and Acamptonectes. This review summarizes the occurrence of all Cretaceous genera. A discussion of morphological diversity demonstrates the different, though overlapping, ecological niches occupied by the different taxa, while the comparison of phylogenetic hypotheses shows the problems inherent in understanding the evolutionary relationships between Cretaceous genera. The Late Jurassic radiation indicated in the competing phylogenetic hypotheses may correlate with the opening of the Atlantic Ocean or additional dispersal routes established by the breakup of Gondwana. Inclusion of the stratigraphically oldest Platypterygius species may aid in resolving these evolutionary relationships. http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/2/2/11 Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 CEST Geosciences 2012-04-12 2 2 Review 11 24 2076-3263 Cretaceous Ichthyosaurs: Dwindling Diversity, or the Empire Strikes Back? 2012-04-12 doi: 10.3390/geosciences2020011 Maria Zammit http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/2/1/1 Conulariids are unusual extinct metazoans most often considered to be a group of scyphozoan cnidarians or close relatives. Generally, the temporal range of conulariid fossils is perceived to be late Precambrian or Cambrian to Triassic, though a supposed Cretaceous conulariid from Peru was published 46 years ago. A re-evaluation of this fossil indicates it is not a conulariid, but instead a pinnacean bivalve (Pinna sp.), confirming that the geologically youngest conulariids are of Late Triassic age. However, a review of the Triassic conulariid fossil record indicates it is very sparse, with only eight published records. It does not provide a reliable basis for analyzing the structure of conulariid extinction. Nevertheless, conulariid extinction still appears to have taken place very close to the end of the Triassic. The cause of conulariid extinction may have been the onset of the Mesozoic marine revolution, in which durivorous predators developed new mechanisms for preying on the epifaunal benthos, including the conulariids. http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/2/1/1 Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 CET Geosciences 2012-03-22 2 1 Communication 1 10 2076-3263 The Extinction of the Conulariids 2012-03-22 doi: 10.3390/geosciences2010001 Spencer G. Lucas http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/1/1/26 An overview of issues with environmental relevance that arise from the interaction between pollutants and surfaces of the built environment is presented in this paper. Two broad perspectives are considered: decay of materials and recording of pollution characteristics. In relation to the former, we consider the possible implications on human activities restrictions, materials and morphological options, consumption of resources and release of pollutants resulting from the alteration of materials, conservation and restoration procedures. In terms of pollution recording, the interest of the stony materials as passive monitors of pollution, the question of heterogeneous conditions on buildings and the interest of qualitative and quantitative studies are highlighted. The importance of longitudinal studies on new and cleaned surfaces is considered, both for the understanding of materials decay and for the assessment of pollution conditions. The use of tracers to record the characteristics of pollution sources, interaction with materials and pathways of pollutants is also discussed. Finally, some recommendations are presented, based on the issues discussed on this paper that might be relevant for environmental management programs, including environmental education. http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/1/1/26 Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 CET Geosciences 2011-12-20 1 1 Article 26 43 2076-3263 Geoscience of the Built Environment: Pollutants and Materials Surfaces 2011-12-20 doi: 10.3390/geosciences1010026 Carlos Alves Jorge Sanjurjo-Sánchez http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/1/1/3 A network of low frequency electromagnetic detectors has been operating in Central Italy for more than three years, consisting of identical instruments that continuously record the electrical components of the electromagnetic field, ranging from a few Hz to tens of kHz. These signals are analyzed in real time and their power spectrum contents and time/frequency data are available online. To date, specific interest has been devoted to searching for any possible electromagnetic features which correlate with seismic activity in the same region. In this study, spectral analysis has evidenced very distinct power spectrum signatures that increased in intensity when strong seismic activity occurred near the stations of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake. These signatures have revealed horizontally oriented electric fields, between 20 Hz to 400 Hz, lasting from several minutes to up to two hours. Their power intensities have been found to be about 1 μV/m. Moreover, a large number of man-made signals and meteorologic electric perturbations were recorded. Anthropogenic signatures have come from power line disturbances at 50 Hz and higher harmonics up to several kHz, while radio transmissions have influenced the higher kHz spectrum. Reception from low frequency transmitters is also provided in relation to seismic activity. Meteorologic signatures cover the lower frequency band through phenomena such as spherics, Schumann resonances and rain electrical perturbations. All of these phenomena are useful teaching tools for introducing students to this invisible electromagnetic world. http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/1/1/3 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 CET Geosciences 2011-12-08 1 1 Article 3 25 2076-3263 The Central Italy Electromagnetic Network and the 2009 L'Aquila Earthquake: Observed Electric Activity 2011-12-08 doi: 10.3390/geosciences1010003 Cristiano Fidani http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/1/1/1 On behalf of the Editorial Board and the editorial management staff of MDPI, it is my great pleasure to introduce this new journal Geosciences. Geosciences is an international, peer-reviewed open access journal, which publishes original papers, rapid communications, technical notes and review articles, and discussions about all interdisciplinary aspects of the earth and planetary sciences. Geosciences may also include papers presented at scientific conferences (proceedings) or articles on a well defined topic assembled by individual editors or organizations/institutions (special publications). http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/1/1/1 Wed, 25 May 2011 00:00:00 CEST Geosciences 2011-05-25 1 1 Editorial 1 2 2076-3263 Geosciences: An Open Access Journal on Earth and Planetary Sciences and Their Interdisciplinary Approaches 2011-05-25 doi: 10.3390/geosciences1010001 Jesus Martinez-Frias