Mesozoic Cordilleran arc magmatism along the western margins of North and South America shows similar patterns of episodic activity, but differences in tectonic setting, in composition, and in peak magnitudes of magma fluxes. The development of iron oxide(-copper-gold) (‘IOCG’) mineralization accompanies the pulse of arc magmatism in North and South America, but is most prolific during the early to middle Mesozoic pre-orogenic phases of the Cordillera. The focus of this work is to better understand the episodic nature of Cordilleran magmatism, controls to magma sources and compositions, and controls to Cordilleran IOCG mineralization. The objectives of this study are accomplished by focusing on two regions of the Cordillera that experienced similar early-middle Mesozoic tectonic settings, but display very different magmatic fluxes, compositions, and development of IOCG systems. The Coastal Batholith of northern Chile was investigated for the timing, composition, and fluxes of magmatism at three scales of observation including 1:1M scale between ~18°S to 34°S, 1:100K scale between 26°S to 28°S, and 1:20K scale along a transect at ~27.5°S where new major elemental, trace elemental, and Nd, Sr, and O isotope data were acquired. From the western United States magmatic fluxes and compositions were compiled from the literature, as were characteristics of Jurassic IOCG occurrences in the central Mojave Desert, California. Geologic framework analysis at 1:250K scale and new 1:5K scale mapping of the hydrothermal features associated with Jurassic IOCG occurrences were conducted in the central Mojave Desert, California. Results from northern Chile reveal that the Coastal Batholith formed in a dominantly extensional setting, had episodic magma fluxes that were dominantly mafic (dioritic-quartz dioritic) during peak output, and has uniformly depleted mantle-like Nd and Sr isotopes regardless of magma composition. Published compilations from coeval arcs of North America indicate that they display the opposite relationships to Chile between tectonic setting, magmatic fluxes, and magmatic compositions. Results from mapping in the southern Palen Mountains, California, and synthesis of composite exposures across the central Mojave Desert, California demonstrates that IOCG systems in this region are vertically zoned and genetically related Jurassic intrusions ranging from diorite/gabbro to granite in composition. The mineralized occurrences have intermediate depth (1–4 km), cores of magnetite±hematite mineralization with sparse Fe(-Cu) sulfides, and zone upward to acid-altered tops and downward to Fe-depleted, metal-poor, Na±Ca-altered roots. These patterns resemble those observed in IOCG systems throughout the Cordillera of the Americas.

Present-day numerical air quality models are considered essential tools for predicting future air pollutant concentrations and depositions, contributing to the development of new effective strategies for the control and the reduction of pollutant emissions. They simulate concentrations and depositions of pollutants on a wide range of scales (global, national, urban scale) and they are used for identifying critical areas, integrating measurements and achieving a deeper scientific understanding of the physical and chemical processes involving air pollutants in the atmosphere. The use of comprehensive air quality models started in the late 1970s and since then their development has increased rapidly, hand in hand with the rapid increase in computational resources. Today more and more complex and computationally expensive numerical models are available to the scientific community. One of these tools is the Community Multi-Scale Air Quality System (CMAQ), developed in the 1990s by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and currently widely applied across the world for air pollution studies. This work focuses on the application of CMAQ to the United Kingdom, for estimating concentrations and depositions of acidifying pollutants (NOX, NHX, SOX) on a national scale. The work is divided into seven chapters, the first one describing the main issues related to the emission and dispersion in the atmosphere of acidifying species. It also includes a brief overview of the main international policies signed in the last thirty years in order to reduce the problem of acidification in Europe, as well as a brief description of some models mentioned in this thesis. The second one describes the main features of CMAQ and addresses some issues such as the use of a nesting process for achieving temporally and spatially resolved boundary concentrations, and the implementation of the model on parallel machines, essential for reducing the simulation computing time. It also describes how this study is part of a wider context, which includes the application of CMAQ in the United Kingdom by other users with different scientific purposes (aerosols processes, air quality in the urban area of London, contribution of UK power stations to concentrations and depositions etc.). The third part of the thesis focuses on the application and evaluation over the United Kingdom of the 5th Generation Mesoscale Model MM5, used for providing 3D meteorological input fields to CMAQ. This study was performed assuming that an accurate representation of depositions and concentrations of chemical species cannot be achieved without a good estimate of the meteorological parameters involved in most of the atmospheric processes (transport, photochemistry, aerosol processes, cloud processes etc.). The fourth part of the thesis describes the preliminary implementation of the Sparse Matrix Operational Kernel Emission System (SMOKE) in the United Kingdom. The processor provides input emissions to CMAQ. The use of SMOKE is usually avoided in CMAQ applications of outside America, and CMAQ input emission files are prepared by the application of other software. The reason is that the model requires radical changes for being applied outside Northern and Central America. Some of these changes have been made in this study such as the adaptation of the European emission inventory EMEP and the UK National Inventory NAEI to the modelling system for point and area sources, the introduction of new European emission temporal profiles in substitution of the American ones and the introduction of new geographical references for the spatial allocation of emissions. In the fifth chapter the results of CMAQ application over the UK are discussed. The study focuses on NOX, SO2, NH3 and + 4 NH . Maps of concentration are presented and modelled data are compared to measurements from two different air quality networks in the UK. An analysis of the performance of CMAQ over the UK is also performed. In the final chapter an annual inter-comparison between CMAQ and the Lagrangian transport model FRAME is carried out. Maps of annual wet deposition fluxes of NHX, NOY and SOX for year 1999 are presented. The results of both models are compared to one another and they are also compared to values from the UK official data set CBED. Finally, the last chapter suggests the work that has to be done in the future with CMAQ and it summarizes the conclusions.

The apatite crystal structure-A5(TO4)3X-allows for complex substitutions of various minor and trace elements including volatile constituents, rare earth elements, and redox sensitive elements (e.g., As, Mn, Fe, S) (Piccoli and Candela, 1994; Piccoli and Candela, 2002; Pan and Fleet, 2002; Teiber et al., 2015; Harlov, 2015). In this study, apatite grains from 19 intrusions across northeastern Nevada with varied petrogenetic and metallogenic properties were analyzed by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) to obtain major and trace element abundances. Systematic variations in Sr and REE concentrations in apatite grains from granitic host rocks are the result of competition with pre-existing and coexisting minerals in silicate melts. The presence of zoning in cathodoluminescence colors combined with high Sr concentrations in apatite from many of the Eocene granodiorite rocks suggest magma mixing affected the geochemical evolution in many of the Eocene igneous systems. In addition, high Sr concentrations in apatite grains from Late Cretaceous two-mica granites may reflect significant magmatic input from lower crustal and/or mantle sources despite the felsic nature of these intrusive rocks.A new EPMA analytical routine to measure arsenic down to detection limits of approximately 20 ppm allowed a more extensive characterization of As concentration in igneous apatite than has previously been published. Still, correlations between As and other trace-element concentrations are not evident, which may reflect the simple substitution of As5+ for P5+ in the apatite structure. Petrologic controls on As content include redox state, indicated by the high Asapat/Asbulk-rock in relatively oxidized intrusive rocks. An additional control is competition among other magmatic phases, exsolving aqueous fluids, or sulfide melts, indicated by enrichment of As in apatite cores relative to apatite rims. Past studies on redox-sensitive elements in igneous apatite have focused on Mn and S, but with further investigation, As may also prove to be a key redox-sensitive trace element in apatite for interpreting igneous and hydrothermal processes.

Various methods exist for measuring and analyzing dental wear patterns in mam-mals, and these patterns have been extensively studied in ungulates. Mesowear has proven useful as a method to compare large numbers of individuals, particularly fossil individuals, observe trends through time or between groups, and estimate paleoenvi-ronmental conditions. Levels of attrition (tooth-on-tooth wear) and abrasion (tooth-on-food wear) can be readily compared by observing the shape of the cusp and relative crown height of the tooth. This study uses a modified method of mesowear analysis, examining actual cusp angles of the population of Tapirus polkensis from the Gray Fossil Site, a densely canopied, hickory and oak dominated forest located in Gray, Tennes-see. Crown height and cusp angle were measured for 38 specimens arranged into eruption series from young juveniles to old adults. Results found a strong correlation between eruption series and cusp angle with a steady increase in mean angle as the individuals increase in age. A strong correlation between cusp angle and crown height was also found. Overall, the population showed relatively low wear rates, as would be expected of a forest-dwelling browser. As a mesowear analysis across all age groups for a population has not been conducted before, this study could be useful for measuring relative wear rates at different life stages and could be applied across other com-munities.

Ongoing investigation of peccary remains from fossiliferous deposits in the Yucatán resulted in re-examination of previously identified tayassuid fossils from the region. This included the recently described new genus and species of peccary, Muknalia minima, which is based on a dentary from Muknal Cave near Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Diagnostic characters of this taxon include a concave notch along the caudal edge of the ascending ramus and a ventrally directed angular process. Our assessment of the holotype indicates that these characteristics are not a reflection of the original morphology, but are instead the result of breakage and polishing of the posterior aspect of the dentary. Measurements and intact morphological features indicate the Muknal Cave specimen belongs to the extant collared peccary, Pecari tajacu.

This article describes the testing of a model that proposes that people's beliefs regarding the effectiveness of hazard preparedness interact with social context factors (community participation, collective efficacy, empowerment and trust) to influence levels of hazard preparedness. Using data obtained from people living in coastal communities in Alaska and Oregon that are susceptible to experiencing tsunami, structural equation modelling analyses confirmed the ability of the model to help account for differences in levels of tsunami preparedness. Analysis revealed that community members and civic agencies influence preparedness in ways that are independent of the information provided per se. The model suggests that, to encourage people to prepare, outreach strategies must (a) encourage community members to discuss tsunami hazard issues and to identify the resources and information they need to deal with the consequences a tsunami would pose for them and (b) ensure that the community-agency relationship is complementary and empowering.

Here we present teiid lizard fossils from Gruta do Urso, Aurora do Tocantins, Tocantins State, northern Brazil. We describe a left lower jaw of a "Cnemidophorinae" indet. and a right dentary attributed to Tupinambis sp. These materials share with extant Teiidae a heterodont dentition with subpleurodont tooth implantation, and are assigned to Teiinae and Tupinambinae based on dental characteristics. The paleofaunal assemblage from Gruta do Urso suggests a late Pleistocene/early Holocene age. These records add to our knowledge of the Quaternary fauna of northern Brazil.

The Quaternary record of fossil snakes (Reptilia, Squamata) in Asia is extremely rare; any information is noteworthy. An articulated snake skeleton was recovered from the early Pleistocene (2.15–2.14 Ma) deposits in Renzidong Cave, Yangtze River Valley, east-central China. The skeleton contains about 122 nearly complete vertebrae but lacks the cranium and caudal vertebrae. Preserved vertebral characters indicate that the snake is particularly similar to the rat snake, Elaphe (Colubridae) especially with the European Elaphe praelongissima (late Miocene). We identify the specimen as cf. Elaphe sp. This genus and ‘Coluber s.l.’ are unfortunately similar and difficult to differentiate based on just vertebral comparisons of species living in Europe. Adequate comparative skeletons of living snakes of eastern Asia are noticeably absent in museums making identifications of fossil specimens less than satisfactory. Finding dated fossil remains of the snake Elaphe in Asia holds importance to the understanding of its time of dispersal between Asia, Europe and North America, but this can only be adequately examined with fossil remains accurately and satisfactorily identified.

The phylogenetic position of Panthera atrox within Felidae is still controversial despite many morphological and molecular studies addressing its relationships. This is in part due to the lack of consensus on a tree for Panthera. These inconsistencies suggest the need for further analysis and perhaps even different methodology to better understand pantherine evolution. Morphologic characters from the skull and dentary were analysed within Panthera to elucidate pantherine phylogeny. Extant taxa included Panthera leo (African lion), Panthera tigris (tiger), Panthera onca (jaguar), Panthera pardus (leopard), Uncia uncia (snow leopard) and Neofelis nebulosa (clouded leopard). Four outgroups were used: Crocuta crocuta (spotted hyena), Metailurus spp., Proailurus lemanensis and Pseudaelurus validus. Our study found a clade containing Panthera leo, Panthera tigris and Panthera atrox, suggesting that Panthera atrox is more closely related to the African lion and the tiger than the jaguar, in contrast to what has been recently proposed. Moreover, gross morphological similarities between Panthera atrox and Panthera onca are more likely the result of convergent hunting styles and/or prey selection, rather than phylogenetic affinity.

Here we present the first detailed morphological study of the auditory region of a tremarctine bear, the South American giant short-faced bear Arctotherium angustidens. We compared 19 specimens of A. angustidens with other tremarctines and ursines. Through the use of CT scans, we confirmed the presence of a recesus epitympanicus and an anterior incomplete septum of uncertain homology, not related with the septum bullae nor with the longitudinal septum formed by the ecto- and the entotympanic. A secondary crus formed by the lateral semicircular canal (LSC) with the posterior semicircular canal (PSC) of the inner ear was observed in A. angustidens, A. bonariense, Tremarctos ornatus, Ursus spelaeus, and Ursus arctos. This secondary crus was not previously reported for ursids. We also observed that the intraspecific variation in the auditory region of A. angustidens is related to 1) the position of the foramen postglenoideum, 2) the anterior projection of the bulla tympanica over the foramen lacerum and over the opening of the Eustachian tube (medial process of the bulla tympanica), and 3) the projection of the bulla tympanica over the posterior surface of the processus postglenoideus (tympanic process). In addition to this variation, we also identified the presence of interspecific variation in the external auditory region among Tremarctinae and Ursidae. These differences are related to the size of the processus mastoideus and the processus paraoccipitalis, the position of the foramen postglenoideum, and the presence/absence of contact between the bulla tympanica and the processus paraoccipitalis.