A comprehensive investigation of the Early Jurassic stratigraphical palynology of the Lusitanian Basin in western Portugal was undertaken, with most emphasis placed on dinoflagellate cysts. A total ...of 214 samples from an upper Sinemurian to upper Toarcian composite section based on six successions were examined. The Sinemurian material examined was barren of dinoflagellate cysts; however, the Pliensbachian and Toarcian successions are characterised by relatively low diversities where Luehndea spinosa, Mancodinium semitabulatum, Mendicodinium microscabratum, Nannoceratopsis gracilis, Nannoceratopsis senex, and Scriniocassis priscus are relatively common and biostratigraphically significant. Luehndea spinosa dominates the lowermost Toarcian (Dactylioceras polymorphum ammonite Biozone), and is an index species. At the base of the Hildaites levisoni ammonite Biozone, the effects of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE) caused Luehndea spinosa to become extinct. At the same time, dinoflagellate cyst abundance and diversity markedly decreased. After the T-OAE, during the middle and late Toarcian, phytoplankton recovery was prolonged and slow in the Lusitanian Basin. The Luehndea spinosa and Mendicodinium microscabratum dinoflagellate cyst biozones are defined, both of which are subdivided into two dinoflagellate cyst subbiozones.
Extensive Cu- and Zn-soil geochemical data in the Albernoa/Entradas–S. Domingos region (NE border of the Iberian Pyrite Belt, South Portuguese Zone) were examined to separate anomalies from ...background using the concentration–area fractal model. Distribution patterns of Cu and Zn concentrations in soil are primarily influenced by bedrock. The regional threshold values of Cu- and Zn-soil contents over metasedimentary sequences are 20–25 and 20–60 ppm, respectively, becoming 30–50 and 20–90 ppm, respectively, when metavolcanic rocks are present. The first-order threshold values for Cu are 80–90 ppm in soils over metasediments and 70–80 ppm in soils over sequences bearing metavolcanics. For Zn, the first-order threshold values are 40–80 and 90–100 ppm in soils over metasediments and metavolcanic rocks, respectively. Metasediments and metavolcanics comprising significant sulphide disseminations are outlined by Cu- and Zn-soil values above 100 and 300 ppm in soil, respectively. On the basis of these results, Alvares and Albernoa/Entradas areas emerge as the first priority targets for exploration. The observed non-coincidence of Cu- and Zn-soil anomalies in soil in the area could reflect difference in element dispersion during weathering, they mostly indicate distinct metal sources related to the original composition of different rock types or to chemical changes developed during Variscan deformation/re-crystallization path. The established regional baseline data can be used as reference for environmental studies.
Of late the term Iberian Studies has been gaining academic currency, but its semantic scope still fluctuates. For some it is a convenient way of combining the official cultures of two states, ...Portugal and Spain; yet for others the term opens up disciplinary space, altering established routines. A relational approach to Iberian Studies shatters the state’s epistemological frame and complexifies the field through the emergence of lines of inquiry and bodies of knowledge hitherto written off as irrelevant. This timely volume brings together contributions from leading international scholars who demonstrate the cultural and linguistic complexity of the field by reflecting on the institutional challenges to the practice of Iberian Studies. As such, the book will be required reading for all those working in the field.
This book is unique as the only book on the Portuguese parliament in English. The Portuguese parliament is a valuable case study to understand the different stages of development of a newly ...democratic parliament. From Legislation to Legitimation shows that, as democracy developed, the role of the Portuguese parliament changed considerably. Whereas in the first years of democracy the Assembleia da Republica was centred on its legislative role, during the second decade its legitimation role expanded, making scrutiny parliament's main function.
This book can be read in two different ways: as an introductory synthesis on Modern Portugal, or as a collection of twelve studies focusing on familiar aspects of the State formation of any modern ...nation throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In this second reading, each chapter opens comparative perspectives on specific topics within some key fields of studies and international debates on modernity, including population, police, empire, technology, bureaucracy, social sciences, r.
Mercury (Hg) speciation by thermo-desorption is considered an alternative to laborious sequential chemical procedures; hence its popularity has increased in the last years. In this work, steps were ...taken to improve the information obtained by Hg speciation through thermo-desorption, specifically to improve peak resolution and increase the number of species that can be identified. The thermo-desorption behavior of Hg bound to iron oxides was characterized, as well as a new Hg–humic acid synthetic standard material. In contrast to previous studies, the peak corresponding to the Hg fraction associated with humic acids was clearly separated from the mineral fraction, and identified in some natural samples. With increasing temperature, Hg species are released in the following order: HgCl2=Hg associated with Fe2O3<Hg associated with humic acids<HgS<HgO, with an overlap of HgCl2 and Hg associated with iron oxides.
An evaluation of the effects of sample pre-treatment and storage on Hg speciation was also performed. It was found that sieving to <2mm improved the sample homogeneity. The importance of fast sample analysis was highlighted, given that after 10days of storage at room temperature, volatile Hg0 could no longer be identified in the sample. The suitability of thermo-desorption for mercury speciation in soils and sediments is discussed.
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•Standards of Hg bound to humic matter and to iron oxides were characterized.•Improvements on a technique for Hg speciation within soils and sediments.•Thermo-desorption of Hg species, using direct mercury analyzer equipment.•Hg species are released in the order: HgCl2=Hg–Fe2O3<Hg–humic acids<HgS<HgO.•Influence of sample pretreatment and storage on mercury speciation was studied.
This volume focuses on the interdisciplinary investigation of Portuguese humanism, especially as a noteworthy player in the international network of early modern scholarship, literature and visual ...arts.
Miriam Bodian's study of crypto-Jewish martyrdom in Iberian lands depicts
a new type of martyr that emerged in the late 16th century -- a defiant, educated
judaizing martyr who engaged in disputes ...with inquisitors. By examining closely the
Inquisition dossiers of four men who were tried in the Iberian peninsula or Spanish
America and who developed judaizing theologies that drew from currents of
Reformation thinking that emphasized the authority of Scripture and the religious
autonomy of individual interpreters of Scripture, Miriam Bodian reveals unexpected
connections between Reformation thought and historic crypto-Judaism. The complex
personalities of the martyrs, acting in response to psychic and situational
pressures, emerge vividly from this absorbing book.
The passive and active fill of burrows potentially stores information about sedimentary processes that are otherwise not preserved in the rock record. In recent years, abandoned passively-filled ...vertical burrows were introduced as “tubular tidalites” when their infilling displays rhythmic lamination reflecting a tidal signature. In the shallow-marine Miocene sandstones exposed at Oura (southern Portugal), 36 tubular tidalites occur in a 1.5 m-thick interval. Their high abundance is likely a consequence of both an environment favourable for the production of open burrows in a tidal setting, and post-depositional conditions facilitating the preservation of the tubular tidalites. Besides vertical tubes, 13 horizontal burrows preserve a tidal signature indicating draught-fill processes. All specimens belong to Thalassinoides and, for the first time, to Gyrolithes. The rhythmic infill of two well-preserved specimens shows two significant features: (1) The thickness pattern allows for differentiation into groups having 7 couplets (consisting of a dark and a light lamina) or multiples thereof, and (2) the thickness patterns of both, consecutive couplets as well as dark and light laminae match sine curves. Both patterns indicate a diurnal tidal cyclicity. The tidalites record up to four spring-tide and three neap-tide cycles. In addition to the neap-spring cycles, a long-period lunar fortnightly tide regime can be envisaged. The tubular tidalites imply diurnal tides during the Miocene in contrast to the Recent semidiurnal tides affecting southern Portugal.
•Analysis of Miocene tubular tidalites from southern Iberia has been conducted.•The abundant record includes vertical tubes and horizontal burrows.•Tubular tidalites correspond to Thalassinoides and Gyrolithes.•Diurnal tides, with spring-tide and neap-tide cycles have been recognized.•A long-period lunar fortnightly can be envisaged.