A new occurrence of berthierine has been found in the Pulsifer granitic pegmatite, near Auburn, Maine. Berthierine was found in miarolitic cavities (‘pockets’) as aggregates of radial platy crystals with albite, as fracture-fillings in microcline and as fine-grained anhedral flakes with muscovite. Berthierine samples from all associations are depleted in Mg, but show variable enrichment in Mn. The textural relationships of the berthierine assemblage indicate that its formation is probably related to the dissolution of microcline in the presence of a low-temperature, neutral to alkaline, Fe-rich hydrothermal solution. This mode of occurrence is in direct contrast to the typical formation of berthierine in granitic pegmatites that is generally related to the alteration of cordierite-group minerals.

I will consider mainly geothermobarometry in medium-grade pelitic rocks, including the garnet-biotite (GB) geothermometer, the Grossular-Al silicate-plagioclase (GASP) geobarometer, and the muscovite-almandine-biotite-sillimanite (MABS) geobarometer. For GB (Holdaway, 2000) experimental data and estimated biotite ΔWTi were used to optimize two exchange parameters and four biotite Margules parameters. Using stepwise linear regression, experimental vs. calculated T were constrained to lie on a line with slope of one and intercept of zero, maximizing r2. The best model involves experiments by Ferry and Spear (1978) and Perchuk and Lavrent’eva (1983), suggesting minimal viAl in the Ferry and Spear product biotite. For GASP (Holdaway, 2001), end-member experimental data do not adequately constrain the equilibrium. I used the GB model above, and allowed the end-member curve to rotate about the best-constrained part of the GASP end-member data. The end-member curve was further constrained with the kyanite-sillimanite (K-S) boundary using published chemical data on 76 pelitic schist samples from 11 localities, rejecting Low-Grs and low-An samples. The Fuhrman and Lindsley (1988) plagioclase model gives the best results. For MABS, work in progress involves 61 samples from the 11 localities which have muscovite analyses. Biotite Margules parameters were based on the GB model and McMullin et al. (1991). The MABS end-member curve was calibrated by comparison of P values determined using trial MABS data and GASP results. The P values for the 61 samples agree well with the K-S boundary, and sillimanite-bearing rocks of west-central Maine all fall in the sillimanite field. Preliminary biotite values are: GAnn = –5149198 – 412.05 T, WAlFe = –14023 + 28.14 T, WAlMg = –259582 + 308.44 T, WTiFe = 124842 – 98.67 T, WTiMg = –186148 + 271.72 T. For geobarometry, the Berman (1988, revised 1992) database was used with adjustable H and S of grossular for GASP and H and S of annite for MABS. The accuracy of currently available databases, activity models and mole fraction models is not adequate for good geothermobarometry, without further refinement. Adjustable parameters tend to compensate for error in activity models, mole fraction models and databases.

Zigrasite, ideally MgZr(PO4)2(H2O)4, is a new secondary phosphate mineral from the giant 1972 gem tourmaline-bearing pocket at the Dunton Quarry, Newry, Oxford County, Maine, USA. It occurs as subhedral blocky grains sometimes exceeding 1 mm in maximum dimension and perched on tourmaline. These grains are complex aggregates ofthree distinct phases, zigrasite and two unnamed phases: the Ca analogue of zigrasite, CaZr(PO4)2(H2O)4, and Zr(PO3OH)2(H2O)4. Zigrasite is associated with tourmaline, microcline, quartz, albite, beryl, amblygonite-montebrasite, childreniteeosphorite and apatite, and crystallized as one of the latest minerals during pocket formation. It is offwhite to pale yellow or light tan, translucent with a white streak and a vitreous lustre, and shows light blue to pale yellow cathodoluminescence. Mohs hardness is 3 and the measured and calculated densities are 2.76(4) and 2.66 g/cm3. The mineral has imperfect cleavage in two directions, parallel to (010) and (001), shows no parting, is brittle and has a hackly fracture. In transmitted light, it is colourless and non-pleochroic, biaxial negative with α 1.597(1), β 1.622 (1), γ 1.635 (1), with 2V(meas) = 65.5(4)º and 2V(calc.) = 71º. Zigrasite is triclinic, P , a 5.3049(2) Å, b 9.3372(4) Å, c 9.6282(5) Å, α 97.348(1)º, β 91.534(1)º, γ 90.512(4)º, V 472.79(5) Å3, Z = 2. The seven strongest lines in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are as follows: d (Ê), I, (hkl): 9.550, 100, (001); 4.108, 70, ; 4.008, 50, (111); 4.589, 40, (110); 3.177, 40, (112); 3.569, 30, (0 2), 2.660, 30, (200),(11),(130); 3.273, 20, (12). Chemical analysis by electron microprobe gave P2O5 37.59, ZrO2 32.27, HfO2 0.34, FeO 0.20, MgO 10.37, ZnO 0.17, F 0.13, LOI 18.60, less O:F 0.05 = total 99.62 wt.%. The resulting empirical formula is (–)Σ=0.99(Zr0.99Hf0.01)Σ=1.00 P2.00O8(H2O)4 on the basis of12 O atoms with H2O = 4 per formula unit from crystal-structure analysis, and the end-member formula is MgZr(PO4)2(H2O)4.

The crystal structure of zigrasite, ideally MgZr(PO4)2(H2O)4, a 5.3049(2), b 9.3372(4), c 9.6282(5) Å, α 97.348(1)°, β 91.534(1)°, γ 90.512(4)°, V 472.79(5) Å3, Z = 2, triclinic, P1, Dcalc. 2.66 g.cm–3, from the giant 1972 pocket at Newry, Oxford County, Maine, USA, has been solved and refined to R1 3.75% on the basis of 2623 unique reflections (Fo > 4σF). There are two P sites, each of which is solely occupied by P with <P–O> distances of 1.532 and 1.533 Å, respectively. There are two Mg sites, both of which are occupied by Mg and are octahedrally coordinated two O anions and four (H2O) groups with <Mg–O> distances of 2.064 and 2.075 Å, respectively. There is one Zr site, occupied by Zr and octahedrally coordinated by six O anions with a <Zr–O> distance of 2.065 Å . The (ZrO6) octahedron shares corners with six (PO4) tetrahedra, forminga [Zr(PO4)2] sheet parallel to (001). These sheets are stacked in the c direction and linked by (MgO2(H2O)4) octahedra that share O atoms with the (PO4) groups. The structure is formally a heteropolyhedral framework structure, but the linkage is weaker in the c direction, accounting for the marked (001) cleavage.

The crystal structure of perhamite, (Ca,Sr)3Al7.7Si3P4O23.5(OH)14.1 8H2O, from the Emmons mine, Maine, USA, has been determined using single crystal X-ray data. The average structure has trigonal symmetry, Pml, with cell parameters a=7.021(1) Å and c = 20.218(1) Å. It was refined to R1 = 0.044 for 618 observed reflections. The structure comprises ordered blocks of crandallite-type structure, centred at z = 0, intergrown parallel to (001) with disordered aluminosilicate structure blocks centred at z = 1/2 to form a microporous structure containing large channels along [100]. These channels are bounded by 8-member rings of 6 tetrahedra (2 SiO4, 2 A1O4 and 2 PO4) and 2 A1O6 octahedra. Calcium atoms and water molecules are distributed in the [100] channels. A model was developed for the local ordering of silicon into the fractionally occupied sites in the (001) layer at z = 1/2 and this model was refined in space group P321 to R1 = 0.041 for 933 observed reflections. The dominant contributors to the local order are Si3O9 rings of corner-shared tetrahedra, together with Si2O7 pairs of tetrahedra. These units corner-link to (Al,Si)O4 tetrahedra above and below the plane at z = 1/2 to form 4-member rings, which in turn corner-share to PO4 tetrahedra in the crandallite blocks to give the 8-member rings. The analysis suggests that 5-coordinated Si may also be present in the (001) plane at z = 1/2.

Mustela macrodon (extinct sea mink) is known only from prehistoric and historic Native American shell middens dating less than 5100 years old along coastal islands of the Gulf of Maine, northeastern North America. The species is distinct from all known extant subspecies of M. vison (American mink) but still belongs to the North American subgenus Vison. Metric comparisons between M. macrodon and five subspecies of M. vison, using skull, mandible, humerus, radius, femur, and tibia skeletal elements, show that M. macrodon is larger in overall size and robustness and is proportionately larger in the dental region. Many habitat-related parallels exist between coastal island mink of the Gulf of Maine and those of the Alexander Archipelago, southeastern Alaska, where the overall largest living subspecies of mink is found (M. v. nesolestes).

A large ice sheet still covered almost all of Maine and eastern New England until ca. 15 cal ka BP, reaching south of 45 °S, despite rising summer insolation intensity and major ice recession elsewhere outside the North Atlantic region. Furthermore, the well-studied moraine belt along eastern coastal Maine, including the prominent Pineo Ridge delta/moraine complex and Pond Ridge moraine, indicates repeated readvances and stillstands between ca. 16 and 15 cal ka BP. This moraine belt reflects a considerable ice sheet response over eastern North America during this time period, coeval with the latter half of the European Oldest Dryas period. Moraine deposition was concurrent with reduction or elimination of North Atlantic meridional overturning, starting with the earlier onset of peak IRD and Heinrich Event 1 (HE-1). The existing 14C chronology suggests that the coastal moraine belt and the persistence of the ice sheet until ∼ 15 cal ka BP was a response to the severe cooling of the North Atlantic region after ∼ 17 cal ka BP.

Remains identified as those of a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) dated at 12,200 ± 55 14C yr B.P. were recovered while excavating in a complex sequence of glaciomarine sediments in Scarborough, Maine, USA. The mammoth was found in the top meter of a fossiliferous unit of mud and sand laminites. These sediments were deposited during a marine regressive phase following the transgression that accompanied northward retreat of the margin of the Laurentide ice sheet. A Portlandia arctica valve from the underlying transgressive unit provides a minimum age of 14,820 ± 105 14C yr B.P. for local deglaciation. The mammoth, an adult female, died in midwinter with no evidence of human involvement. Tusk growth rates and oxygen-isotope variation over the last few years of life record low seasonality. The mammoth was transported to the site as a partial carcass by the late-glacial proto-Saco River. It sank in a near-shore setting, was subjected to additional disarticulation and scattering of elements, and was finally buried in sediments reworked by the shallowing sea.

Given the difficulty of separating the three Picea species—P. glauca, P. mariana, and P. rubens (white, black, and red spruce)—in the pollen record, little is known about their unique histories in eastern North America following deglaciation. Here we report the first use of a classification tree analysis (CART) to distinguish pollen grains of these species. It was successfully applied to fossil pollen from eight sites in Maine and one in Massachusetts. We focused on the late glacial/early Holocene (14,000 to 8000 cal yr B.P.) and the late Holocene (1400 cal yr B.P. to present)—the two key periods since deglaciation when Picea has been abundant in the region. The result shows a shift from a Picea forest of P. glauca and P. mariana in the late glacial to a forest of P. rubens and P. mariana in the late Holocene. The small number of P. rubens grains identified from the late glacial/early Holocene samples (<5%) suggests that that species was either absent or rare at most of the sites. The occurrence and distribution of the three species do not reveal any geographic or temporal trend during late glacial time, but the data suggest that they were distributed in local patches on the landscape. The results of this study indicate that the recent population expansion of Picea (1000 to 500 cal yr B.P.) was likely the first time since deglaciation that P. rubens was abundant in the region.

Excavations in the late-glacial Presumpscot Formation at Portland, Maine, uncovered tree remains and other terrestrial organics associated with marine invertebrate shells in a landslide deposit. Buds of Populus balsamifera (balsam poplar) occurred with twigs of Picea glauca (white spruce) in the Presumpscot clay. Tree rings in Picea logs indicate that the trees all died during winter dormancy in the same year. Ring widths show patterns of variation indicating responses to environmental changes. Fossil mosses and insects represent a variety of species and wet to dry microsites. The late-glacial environment at the site was similar to that of today's Maine coast. Radiocarbon ages of 14 tree samples are 11,907 ± 31 to 11,650 ± 50 14C yr BP. Wiggle matching of dated tree-ring segments to radiocarbon calibration data sets dates the landslide occurrence at ca. 13,520 + 95/−20 cal yr BP. Ages of shells juxtaposed with the logs are 12,850 ± 65 14C yr BP (Mytilus edulis) and 12,800 ± 55 14C yr BP (Balanus sp.), indicating a marine reservoir age of about 1000 yr. Using this value to correct previously published radiocarbon ages reduces the discrepancy between the Maine deglaciation chronology and the varve-based chronology elsewhere in New England.

After decades of farm specialization, re-integrating crop and livestock farming systems is being reconsidered as a key step toward sustainable agriculture. The relative profitability of Maine farms integrating crops and livestock is compared to non-integrated or conventional farms. Crop and livestock integration in Maine occurs through either diversified on-farm integration or, more commonly, through coupled interactions between specialized crop and livestock producers. Potato and dairy systems coupled for only 2 years (short-term) had greater profitability compared to conventional systems. Profitability increased in the short term in two ways. First, potato farms grew more of their primary cash crop. Secondly, dairy farms expanded cow numbers, increasing profitability assuming increasing returns to scale. Coupled systems integrated for more than 10 years (long-term) had more favorable profitability than short-term couplers since greater manure-nutrient credits were taken for potatoes and silage corn. The advantages of potato–dairy integration were even greater if potato yields increased in the long term, as suggested by long-term rotation plot studies in Maine. Even if coupling is more profitable than non-integrated systems, it requires that farms be in close proximity and for farmers to have adequate working relationships and management skills. Despite these challenges to re-integrating crops and livestock, short- and long-term economic benefits may encourage farmers in appropriate areas to consider coupling with other producers.

Short food supply chains (SFSCs) and civic agriculture are emerging as promising means to support small and medium-sized farms, revitalize rural communities and transform producer/consumer relationships. To find out more about SFSCs and civic agriculture in Maine and to examine factors that promote their success, this study interviewed 31 successful, locally focused Maine farmers and observed many of their market outlets. The study documented the nature and extent of each farm enterprise and each marketing outlet. Farmers were asked to describe their goals, their reasons for success, what they would do differently, and what major problems they had encountered. In the interviews, key factors found to support successful locally focused farming were civic involvement in local communities, production of high-quality products tailored to customer wants and needs, vision and planning pursued in a flexible and adaptive fashion, and personal relationships with customers that foster ongoing mutual education and provide marketing feedback to the farmers. Major challenges revolve around the need for farmland preservation policies, training and financial support for new farmers, working capital for new and experienced farmers, business planning assistance, and lack of infrastructure, such as meat slaughtering and grain milling facilities.

Focal species are a critical component of conservation planning, along with representation of ecosystems, special elements and ecologically sustainable management. They warrant conservation attention because they are functionally important, wide-ranging or space-demanding, habitat-quality indicators, ‘flagship’, and/or vulnerable or special populations. A delphi survey matrix-based approach, involving regional experts in the selection of potential focal species, was applied in Nova Scotia, Canada and Maine, USA. Matrices with native species on one axis and selection characteristics on the other axis were used to summarize expert knowledge and judgment. Characteristics were related to biological traits and habitat requirements that make some species more vulnerable than others in human-modified landscapes. In Nova Scotia and Maine, 19 and 11 experts, respectively, completed the matrices, which were subsequently numerically assessed. Species with the highest scores were identified as potential focal species, including wolf, cougar, lynx, river otter, eastern pipistrelle, wood turtle, four-toed salamander, golden eagle and Atlantic salmon. Concerns remain around the lack of representation of some classes of species, subjectivity in selecting and weighting characteristics, and the relative nature of assessing species against the characteristics. Accordingly, potential focal species should be subject to verification through more rigorous and quantitative analysis and monitoring. Nonetheless, if applied with care, the matrix-based approach can provide a relatively systematic and effective way of engaging regional experts in focal species selection.

Ordovician metamorphic rocks of the Casco Bay Group are exposed in an approximately 170 km long NE-trending belt (Liberty-Orrington belt) in southern and south-central Maine. Geochemical analysis of rocks within the Spring Point Formation (469±3 Ma) of the Casco Bay Group indicate that it is an assemblage of metamorphosed bimodal volcanic rocks. The mafic rocks (originally basalts) have trace element and Nd isotopic characteristics consistent with derivation from a mantle source enriched by a crustal and/or subduction component. The felsic rocks (originally rhyolites and dacites) were likely generated through partial melting of continental crust in response to intrusion of the mafic magma. Relatively low initial εNd values for both the mafic (−1.3 to +0.6) and felsic (−4.1 to −3.8) rocks suggest interactions with Gander zone continental crust and support a correlation between the Casco Bay Group and the Bathurst Supergroup in the Miramichi belt of New Brunswick. This correlation suggests that elements of the Early to Middle Ordovician Tetagouche-Exploits back-arc basin can be traced well into southern Maine. A possible tectonic model for the evolution of the Casco Bay Group involves the initiation of arc volcanism in Early Ordovician time along the Gander continental margin on the eastern side of the Iapetus Ocean basin. Slab rollback and trenchward migration of arc magmatism initiated crustal thinning and rifting of the volcanic arc around 470 Ma and resulted in the eruption of the Spring Point volcanic rocks in a back-arc tectonic setting.

Although consumers have a high opinion of locally grown produce, they do not consider origin as important as other factors in produce selection. Inconvenience is a major barrier to purchasing local produce. In a rural community in Maine, the Farm Fresh Project tested an intervention designed to exploit consumers' high regard for locally grown produce and also overcome the inconvenience of buying it. Each week for six weeks in the summer of 1997, employees at three worksites were offered tastings of locally grown produce, information about the produce, and an opportunity to order it at their workplaces. Changes in purchases of locally grown produce were compared with changes among employees at three matched control worksites. More than a quarter of workers at intervention worksites ordered produce through the project. Significant numbers of employees at intervention worksites who had not bought locally grown produce earlier in the summer bought it at outlets in the community during the four weeks following the intervention. Visits to the community farmers' market, purchases at roadside stands, pick-your-own purchases, and purchases of locally grown produce, both overall and at locations other than at the farmers' market, increased significantly in the intervention group. Among workers at control sites, only roadside stand purchases increased significantly. It appears that the opportunity to taste and purchase locally grown produce at a convenient venue, the workplace, motivated consumers to overcome barriers to purchasing locally grown produce at less convenient venues outside of the workplace. Temporary farm stands at workplaces may offer a promising new direct market for farmers.