TEM and XRD determination of crystallite size and lattice strain as a function of illite crystallinity in pelitic rocks

Average crystallite size and mean-square strain of illite in rock specimens and clay separates were measured independently in TEM images and by single-line Fourier (Voigt method) profile analysis of the c. 1 nm peak of XRD patterns for a prograde sequence of pelitic rocks (illite crystallinity indices=0.17–0.58°Δ2θ) from the Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec. The TEM-determined crystallite sizes in clay separates approximate those determined by Fourier profile analyses and those calculated from illite crystallinity indices by the Scherrer equation, with the exception of the diagenetic sample. The crystallite sizes and mean-square strains of illite in rock samples exhibit a trend similar to that determined by profile analyses, but the average crystallite sizes are up to five times larger than those measured for clay separates. TEM images show that all rock samples have a wide range of crystallite sizes, and the proportions of larger crystallites increase with metamorphic grade. The diagenetic illite is defect-rich, fine-grained (mean thickness by volume=c. 70 nm), 1M_d material. Anchizonal illite tends to occur as separate aggregates of small 1M_d and larger 2M₁ crystals (c. 200 nm), comprising arrays of subparallel coalescing packets. The epizone sample has thick (c. 400 nm), defect-free crystals of muscovite occurring in stacks of parallel layers, or subhedral crystals intergrown with large-angle boundaries. Cleaved crystals that are free of intracrystalline layer terminations are dominant in clay separates of all samples, having ranges of smaller sizes with volume-average thicknesses of c. 43, 43, and 81 nm (c. 14, 28, 67 nm by the Voigt method), respectively, for the three zones. The results suggest that illite crystallinity indices do not provide a direct measure of a single microstructural state of illite in rocks, although they yield consistent limits for average crystallite sizes for the anchizone (23 & 48 nm here). Therefore, they serve as a general parameter of the degree of recrystallization on a relative basis, in part because the contributions of all peak-broadening variables (mixed layering, size and strain) decrease regularly with prograde regional metamorphism of pelites. The microstructural changes caused by rock disaggregation are probably a function of those variables as well. The data collectively demonstrate a trend from metastable, defect-rich, small crystals towards a stable assemblage of larger, defect-free crystals, through dissolution of strained crystals and neocrystallization, consistent with the Ostwald step rule.     

CRUSTAL REFLECTIVITY PATTERN AND ITS RELATION TO GEOLOGICAL PROVINCES1

The statistical treatment of deep seismic reflections from several different geological units has resulted in different reflectivity histograms. Reflectivity in old and cold shields differs significantly from that in younger, warmer areas. In the shields reflectivity is generally poor and concentrated in the upper crust whilst Caledonian and Variscan areas show strong reflecting lamellae in their lower crust. Also the length of the reflecting elements varies with age and heat flow. The lower crust in young areas is a zone of a strong viscosity minimum as derived from model studies with a temperature dependent rheology. The subhorizontal reflecting lamellae in the lower crust are considered to have been created in a large-scale high-temperature, low-viscosity ordering process whose remnants are still preserved today. Local-scale differences of reflectivity histograms define certain subprovinces which can be distinguished by their specific patterns.     

Palaeoecology of the Quaternary

Book reviewed in this article:
H. J. B. Birks & Hilary H. Birks: Quaternary Palaeoecology     

HUNGARY AFTER 1989: INSCRIBING A NEW PAST ON PLACE*

ABSTRACT. Since the fall of the Communist government in 1989, Hungary's political monuments and historical shrines have undergone great change. Although popular attention focused on the removal of overtly political monuments, new shrines were also created, and forgotten memorials were restored. In a departure from earlier political eras, decisions about contested places are issuing from local authorities and private citizens, rather than from the central government. The result is a sometimes subtle rearrangement of public memorials and shrines that interprets the national past by drawing symbolic and spatial parallels between some historical events while rejecting connections among others. The meanings of events and places, particularly those linked to twentieth‐century wartime and civil upheavals, remain contested.     

ROSAT PSPC detection of soft X-ray absorption in GB 1428+4217: the most distant matter yet probed with X-ray spectroscopy

We report on a ROSAT PSPC observation of the highly luminous z =4.72 radio-loud quasar GB 1428+4217 obtained between 1998 December 11 and 17, the final days of the ROSAT satellite. The low-energy sensitivity of the PSPC detector was employed to constrain the intrinsic X-ray absorption of the currently most distant X-ray detected object. Here we present the detection of significant soft X-ray absorption towards GB 1428+4217, making the absorbing material the most distant matter yet probed with X-ray spectroscopy. X-ray variability by 25±8 per cent is detected on a time-scale of 6500 s in the rest frame. The X-ray variation requires an unusually high radiative efficiency of at least 4.2, further supporting the blazar nature of the source.     

Major and trace element compositions of melt particles and associated phases from the Yaxcopoil‐1 drill core,Chicxulub impact structure,Mexico

Abstract— Melt particles found at various depths in impactites from the Yaxcopoil‐1 borehole into the Chicxulub impact structure (Yucatán) have been analyzed for their major and trace element abundances. A total of 176 electron microprobe and 45 LA‐ICP‐MS analyses from eight different melt particles were investigated. The main purpose of this work was to constrain the compositions of precursor materials and secondary alteration characteristics of these melt particles. Individual melt particles are highly heterogeneous, which makes compositional categorization extremely difficult. Melt particles from the uppermost part of the impactite sequence are Ca‐ and Na‐depleted and show negative Ce anomalies, which is likely a result of seawater interaction. Various compositional groupings of melt particles are determined with ternary and binary element ratio plots involving major and trace elements. This helps distinguish the degree of alteration versus primary heterogeneity of melt phases. Comparison of the trace element ratios Sc/Zr, Y/Zr, Ba/Zr, Ba/Rb, and Sr/Rb with compositions of known target rocks provides some constraints on protolith compositions; however, the melt compositions analyzed exceed the known compositional diversity of possible target rocks. Normalized REE patterns are unique for each melt particle, likely reflecting precursor mineral or rock compositions. The various discrimination techniques indicate that the highly variable compositions are the products of melting of individual minerals or of mixtures of several minerals. Small, angular shards that are particularly abundant in units 2 and 3 represent rapidly quenched melts, whereas larger particles (>0.5 mm) that contain microlites and have fluidal, schlieric textures cooled over a protracted period. Angular, shard‐like particles with microlites in unit 5 likely crystallized below the glass transition temperature or underwent fragmentation during or after deposition.     

Cretaceous evolution of a metamorphic core complex,the Veporic unit,Western Carpathians (Slovakia): P–T conditions and in situ40Ar/39Ar UV laser probe dating of metapelites

Alpine metamorphism, related to the development of a metamorphic core complex during Cretaceous orogenic events, has been recognized in the Veporic unit, Western Carpathians (Slovakia). Three metamorphic zones have been distinguished in the metapelites: 1, chloritoid + chlorite + garnet; 2, garnet + staurolite + chlorite; 3, staurolite + biotite + kyanite. The isograds separating the metamorphic zones have been modelled by discontinuous reactions in the system K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O (KFMASH). The isograds are roughly parallel to the north‐east‐dipping foliation related to extensional updoming along low‐angle normal faults. Thermobarometric data document increasing P–T conditions from c. 500 °C and 7–8 kbar to c. 620 °C and 9–10 kbar, reflecting a coherent metamorphic field gradient from greenschist to middle amphibolite facies. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data obtained by high spatial resolution in situ ultraviolet (UV) laser ablation of white micas from the rock slabs constrain the timing of cooling and exhumation in the Late Cretaceous. Mean dates are between 77 and 72 Ma; however, individual white mica grains record a range of apparent ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages indicating that cooling below the blocking temperature for argon diffusion was not instantaneous. The reconstructed metamorphic P–T–t path is ‘clockwise’, reflecting post‐burial decompression and cooling during a single Alpine orogenic cycle. The presented data suggest that the Veporic unit evolved as a metamorphic core complex during the Cretaceous growth of the Western Carpathian orogenic wedge. Metamorphism was related to collisional crustal shortening and stacking, following closure of the Meliata Ocean. Exhumation was accomplished by synorogenic (orogen‐parallel) extension and unroofing in an overall compressive regime.     

Estimating periphyton standing crop in streams: a comparison of chlorophyll a sampling and visual assessments

Periphyton standing crop is often measured as chlorophyll a but there is increasing interest in using visual assessments of periphyton cover. Visual methods are rapid and require no sample analysis, but can be regarded as subjective with high inter-operator variability. We investigated variability in periphyton standing crop across operators, rivers and time, as determined visually and from chlorophyll a measurements. We found that visual assessments (comprising percentage cover estimates of up to eight periphyton categories) distinguished sites and occasions as effectively as chlorophyll a. Furthermore, an estimate of chlorophyll a could be derived from the visual assessments. Because our surveys were conducted in only three rivers, general applicability of the derivation of estimated chlorophyll a from the visual assessments warrants further investigation. The current recommendation of 20 views was sufficient for realistic visual assessments of average cover. Overall, our results indicated that inter-operator variability in visual assessments need not be a major concern, given adequate training.