Multiple discriminant analysis of the Drava River alluvial plain sediments

Three discriminant function models are raised and cross-compared in order to distinguish geochemical patterns characteristic for the Drava River floodplain sediments. Based on data representing total element concentrations in samples collected from alluvium (A), terrace (T), and unconsolidated bedrock (B) at the border of a floodplain, four element clusters emerged accounting for discrimination between the referred groups of sediments. The most prominent is contaminant/carbonate cluster characteristic for alluvium. The other two are: silicate cluster typical for unconsolidated geological substrate (Neogene sedimentary rocks); and naturally dispersed heavy metal cluster separating terrace from the former two groups. Models introducing depth intervals and single profiles as grouping criteria reveal identical sediment-heavy metal matrices. The second important issue of this paper is possibility of reclassification of samples originally assigned to one of the a priori defined groups of sediments, based on established geochemical pattern. The mapped geological units can be reconsidered by the post hoc assignments to a different group if geological border between alluvium and terrace or between terrace and bedrock can not be established geologically with absolute certainty.     

Tectonostratigraphic development of the Trondheim region Caledonides, Central Norway

The metamorphic allochthon of the central Norwegian Caledonides comprises a complex of discrete nappes of metasediments and igneous rocks ranging in age from probable Svecofennian through Vendian to Silurian. This southeastward-translated allochthon overlies a thin cover of autochthonous Vendian to Cambrian sediments deposited upon a crystalline Precambrian basement, and is superseded by late-orogenic, intermontanebasinal sediments of latest Silurian to Middle Devonian age. Stratigraphical sequences in higher allochthonous units are floored by oceanic tholeiitic basalts with rare, subjacent sheeted-dyke and gabbro units, considered as fragments of an ophiolite assemblage which suffered initial eastward transport in pre-Middle Arenig times, an important orogenic event which is well represented in northern and southwestern Norway. The overlying Ordovician—Silurian sequences, disturbed by episodic parorogenic events, embrace a variety of sedimentary facies from shallow-water carbonates to deep-marine terrigenous turbidites and include both island arc and marginal basin lavas and intrusives. Polyphase Middle Silurian metamorphism and deformation resulted in a complex telescoping and dissection of the Lower Palaeozoic rocks and their Precambrian substrate, with nappe translation in the order of several hundred kilometres. Folding and thrusting of Old Red Sandstone molasse sediments attests to continuing tectonism well into Devonian times.     

Banded iron formations of the calciphyre-metabasite-gneiss association in the East European Craton

The paper presents characteristics of the least studied iron formations of the East European Craton (Archean banded iron formations of the calciphyre-metabasite-gneiss association), a typical member of granulite complexes of the Ukrainian Shield, Belarussian-Baltic region, and Voronezh crystalline massif. They are mainly composed of diverse metasedimentary rocks: aluminous gneisses; silicate-magnetite, magnetite, and barren quartzites; eulysites; calciphyres; and marbles associated with metavolcanic rocks. Data on chemical compositions of the metasedimentary rocks are summarized for the first time and their possible primary mineral composition has been reconstructed using the MINLITH software. It is shown that they could be formed from a lithogenetic series of sediments linked by gradual transitions and geochemical commonness of sediments: from fine-grained terrigenous insufficiently mature sediments to chemogenic sediments depleted in terrigenous material (ferruginous-siliceous, ferruginous-siliceous-carbonate, siliceous-carbonate, and carbonate sediments). The inferred primary mineral assemblage indicates sedimentation in the central parts of large paleobasins in a reducing environment characterized by deficit of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide. Lithological specifics of the banded iron formations in different regions presumably reflect different distances of sedimentation zones from submarine hydrothermal discharge sites and sources of terrigenous material. The banded iron formations at the present-day erosion section of basement represent metamorphosed fragments of the lateral-facies zoning of rocks of the Archean sedimentary basins (or a single basin) of the East European Craton. Unlike other Early Precambrian banded iron formations of the East European Craton, rocks of the calciphyre-metabasite-gneiss association are marked by a high Mn content.     

淮北煤田南部新生界底部松散沉积物沉积特征及古地理意义

通过对淮北煤田市部新生界底部松散沉积的沉积特征研究，初步得出结论，位于同一煤田的宿县矿区和临涣矿区的沉积物结构和矿物成份特征差别较大，导致这一差别的主要原因是物源区与岩性的不同，以及古地理条件的差别．在临涣矿区，以石英、长石和少量碳酸盐矿物组合以及以锆石、电气石为主的重矿物组合，反映了来自于矿区北部的中性闪长岩岩体的风化。而以含大量灰岩砾石，和以石英、燧石为辅的碎屑组成则说明了宿县矿区东部、北部奥陶系地层和煤系地层本身遭受了强烈风化。沉积物的复杂结构特征和矿物成份特征反映了基岩地貌南低北高，源区遭受的强烈物理风化作用以及在短距离内快速搬运和多源沉积特征。     

Reconstructing flow paths of the Middle Pleistocene British Ice Sheet in central-eastern England: the application of regional soil geochemical data

High-density regional geochemical data for surface soils in central England and East Anglia reveal that much of their geochemical character is inherited from the tills that they are developed upon. Multivariate statistical analysis highlighted three significant element associations of Al–Fe–Ga–K–La–Mg–Rb, Ca–Sr and K–Fe accounting for almost 93% of the geochemical variability of soils derived from tills. Provenancing the geochemical signatures of the latter elements enabled the construction of ice flow paths associated with two different Middle Pleistocene ‘chalky’ till sheets. A lower till sheet relating to ‘Pennine’ ice flowing from west to east across the region, and an upper till sheet deposited by North Sea ice moving into northern East Anglia, and to the west of the Fen Basin, before fanning-out across central England. Overall, geochemical signatures of different till units are largely derived from local bedrock sources, with dilution and a new geochemical signature acquired as the ice flows over and incorporates new bedrock lithologies. The results show that high resolution soil geochemical data provides a further proxy with which the flow paths of former ice sheets can be delineated.     

Quaternary sediments in the northwestern part of the Barents Sea and their relation to the underlying Mesozoic bedrock

A sedimentological study of Quaternary sediments from the northwestern part of the Barents Sea shows that their composition is controlled by the underlying Mesozoic bedrock and that very little sediment has been supplied from outside sources. The Quaternary sediments consist of Pleistocene glacial clays (moraines) and Holocene gravel, sand and mud, derived by erosion of the clay-rich moraines, which again have been derived from underlying Mesozoic rocks. On the shallow Spitsbergen Bank (30-100 m depth) we find a high energy facies of bioclastic carbonate sand and gravel and lag deposits of Mesozoic rock fragments from the underlying moraine. ¹⁴C-datings of the bioclastic carbonates (Molluscs and Barnacles) suggest that soft bottom conditions with Mya truncata prevailed in early Holocene time, succeeded by a hard bottom high energy environment with Barnacles in the last 2000-3000 years. This may be due to a southward movement of the oceanic polar front into the Spitsbergen Bank due to colder climate in Late Holocene (subatlantic) time, which at present day produces strong bottom currents down to 100 m depth. On the Spitsbergen Bank carbonate sedimentation has succeeded glacial sedimentation as a result of withdrawal of clastic sediment supply in Holocene time and high organic productivity because of upwelling. A similar mechanism may have been operating during earlier glaciations, i.e. in Late Precambrian time to produce an association of glacial and carbonate sediments although the biological precipitation was different at that time. In Late Precambrian time precipitation or carbonate by algaes may have occurred in colder water on the shelves due to higher saturation of carbonate in the sea water.     

Structural geology and sedimentology of the Heiligenhafen till section, Northern Germany

Three Pleistocene tills can be distinguished in a coastal cliff section near Heiligenhafen, northern Germany, on the basis of structural and petrographic characteristics. The Lower and Middle Tills had previously been ascribed to the Saalian, and the Upper Till to the Late Weichselian. The former two tills are folded, and unconformably overlain by the Upper Till. In this paper, structural and sedimentological observations are used to investigate whether the Lower and Middle Tills belong to one glacial advance, or two separate (Saalian) advances, as was suggested in earlier studies based on fine gravel stratigraphy.From the contact with local rocks to the top of the MT there is a steady increase in allochtonous components (Scandinavian rocks) and decrease in parautochtonous (chalk and flint) and autochtonous components (local Eocene siltstone and meltwater sediments). This is paralleled by a trend towards increasing deformation (finite strain) from the bedrock to the top of the section. The most obvious aspect of this latter trend is the massive appearance of the MT which can be interpreted as the result of homogenization by repeated folding and attenuation of sediment lenses which have been incorporated into the till. This interpretation is supported by macroscopic and microscopic observations of structures in both tills.The structural analysis of the tills is based on the marked contrast in symmetry between sections parallel and perpendicular to the shear direction. Structures on all scales in the LT as well as in the MT indicate E–W (dextral) shearing, except in the western part of the section, where this is overprinted by W–E (sinistral) shearing.The sediment inclusions in the chalk-rich LT are mainly fragments of one or more strongly extended glaciofluvial delta bodies with a depositional direction towards WSW. Locally these delta sediments rest on Eocene siltstone and contain numerous angular fragments of this local bedrock. Boudins and lenses of sorted sediments are incorporated into the till and occur as “islands of low strain” in a high strain homogeneous matrix.It is concluded that the LT and MT do not belong to two stratigraphically separate Saalian advances. The section is alternatively interpreted as one subglacial shear zone (deformation till) with upward increasing strain and allochtonous component content. It probably formed during the Younger Saalian (Warthe) westward advance from the Baltic region. Folding of the two diamicts occurred due to lateral compression near the Late Saalian ice margin. The section was finally overridden by the Late Weichselian Young Baltic advance, eroding the folded LT and MT and depositing the UT.     

Till lithology and glacial transport in Kuhmo, eastern Finland

Till lithology and transport distance were studied along five transects running in the direction of ice flow and intersecting the N-S-oriented Kuhmo Greenstone Belt, which is some 5 km in width. A total of 531 stone counts were performed on three fractions (> 20 cm, 6–20 cm and 2–6 cm) in 162 pits dug with a mechanical excavator. An experimental model is developed for predicting the transport distances of clasts in basal tills. It shows the traditional method of expressing transport in terms of half-distance (i.e. the distance at which the proportion of a given rock type in the till has been halved from what it was at the distal contact of a given rock type in the bedrock) to be dependent upon the width of the source unit in the bedrock, varying in the present case from 0 km to 16 km as the width of the source belt increases from 0 km to infinity. The Kuhmo Greenstone Belt being 5 km broad, the mean half-distance for the transport of stones and boulders in the till is 2 km, the boulders having been moved somewhat shorter distances and the pebbles longer distances. It is recommended that transport distances for till material should be expressed in terms of the renewal distance (i.e. the distance over which the proportion of a new rock type increases from 0% to 50%). In the Kuhmo area this distance is 16 km.     

Late Pleistocene glaciation of the Kleiner Arbersee area in the Bavarian Forest,south Germany

During Pleistocene mountain glaciation of the Bavarian Forest, south Germany, the Wurmian Kleiner Arbersee glacier left behind glacial landforms and sediments which are described, classified and interpreted using a combination of geomorphological, sedimentological, pedological, surveying and absolute dating methods. The latest Kleiner Arbersee glacier with a maximum length of 2600 m, a minimum width of 800 m and a thickness of 115 m formed an elongated cirque, four lateral moraines, one divided end moraine, one recessional moraine, a proglacial lake and a basin in which lake Kleiner Arbersee was established after deglaciation. Beyond the glacial limit the landscape is denuded by periglacial slope deposits which are differentiated from the glacigenic sediments based upon clast fabrics, clast shapes and sediment consolidation. Within the glacial limit sandy–gravelly to silty–gravelly tills are widely distributed, whereas glaciolacustrine sediments are restricted to a small area north of the lake. Small variations in the sand and silt fraction of the tills are explained by melt-out processes. Quartz, mica and chlorite derived from gneiss bedrock are dominant in the clay mineral spectrum of tills, but also gibbsite as a product of pre-Pleistocene weathering is present giving evidence of glacially entrained saprolites. An IRSL-date of glaciolacustrine sediments (32.4±9.4 ka BP) confirms the Wurmian age for the glaciation and radiocarbon ages of the basal sediments (12.3±0.4 and 12.5±0.2 ka BP uncalibrated) in the lake Kleiner Arbersee prove that the basin was ice-free before the Younger Dryas.     

Excess europium content in precambrian sedimentary rocks and continental evolution

We propose that the europium excess in Precambrian sedimentary rocks, relative to those of younger age is derived from volcanic rocks of ancient island arcs, which were the source materials for the sediments. Precambrian sedimentary rocks and present-day volcanic rocks of island arcs have similar REE patterns, total REE abundances and excess Eu, relative to the North American shale composite. The present upper crustal REE pattern, as exemplified by that of sediments, is depleted in Eu, relative to chondrites. This depletion is considered to be a consequence of development of a grandioritic upper crust by partial melting in the lower crust, which selectively retains europium.     

Rare earths in Precambrian sediments

Thirty-six samples of well-preserved Precambrian sedimentary rocks have been analyzed for rare-earth elements (REE) as one test of the proposition that the present relative REE abundances at the Earth's surface have developed gradually with time. Except for Eu, the average relative abundances of the REE appear to be the same for the Precambrian sediments as in a composite of Paleozoic shales (taken as representative of younger sedimentary rocks). Abundances of Eu relative to the other REE in all except two of the Precambrian sedimente are significantly higher than in the younger sediments. The extent of enrichment of the Precambrian sediments in Eu over the composite of younger sediments ranges from 0.7 to 3.0. The average abundance of Eu relative to the other REE for all the Precambrian sedimente is the same as that in chondritic meteorites. Several of the oldest Precambrian sedimente have relative abundances of Eu that exceed that of chondrites. Large-scale separations of Eu from the other REE as a result of igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary processes are considered. Present information does not convincingly support any of the proposed mechanisms.     

The Caledonian thrust front and palinspastic restorations in the southern Norwegian Caledonides

The Osen-Røa thrust sheet of the southern Norwegian Caledonides comprises the coarse clastic late Precambrian Sparagmite region, and the folded and imbricated Cambro-Silurian rocks of the Oslo region. Ramp-flat geometries occur in the hangingwall of the Osen-Røa thrust in the Mjøsa district. Two major ramps are recognized. One coincides with the strike of the Ringsaker inversion, while the other coincides with the traditional thrust front in the Gjøvik area. The Osen-Røa thrust cuts up section in the transport direction (south), eventually cutting out all late Precambrian rocks, to lie as a 150 km long flat in the Cambrian Alum shales of the Oslo region. The now eroded detachment termination probably died out horizontally in the Alum shales to end as a buried thrust front in the southern Oslo region. Restoration of hanging- and footwall cutoffs allows the amount of overthrusting to be calculated; the Sparagmite region/Oslo region boundary restores to a minimum of 130 km to the NNW. This displacement estimate agrees with estimates of 135 km NNW transport calculated from balanced cross-section restorations through the Oslo region.     

Zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopic study of gneissic rocks from the Chinese Altai: Progressive accretionary history in the early to middle Palaeozoic

Gneissic rocks in the Chinese Altai Mountains have been interpreted as either Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks or Precambrian basement. This study reports geochemical and geochronological data for banded paragneisses and associated gneissic granitoids collected along a NE–SW traverse in the northwestern Chinese Altai. Petrological and geochemical data suggest that the protoliths of the banded gneisses were possibly immature sediments with significant volcanic input and that the gneissic granitoids were derived from I-type granites formed in a subduction environment. Three types of morphological features can be recognized in zircons from the banded gneisses and are interpreted to correlate with different sources. Zircons from five samples of banded paragneiss cluster predominantly between 466 and 528 Ma, some give Neoproterozoic ages, and a few yield discordant Paleoproterozoic to Archean ages. Zircon Hf isotopic compositions indicate that both juvenile/mantle and crust materials were involved in the generation of the source rocks from which these zircons were derived. In contrast, zircons occur ubiquitously as elongated euhedral prismatic crystals in the four samples of the gneissic granitoids, and define single populations for each sample with mean ages between 380 and 453 Ma. The general absence of Precambrian inheritance and positive zircon ?Hf values for these granitoids suggest insignificant crustal contribution to the generation of the precursor magmas. Our data can be interpreted in terms of a progressive accretionary history in early to middle Palaeozoic times, and the Chinese Altai may possibly represent a magmatic arc built on a continental margin dominated by Neoproterozoic rocks.     

福建闽江和九龙江现代沉积物重矿物特征及其物源意义*

通过对闽江和九龙江沿岸沉积物中重矿物的分析,发现重矿物组合与源区岩石具有极好的相关性。两条河流流域重矿物组合为不透明铁矿类—绿帘石—锆石—电气石—角闪石,特征矿物为绿帘石,含量高达原生透明重矿物比重的70%,其成因除与高级变质岩有关外,还与中酸性岩浆岩及其与围岩接触蚀变发生的绿帘石化有关。从重矿物组合、重矿物特征指数以及与锆石年龄谱系的比对分析发现,闽江流域重矿物源自闽西北武夷山前寒武纪的变质岩、闽东广泛出露的燕山期岩浆岩和接触变质岩,而九龙江流域重矿物源自闽西南的印支—燕山期花岗岩。闽江上游沉积物重矿物以源自高级变质岩的重矿物为特征,中下游由上游来源的重矿物和下游酸性岩浆岩及接触变质岩形成的重矿物共同构成;九龙江以印支—燕山期花岗岩中的副矿物组合为特征。研究结果显示,对于中小流域面积的河流,由于搬运距离有限,重矿物组合保存的源岩信息量大,可作为研究流域内构造演化和源汇对比的重要手段。     

Single-well and large-scale cross-hole tracer experiments in fractured rocks at two sites in Sweden

As part of the Swedish site investigations and research associated with the disposal of spent nuclear fuel, tracer experiments in deep boreholes have been employed in order to characterize solute transport and hydraulic connectivity in the fractured bedrock at two sites??Forsmark and Laxemar-Simpevarp. Performance and analytical results are presented from a suite of tracer experiments in varying scales, from single-hole injection-withdrawal tests, intermediate-scale tests with sorbing tracers, to large-scale connectivity tests over distances up to several hundred meters in major fracture zones or networks of zones. In addition to demonstrating transport connectivity over large distances, a general result is that the single-hole tests, as well as the cross-hole tests with sorbing tracers, have clearly demonstrated the process of solute retention of water-conductive features in the rock at different scales.     

Microsedimentology of ice stream tills from the Eastern Alps,Austria – a new perspective on till microstructures

This study of tills from the Eastern Alps, Austria, illustrates the insights obtained using microsedimentology on subglacial tills in the context of palaeogeographical reconstructions of glacier advances. Investigations of several sites with tills derived from both local glaciers and the ice‐sheet streaming of the Inn Glacier during the Last Glacial Maximum and its termination reveal a detailed picture of subglacial sedimentology that provides evidence of soft sediment subglacial deformation under polythermal conditions. All the tills exhibit microstructures that are proxy evidence of significant changes in till rheology. The tills originate from multiple sources, incorporating older tills and other deposits picked up by the subglacial deformation within a polythermal but dominantly warm temperate subglacial thermal regime. The analyses of till microstructures reveal a direct relationship between basal ice strain conditions and their development. A hypothesis is derived, from the various microstructures observed in these Austrian tills formed under soft sediment deforming basal ice conditions, that suggests that with basal thermal changes and fluctuations in clay content, pore‐water content and pressure, microstructures form in a non‐random manner. It is postulated that in clay‐deficient sediments, edge‐to‐edge events are most likely to occur first; and where clay content increases, grain stacks, rotation structures, deformation bands and, finally, shear zones are likely to evolve in an approximate sequential manner. After repeated transport, emplacement, reworking and, probably, further shearing and deformation events, an emplaced ‘till’, as observed in these Austrian tills, will form that carries most, if not all of these microstructures, in varying percentages. Finally, the impact of the Inn Glacier Ice Stream on these tills is not easily detected and/or differentiated, but indications of high pore water and probable dilatant events leading to reductions in the number of edge‐to‐edge events point to the impact of fast or thick ice upon these subglacial tills.     

Regolith-landform processes and geochemical exploration for base metal deposits in regolith-dominated terrains of the Mt Isa region,northwest Queensland,Australia

The regolith in the Mt Isa region of Queensland consists of a variety of saprolites and duricrusts developed on Proterozoic basement rocks and fresh to weathered Mesozoic, Tertiary and Quaternary cover, all of which has impeded base metals exploration. This paper presents an overview of some of the regolith-geochemical work conducted in the Mt Isa region as part of an industry-supported three year CRC LEME/AMIRA Project. A complex weathering and landscape history has produced a landscape of (a) continuously exposed and exhumed basement rocks that have undergone varying intensities of weathering and partial stripping; (b) weathered and locally eroded Mesozoic cover sequences and (c) areas with younger transported cover concealing basement and Mesozoic cover. Various regolith sample media have been evaluated at a number of prospects and deposits which represent different regolith-landform terrains and landscape history. Geochemical dispersion processes and models are presented and false anomalies explained.Where ferruginous duricrust or ferruginous nodular gravel are preserved on weathered bedrock on an eroded plateau, they exhibit large (> 500 m) multi-element (As, Pb, Sb) dispersion haloes and are useful sampling media. Dispersion haloes in truncated profiles on weathered bedrock covered with colluvium are restricted, are limited to tens of metres from subcrop of the source, and contrast to the extensive anomalies in ferruginous duricrust and nodules. Geochemical exploration in covered areas depends on the possible presence of dispersion through the sediments or leakage along faults or fractures, but may be complicated by high metal backgrounds in the sediments themselves. Some of the most prominent anomalies occur in ferruginous materials and soils representing emergent residual terrain developed on Mesozoic sediments. These are largely due to weathering of sulfide mineralization that continued during submergence in a marine environment, with hydromorphic dispersion into the sediments as they accumulated. Multi-element (Cu, As, Zn, Sb, Au) anomalies occur in basal sediments and at the unconformity, due to a combination of clastic and hydromorphic dispersion and represent a useful sample target. Metal-rich horizons in weathered sediments, higher in the sequence, can also be targeted, particularly by specifically sampling ferruginous units and fragments. However, these are less certainly related to mineralization. Zinc and Cu, concentrated in Fe (and Mn) oxides at redox fronts, may be derived by leaching from the sediments with concentration in the sesquioxides, and be unrelated to any proximal basement mineralization. In all these regolith-dominated terrains, a clear understanding of local geomorphology, regolith framework, topography of unconformities and the origins of ferruginous materials is essential to sample medium selection and data interpretation.     

Ice-marginal debris-flow deposits in western Allgau, southern West Germany

Ice-marginal debris-flow deposits (comparable to deposits elsewhere described as flow tills) are described from glacier-proximal sediments in an Alpine foreland area. Debris-flow deposits are characteristically interstratified with subaeric or subaquatie meltwater deposits, and occur in a wide variety of geomorpho-logical settings. The granulomctric composition of debris-flow deposits is more variable than that of subglacial tills. Within-flow variability may occur as a result of the formation of graded bedding, lateral as well as vertical. Clast fabrics show both random and preferred orientations; unequivocal interpretation of these is not possible. Debris-flow deposits are composed of material derived from various sources: sources from subglaeially-derived debris as well as from previously deposited tills and walerlain sediments can be demonstrated.     

Little Ice Age advance and retreat sediment budgets for an outlet glacier in western Norway

Burki, V., Hansen, L., Fredin, O., Andersen, T. A., Beylich, A. A., Jaboyedoff, M., Larsen, E. & Tønnesen, J.‐ F. 2009: Little Ice Age advance and retreat sediment budgets for an outlet glacier in western Norway. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 551–566. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00133.x. ISSN 0300‐9483 Bødalsbreen is an outlet glacier of the Jostedalsbreen Ice Field in western Norway. Nine moraine ridges formed during and after the maximum extent of the Little Ice Age (LIA). The stratigraphy of proglacial sediments in the Bødalen basin inside the LIA moraines is examined, and corresponding sediment volumes are calculated based on georadar surveys and seismic profiling. The total erosion rates (e_tot) by the glacier are determined for the periods AD 1650–1930 and AD 1930–2005 as 0.8 ± 0.4 mm/yr and 0.7 ± 0.3 mm/yr, respectively. These rates are based on the total amount of sediment delivered to the glacier margin. The values are almost one order of magnitude higher than total erosion rates previously calculated for Norwegian glaciers. This is explained by the large amount of pre‐existing sediment that was recycled by Bødalsbreen. Thus, the total erosion rate must be considered as a composite of eroded bedrock and of removed pre‐existing sediments. The total erosion rate is likely to vary with time owing to a decreasing volume of easily erodible, unconsolidated sediment and till under the glacier. A slight increase in the subglacial bedrock erosion is expected owing to the gradually increasing bedrock surface area exposed to subglacial erosion.     

Early Carboniferous paleogeography of the northern Verkhoyansk passive margin as derived from U–Pb dating of detrital zircons: role of erosion products of the Central Asian and Taimyr–Severnaya Zemlya fold belts

The first U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from the Lower Carboniferous sandstones in the frontal part of the northern Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust belt showed that detrital zircon age spectra for the Lower Visean (Krestyakh Formation) and the Upper Visean–Serpukhovian (Tiksi Formation) rocks are quite different. The Early Visean sandstones contain up to 95% detrital zircons of Precambrian age, while those of Late Visean–Serpukhovian age, only 55%. The shape of age distribution plots of Precambrian zircons for both samples is similar, indicating that reworking of terrigenous sediments of the Krestyakh Formation or the same sources dominated in Early Visean time (crystalline basement of the craton, eroded Meso- and Neoproterozoic sedimentary complexes, and igneous rocks of Central Taimyr) contributed significantly to the accumulation of the Late Visean–Serpukhovian deposits. In the rocks of the Tiksi Formation, 45% of detrital zircons are of Paleozoic age, while 24% are Early Paleozoic, with prevailing Cambrian and Ordovician ages. Possible provenance areas with abundant igneous rocks of this age could be the Taimyr–Severnaya Zemlya and Central Asian fold belts extending along the northern, western or southwestern margins of the Siberia. The presence of Middle–Late Devonian zircons is thought to be related to the erosion of granitoids of the Yenisei Ridge and the Altai–Sayan region. Early Carboniferous detrital zircons probably had a provenance in igneous rocks of the Taimyr–Severnaya Zemlya fold belt, on the assumption that collision between the Kara block and the northern margin of the Siberian continent had already occurred by that time. In Early Visean time, sedimentation occurred in small deltaic fans, likely along steep fault scarps that formed as a result of Middle Paleozoic (Devonian–Carboniferous) rifting. The clastic material came from small rivers that eroded the nearby area. Late Visean–Serpukhovian time was marked by a sharp increase in the amount of clastic material and by the appearance of detrital zircons coming from new provenance regions, such as fold belts extending along the northern and southwestern margins of the Siberian continent. A large river system, which was able to transport clastic material over large distances to deposit it in submarine fans on the northern Verkhoyansk passive continental margin, had already existed by that time.