The use of mineral magnetic analyses in the study of glacial diamicts: A pilot study

Mineral magnetic methods of characterising glacial diamicts and their associated sediments are applied to deposits within the Manx Quaternary sequence. The possible advantages of these techniques over more traditional methods of sediment characterisation are outlined, and the results obtained in a pilot study are examined. Results show that both distinctions and similarities exist within the magnetic mineral assemblages of the four diamict units studied. The possible implications of these results for interpreting the Late Quaternary history of the Isle of Man and the future potential of the techniques are briefly discussed.     

Integrated micro- and macro-scale analyses of Last Glacial Maximum Irish Sea Diamicts from Abermawr and Traeth y Mwnt, Wales, UK

This study is part of a basin-wide re-evaluation of Irish Sea glacigenic deposits which aims to test whether diamicts, collectively known as Irish Sea Tills, represent in situ glacimarine sediments or sediments that have been reworked or deformed by the Last Glacial Maximum Irish Sea Glacier. New results are presented for two key localities at Abermawr and Traeth y Mwnt in Wales. Unlike previous studies in the Irish Sea region that have focused on macro-scale sedimentology and structural analyses, this study combines macro-scale and micro-scale sedimentary analyses. This approach reveals that the dominant diamict facies at Abermawr are subglacially deformed primary (glaci)marine deposits, emplaced by the Irish Sea Glacier. An inland glacial source is unlikely. The Traeth y Mwnt diamicts are likely to be subaqueous in origin, possibly formed in an ice-dammed lake in the Mwnt embayment. There are no indications of subglacial deformation or shearing at Mwnt; deformation structures are related to gravity-driven or density-driven mechanisms.     

A comparison of mineral magnetic, geochemical and mineralogical techniques for compositional studies of glacial diamictons

Data from heavy mineral analysis, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and X-ray diffractrometry (XRD) are compared with those obtained from mineral magnetic analysis for a range of glacial diamicton samples taken from the Quaternary sequence in the Isle of Man. These data show that the mineral magnetic approach offers a useful means of characterizing glacial sediments for purposes of lithostratigraphic correlation and provenance indication and that the magnetic data are of a comparable quality to those obtained from standard applications of the more traditional techniques. The heavy mineral and XRD data indicate that little post-depositional chemical alteration of the detrital composition of the sediments has taken place. The mineral magnetic, heavy mineral and XRF analysis suggests both similar lithostratigraphic relationships between the various diamicton units and consistent indications of their likely provenance. These are consistent with published, field-based, stratigraphic relationships of the same sediments and ice-flow directions in the Irish Sea Basin during the Devensian.     

The use of simultaneous R- and Q-mode factor analysis as a tool for assisting interpretation of mineral magnetic data

The paper demonstrates both the potential and possible limitations of the use of simultaneous R-and Q-mode factor analysis for the detection of multivariate patterns in mineral magnetic data sets. Two examples are presented: correlation of Quaternary age glacial sediments from the Isle of Man within the Irish Sea Basin, and secondly, sediment-source linkages in recent lake sediments from Bar Mere, Cheshire, England. In both examples, the factor analysis offers useful insights into the environmental processes involved. Also, it seems to offer a suitable method by which qualitative interpretations of mineral magnetic data can be underpinned by a more objective approach. Plots of both variable and sample factor loadings provide a simple visual impression of the underlying multivariate trends in the data set. Given the simplicity with which the factor approach used here can be performed, it appears that it could become routine practice for the analysis of suitable mineral magnetic data sets.     

Major and trace element associations in limestones and dolomites

Selective chemical separations of mineralogical constituents of limestones (Carboniferous limestones from the Isle of Man, and Lincolnshire limestone, Middle Jurassic, Lincolnshire) and dolomites (from Carboniferous limestone, Isle of Man) using dilute acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide have been used and the fractions obtained analysed to evaluate mineralogical associations of trace and major elements. Ca, Mg, Mn and Sr are mainly restricted to the carbonate fraction. Fe is found in carbonates, particularly dolomite, and also in sulphides with Zn, Cu, Ni and Pb, and with V and Cr and other traces in “residual” silicate minerals.It is concluded that mineralogical associations of trace elements are complex, and cannot be easily determined by statistical analysis. Selective chemical-separation methods of analysis offer direct indication of element associations with no loss of data. Calculated average concentrations in various fractions of analysed rocks (58 limestones and 19 dolomites) are tabulated.     

Feature

The last decade has seen a complete revision of the sedimentary environment, stratigraphic sequence and structural history of the early Ordovician Manx 'Slate' Group of the Isle of Man .     

Dating the introduction of cereal cultivation to the British Isles: early palaeoecological evidence from the Isle of Man

The adoption of cereal cultivation is a key benchmark in the transition from Mesolithic hunter–gatherer foraging to Neolithic farming economies, but the nature, timing and ecological–cultural context of the earliest cereal use in the British Isles and northwest Europe is still uncertain. We present AMS radiocarbon dating and fine‐resolution pollen evidence from the Isle of Man for cereal growing in the latter stages of a distinct episode of forest disturbance at almost 6000 yr BP (uncalibrated). The coherent ecological structure of this phase at the fine resolution level suggests that it records cereal cultivation well before the Ulmus decline, rather than wild grass pollen grains. This example is one of a cluster of early dates for cereal‐type pollen near the start of the sixth millenium BP, including several around the Irish Sea, which indicate that the introduction of cereal agriculture probably occurred as early in the central British Isles as in the northern European plain. This early cereal phase is followed later by a probable phase of pre‐Ulmus decline pastoral activity. We also report Mesolithic age woodland disturbance around 7000 yr BP (uncalibrated) and the first radiocarbon dates for mid‐Holocene forest history of the Isle of Man. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic properties of river sediments and their relationship with heavy metals and organic matter in the urban area in Lanzhou, China

As the largest industrial city locating in the Northwestern China, Lanzhou has become one of the most seriously polluted cities in the world. In this study, investigations were performed on the magnetic properties, heavy metals and organic matter contents of a total of 23 sediment samples collected from eight selected rivers in the Lanzhou urban area. The results of the study indicate that the magnetic properties of the sediment samples are predominated by low-coercivity magnetite. The river sediments are classified into three types, i.e., downstream polluted, upstream polluted, and less affected, based on the contribution from anthropogenic activities in different segments of the river as indicated by the variation of magnetic mineral concentration parameters. Moreover, a strong linear positive correlation exists among some of the magnetic parameters and organic matter content, heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, Fe) and total enrichment factor (R) of the bulk deposit samples, which indicates that environmental magnetic technology may be an effective method for distinguishing source apportionment and monitoring river sediment pollution in urban areas.     

There's a ratfish in our cellar!

A crushed fossil fish-head, discovered on a Lower Carboniferous flagstone from the Isle of Man, proves to be the only known articulated specimen of the early ratfish Psammodus . This is a major discovery, which promises to cast light on a key episode in the evolution of shark-like fishes.     

Estimation of lower crust magnetization from satellite derived anomaly field

Various lines of evidence point to the lower crust as the source of the long-wavelength magnetic anomaly field measured by the POGO and Magsat satellites. Using seismically determined lower crust thicknesses and equivalent source inversion of the satellite anomaly data, magnetization for the lower crust for much of the United States has been calculated. The average magnetization for two hundred sixty-six 150 × 150 km areas is 3.5 A/m with a standard deviation of 1.1 A/m. These values are consistent with laboratory measurements of mafic-ultramafic rocks expected in the lower crust, and in agreement with previous estimates of lower crust magnetization based on long-wavelength aeromagnetic data. Average lower crust thickness for the same areas is 18.2 km (σ = 6.4 km). Thus, over large regions, it appears that variation in magnetization and variation in magnetic layer thickness contribute almost equally in causing the anomaly field variation at satellite altitude.     

Sedimentology and depositional model for glaciolacustrine deposits in an ice-dammed tributary valley, western Tasmania, Australia

Quaternary sedimentary successions are described from the Linda Valley, a small valley in western Tasmania that was dammed by ice during Early and Middle Pleistocene glaciations. Mapping and logging of exposures suggest that an orderly sequence of deposits formed during ice incursion, occupation and withdrawal from tributary valleys. Four principal sediment assemblages record different stages of ice occupation in the valley. As the glacier advanced, a proglacial, lacustrine sediment assemblage dominated by laminated silts and muds deposited from suspension accumulated in front of the glacier. A subglacial sediment assemblage consisting of deformed lacustrine deposits and lodgement till records the overriding of lake-bottom sediments as the glacier advanced up the valley into the proglacial lake. As the glacier withdrew from the valley, a supraglacial sediment assemblage of diamict, gravel, sand and silt facies formed on melting ice in the upper part of the valley. A lacustrine regression in the supraglacial assemblage is inferred on the basis of a change from deposits mainly resulting from suspension in a subaqueous setting to relatively thin and laterally discontinuous laminated sediments, occurrence of clastic dykes, and increasing complexity of the geometry of deposits that indicate deposition in a subaerial setting. A deltaic sediment assemblage deposited during the final stage of ice withdrawal from the valley consists of steeply dipping diamict and normally graded gravel facies formed on delta foresets by subaqueous sediment gravity flows. The sediment source for the delta, which prograded toward the retreating ice margin, was the supraglacial sediment assemblage previously deposited in the upper part of the valley. A depositional model developed from the study of the Linda Valley may be applicable to other alpine glaciated areas where glaciers flowed through or terminated in medium- to high-relief topography.     

Internal architecture of a till sheet,Tiskilwa Formation,north‐central Illinois,USA: Application of architectural element analysis

Thick till sheets deposited during the Quaternary form significant aquitards in many areas of North America. However, the detailed sedimentary heterogeneity and architecture and depositional history of till units are not well understood. This study utilizes architectural element analysis to delineate the internal sedimentary architecture of the Tiskilwa Formation exposed at two outcrop sections in north‐central Illinois, USA. Architectural element analysis facilitates systematic delineation of sedimentary architecture based on the nature of facies contacts and change in facies associations, delineation of unit geometries and understanding of depositional processes at different scales of resolution; making architectural element analysis suitable for the sedimentological analysis and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of subglacial deposits. Eleven facies types are identified in this study, including sand, gravel and diamict facies that record a suite of subglacial depositional processes. Detailed analysis of facies contacts (bounding surface hierarchy) and change in facies associations allows the delineation of five architectural elements, including coarse‐grained lens, coarse‐grained sheet, mixed zone, diamict lens and diamict sheet elements. The spatial arrangement and genetic interpretation of elements, and their spatial relationship with fifth‐order bounding surfaces, allows the delineation of five larger scale architectural units (‘element associations’), which can be mapped in the local study area and record at least three stacked successions of meltwater accumulation and till deposition. The results of this study can be utilized for architectural analysis of till sheets and provide insight to groundwater flow pathways through till in the study area and elsewhere.     

重磁场的变差函数特征及应用

用变差函数研究重磁场的区域变化特征.变差函数的变程反映重磁场的相干范围, 块金效应反映随机干扰, 基台值反映变异程度.重磁场的理论模拟说明: 重力场的相干范围大于磁场, 重磁场变程主要取决于场源深度, 浅源重磁场变差函数近似为球状模型或指数模型, 深源重磁场近似为连续性更好的高斯模型.磁场场源深度近似等于变程的一半, 重力场场源深度近似等于变程的四分之一.湖北大冶铁矿垂直分量磁异常具有几何各向异性, 北西-南东走向, 变差函数推测磁铁矿平均深度为250m.磁异常小波多尺度分解细节和逼近部分磁场具有协调几何各向异性, 变差函数的各阶场源深度估计结果与功率谱估计结果吻合.      

Mantle-derived heat recorded by conodont colour alteration in the Carboniferous of the Isle of Man

A range of colour alteration index (CAI) values between 3.0 and 6.0 is recorded for conodont elements recovered from the Arundian to Brigantian (Dinantian, Lower Carboniferous) sequence around Castletown, Isle of Man. Mantle-derived heat, channelled through the Caledonian South Barrule pluton, is proposed as the major cause of these elevated values. A lower CAI of 2.5 is obtained from elements recovered from a borehole sunk into the concealed Namurian (Upper Carboniferous) deposits near Shellag Point; the Glen Mona pluton acted as the medium for mantle-derived heat in this instance. The CAI values which may have been established during a late Dinantian volcanic episode around Castletown were overprinted by the greater effects of heat emanating from the South Barrule pluton. The record of CAI 6.0 for a sample taken from the immediate vicinity of a dyke indicates a high level of very localized CAI elevation in the early Tertiary.     

杭州湾北岸芦潮港潮滩沉积物磁性特征的年际变化及其粒度控制

对杭州湾北岸芦潮港潮滩2007-2010年固定点沉积物进行了逐月的磁性测量和粒度分析,探讨了磁性特征的月际、年际变化及其与粒度的关系。结果显示,2007-2009年,芦潮港潮滩沉积物的磁性特征呈现出相似的季节性变化特征,磁性参数χ、χARM、SIRM以及比值χARM/SIRM总体上在12月次年7至月表现为高值,8-11月为低值,S-300变化趋势与之相反。粒度分析显示,每年12月至次年7月沉积物粒度总体较细,8-11月较粗,这说明潮滩较细沉积物中含有较多的亚铁磁性矿物,与已报道的2004-2005年研究结果相似。相比前三年,2010年1-7月及12月沉积物磁性矿物含量相对下降,8-11月份磁性矿物含量相对上升,导致2010年磁性参数月际变化幅度减小。同时,2010年沉积物粒度月际变化特征也发生了改变,即1-7月及12月沉积物粒度变粗,8-11月沉积物变细。相关分析表明,磁性参数与粒度之间的关系在2007-2010年中没有发生明显的变化,说明2010年沉积物粒度月际变化模式的改变是磁性特征月际变化改变的主导因素。尽管如此,长江流域来沙下降对河口潮滩沉积物物源的可能影响,仍需予以长期关注。     

Changes in carbon and oxygen isotope composition during limestone diagenesis

The calcite fossils of the Derbyhaven Beds, Isle of Man, have δ¹³C values (+ 1·8 PDB) similar to modern, shallow-water marine skeletons, but the δ¹⁸O values (?6·1 PDB) are much lighter than modern skeletons. The light oxygen values indicate either re-equilibration with isotopically light water before cementation started, or Carboniferous sea water with δ¹⁸O of ?6‰. Aragonite dissolution was followed by precipitation of zoned calcite cement. In this cement, up to six intracrystalline zones, recognized in stained thin sections, show isotopic variation. Carbon varies from + 3-8 to + 1-2‰. and oxygen from ? 2-6 to ? 12-4‰. with decreasing age of the cement. This trend is attributed to increasing temperature and to isotopic evolution of the pore waters during burial. The zoned calcite is sequentially followed by dolomite and kaolinite cements which continue the trend towards light isotopic values. This trend is continued with younger, fault-controlled dolomite, and is terminated by vein-filling calcite and dolomite. The younger calcite, interpreted as a near-surface precipitate from meteoric waters, is unrelated to the older sequence of carbonates and has distinctly different carbon isotope ratios: δ¹³C ? 6-8‰.     

内蒙古西部银根-额济纳旗盆地航磁 异常特征及地质意义

在对银根-额济纳旗(银-额)盆地出露的岩体的磁性特征和航磁异常特征分析的基础上,结合局部重力异常资料和前人在区域地质方面的研究成果,讨论了航磁异常与岩浆岩之间的联系,定量拟合解释了盆地东部地区的一条重磁剖面,进而探讨了岩浆岩的分布规律。研究结果表明,银根-额济纳旗盆地各类岩体磁性分布不均匀,哨马营东南侧的中性岩、银根附近的中性和酸性岩磁性较强,而其它地区出露的岩体的磁性则为弱磁性或无磁性,并且基性岩总体表现为弱磁性;区域磁异常反映了磁性基底的特征,额济纳旗西侧、苏亥图—乌力吉—苏红图一带区域磁力高异常是古元古界深变质岩系的反映,额济纳旗—绿园—特罗西滩—因格井和银根—查干德勒苏一带区域磁力低异常是前二叠系中浅变质岩系的反映;额济纳旗、哨马营北—特罗西滩、苏亥图西—因格井—乌力吉—查干德勒苏一带局部磁力高异常主要由中酸性岩所引起,哨马营—陶勒特—特罗西滩东一带局部磁力高异常主要由中性岩体所引起,绿园—务桃亥—因格井一带局部磁力高异常主要由沉积盖层中磁性物质所引起;区域性大断裂控制着银-额盆地磁性侵入岩的发育。     

The Wealden (non-marine Lower Cretaceous) of the Wessex Sub-basin,southern England

The Wealden Beds (non-marine Lower Cretaceous) of the Wessex Sub-basin, southern England, are exposed principally in coastal sections on the Isle of Wight and in Dorset. Geological Conservation Review sites within these strata have been extensively documented since the earliest days of geological enquiry in Great Britain. The succession is dominated by the alluvial Wessex Formation which demonstrates a broad east–west transition from meanderplain lithofacies to coarser-grained alluvial sediments, in relative proximity to the Cornubian source massif. The meanderplain sediments on the Isle of Wight are of international importance for their plant and animal fossils, the latter including many dinosaurs and their trackways. Upper Barremian transgression resulted in the spread of muddy lakes and coastal lagoons from the Weald Sub-basin into the eastern part of the Wessex Sub-basin, around or through the Purbeck–Isle of Wight structure. The resulting richly fossiliferous mudrock-dominated strata are now represented by the Vectis Formation on the Isle of Wight and in Swanage Bay, Dorset. The Geological Conservation Review sites in the Wessex Sub-basin are documented and interpreted, with particular reference to research history, chronostratigraphy, structural context, palaeoenvironments, palaeobiology and palaeoclimatology. New directions for research are proposed, as applicable.     

MIS 3 marine and lacustrine sediments at Kriegers Flak,southwestern Baltic Sea

Anjar, J., Larsen, N. K., Björck, S., Adrielsson, L. & Filipsson, H. L. 2010: MIS 3 marine and lacustrine sediments at Kriegers Flak, southwestern Baltic Sea. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00139.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Sediment cores from the Kriegers Flak area in the southwestern Baltic Sea show a distinct lithological succession, starting with a lower diamict that is overlain by a c. 10 m thick clay unit that contains peat, gyttja and other organic remains. On top follows an upper diamict that is inter‐layered with sorted sediments and overlain by an upward‐coarsening sequence with molluscs. In this paper we focus on the clay unit, which has been subdivided into three subunits: (A) lower clay with benthic foraminifera and with diamict beds in the lower part; (B) thin beds of gyttja and peat, which have been radiocarbon‐dated to 31–35 ¹⁴C kyr BP (c. 36–41 cal. kyr BP); and (C) upper clay unit. Based on the preliminary results we suggest the following depositional model: fine‐grained sediments interbedded with diamict in the lower part (subunit A) were deposited in a brackish basin during a retreat of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet, probably during the Middle Weichselian. Around 40 kyr BP the area turned into a wetland with small ponds (subunit B). A transgression, possibly caused by the damming of the Baltic Basin during the Kattegat advance at 29 kyr BP, led to the deposition of massive clay (subunit C). The data presented here provide new information about the paleoenvironmental changes occurring in the Baltic Basin following the Middle Weichselian glaciation.     

内蒙古西部银根-额济纳旗盆地航磁异常特征及地质意义

在对银根-额济纳旗（银-额）盆地出露的岩体的磁性特征和航磁异常特征分析的基础上,结合局部重力异常资料和前人在区域地质方面的研究成果,讨论了航磁异常与岩浆岩之间的联系,定量拟合解释了盆地东部地区的一条重磁剖面,进而探讨了岩浆岩的分布规律。研究结果表明,银根-额济纳旗盆地各类岩体磁性分布不均匀,哨马营东南侧的中性岩、银根附近的中性和酸性岩磁性较强,而其它地区出露的岩体的磁性则为弱磁性或无磁性,并且基性岩总体表现为弱磁性;区域磁异常反映了磁性基底的特征,额济纳旗西侧、苏亥图—乌力吉—苏红图一带区域磁力高异常是古元古界深变质岩系的反映,额济纳旗—绿园—特罗西滩—因格井和银根—查干德勒苏一带区域磁力低异常是前二叠系中浅变质岩系的反映;额济纳旗、哨马营北—特罗西滩、苏亥图西—因格井—乌力吉—查干德勒苏一带局部磁力高异常主要由中酸性岩所引起,哨马营—陶勒特—特罗西滩东一带局部磁力高异常主要由中性岩体所引起,绿园—务桃亥—因格井一带局部磁力高异常主要由沉积盖层中磁性物质所引起;区域性大断裂控制着银-额盆地磁性侵入岩的发育。