Blanket mire formation at the Cross Lochs, Sutherland, northern Scotland

A brief review of the genesis of blanket peats is presented, together with detailed analyses of basal peats from northern Scotland. Particular attention is paid to local factors affecting peat growth and the problems of sampling and interpretation arising from them. Macrofossil and loss-on-ignition analyses of four peat-mineral interfaces solve many of the terminological problems of such profiles and indicate that interpretations based on field stratigraphy alone are uncertain. Pollen analyses of two profiles from contrasting microtopographic situations show well-defined vegetational change associated with early peat development. Fully organic ombrotrophic peat is present from 6805 ± 50 BP at one site, following anthropogenic burning from c . 7500 BP and partial recovery of the open birch woodland. A change from birch woodland to Calluna heath occurs at approximately the same time on a more freely drained site with much later peat development, following further burning from 4890 ± 65 BP. Anthropogenic activity is clearly associated with changes in soil and vegetation preceding peat formation, and the role of climatic factors remains equivocal.     

Palaeoecology and post-Weichselian shore-level changes on the coast of Møre, western Norway

Pollen analysis, macrosubfossil determinations and radiocarbon datings from a 0.95 m thick peat deposit resting on sand and buried by a 1.3 m thick beach ridge at Haramsøy (an outer-arc island off the coast of Møre og Romsdal province), reveal changes in the local vegetation and in the groundwater level of the landward lagoon-like area. These are considered to reflect the relative shore-level changes between late Preboreal and early Atlantic times: an initial section with a high groundwater level reflecting the early Boreal high shore level, an intervening section with a low groundwater level, from the time of the Boreal regression minimum, and a final section, with a rising groundwater level, reflecting the late Boreal eustatic rise in sea level, which led to complete burial of the peat and the formation of an extensive Tapes beach ridge. Radiocarbon dates reveal that the basal sand (approx. 8 m above sea level) rose above sea level at approx. 9500 B. P. and that the top of the peat (approx. 9 m above sea level) was transgressed by the sea at approx. 7300 B. P. The spread of alder ( Alnus ) within the area may have been delayed by a thousand years compared with other regions in south Norway.     

Stratigraphy and lithology of Late Pleistocene sediments at Møvatn, Hardangervidda, South Norway

Stratigraphic, textural, mineralogical, geochemical and palynological investigations indicate the existence of: lacustrine clay from late Eemian (Hovden thermomer); dark indicateclayey basal till of the Early Weichselian age (Hovden kryomer); lacustrine sediments from an Early or Middle Weichselian interstadial (Førnes thermomer); and basal till from Middle/ Late Weichselian (Førnes kryomer). The environment during the thermomers is discussed.     

Weichselian palaeoenvironments at Kobbelgård, Møn, Denmark

Lithostratigraphical and palynological investigations of a coastal cliff section at Kobbelgård, Møn (Denmark) reveal a sedimentary sequence of Weichselian age. Bedded clayey sediments are overlain by stratified silt, sand and occasional beds of clay and gravel. The clay was deposited in water, and most of the silt and sand is aeolian, forming fairly thick units of loess and sand-loess. The lower part of the sequence forms an anticlinal structure, probably of glacio-tectonic orìgìn. The upper part of the sequence appears to represent a depression filling. In the lower part of this, clayey layers alternating with loess deposits suggest wet conditions periodically. In the upper part, loess and fine sand were deposited, interfingering with slope sediments in a periglacial environment from around 24,000 BP almost until the Weichselian glacial maximum. Pollen investigations at the site point to three periods of vegetation. The lowest pollen sequence contains much Ericales, Empetrum and occasionally also Pinus , and is thought to be of Early Glacial or Lower Pleniglacial age. Overlying pollen-bearing strata with high proportions of herbs, including Artemisia , antedate a TL dating of c. 27,000 BP. An upper pollen sequence, derived from slightly organic layers in the depression fill, points to a palaeovegetation almost exclusively of herbs, with Artemisia as an important component. This vegetation is thought to represent a relatively moist site, and is TL dated to c. 24,000 P.     

Barroisite-bearing Ecologite from Naustdal, Song og Fjordane, Norway

Chemical and mineralogical data are presented for the constituentsof an eclogite from Naustdal, Norway. Textural relationshipsindicate that the primary amphibole, a barroisitic variety intermediatein composition between glaucophane and common hornblende, formedin equilibrium with the omphacite, garnet, rutile, and apatite,but petrofabric evidence suggests that it crystallized somewhatlater. The petrogenesis of this rock is discussed in terms oftwo alternative hypotheses, namely of partly magmatic or ofstrictly metamorphic origin, but no definite conclusion canbe reached from the evidence available. The types of amphibole found in eclogites and their nomenclatureare reviewed.     

Palaeoecology of a late Allerød peat bed at Godøy,western Norway

A peat bed found under solifluction deposits on Godøya island, western Norway, accumulated during a few decades around 11 000 yr BP, at the end of the Allerød period of the Late Weichselian. Palaeoecological investigations showed a local vegetation succession on wet sand culminating in a mire community dominated by Carex nigra. Periodic flooding brought in sand and silt, which decreased as drainage was impeded sufficiently for standing water to develop. The surrounding terrestrial vegetation was dominated by Salix scrub, with some open heath and alpine habitats nearby. Apart from two aquatic species, the 29 insect taxa recorded are characteristic of alpine heaths, plant litter (under Salix scrub) and stream-sides. Their remains, together with the terrestrial plant macrofossils, were washed into the mire from nearby. Because the fossils are locally derived, the environmental reconstructions are of the actual conditions at Godøy at ca. 11 000 yr BP. Palaeotemperature estimates from beetles and plants are in agreement. The coleopteran estimates (Mutual Climatic Range Method) suggest mean July temperatures of 10–13°C, slightly cooler than today (13.5°), and January temperatures between +1 and ?10°C, similar to or much colder than today. Summer temperature estimates from individual plant taxa indicate that temperatures during the Allerød period were similar to today's, but estimates from the reconstructed vegetation and timber-line positions give estimates up to 3.5° cooler. Temperatures fell 2.5–7.5°C at the Younger Dryas. This abrupt and severe cooling initiated the solifluction processes on Godøya that buried the peat. The Godøy peat bed and its contained fossils provide a rare glimpse of Allerød biota and environments at the local (site) scale.     

Evolution of Caledonian deformation fabrics under eclogite and amphibolite facies at Vårdalsneset, Western Gneiss Region, Norway

The Vårdalsneset eclogite situated in the Western Gneiss Region, SW Norway, is a well preserved tectonite giving information about the deformation regimes active in the lower crust during crustal thickening and subsequent exhumation. The eclogite constitutes layers and lenses variably retrograded to amphibolite and is composed of garnet and omphacite with varying amounts of barroisite, actinolite, clinozoisite, kyanite, quartz, paragonite, phengite and rutile. The rocks record a five‐stage evolution connected to Caledonian burial and subsequent exhumation. (1) A prograde evolution through amphibolite facies (T =490±63 °C) is inferred from garnet cores with amphibole inclusions and bell‐shaped Mn profile. (2) Formation of L>S‐tectonite eclogite (T =680±20 °C, P=16±2 kbar) related to the subduction of continental crust during the Caledonian orogeny. Lack of asymmetrical fabrics and orientation of eclogite facies extensional veins indicate that the deformation regime during formation of the L>S fabric was coaxial. (3) Formation of sub‐horizontal eclogite facies foliation in which the finite stretching direction had changed by approximately 90°. Disruption of eclogite lenses and layers between symmetric shear zones characterizes the dominantly coaxial deformation regime of stage 3. Locally occurring mylonitic eclogites (T =690±20 °C, P=15±1.5 kbar) with top‐W kinematics may indicate, however, that non‐coaxial deformation was also active at eclogite facies conditions. (4) Development of a widespread regional amphibolite facies foliation (T =564±44 °C, P<10.3–8.1 kbar), quartz veins and development of conjugate shear zones indicate that coaxial vertical shortening and sub‐horizontal stretching were active during exhumation from eclogite to amphibolite facies conditions. (5) Amphibolite facies mylonites mainly formed under non‐coaxial top‐W movement are related to large‐scale movement on the extensional detachments active during the late‐orogenic extension of the Caledonides. The structural and metamorphic evolution of the Vårdalsneset eclogite and related areas support the exhumation model, including an extensional detachment in the upper crust and overall coaxial deformation in the lower crust.     

Isotopic constraints on fluid infiltration from an eclogite facies shear zone, Holsenøy, Norway

Granulite facies anorthosites on Holsenøy Island in the Bergen Arcs region of western Norway are transected by shear zones 0.1–100 m wide characterized by eclogite facies assemblages. Eclogite formation is related to influx of fluid along the shears at temperatures of c. 700d?C and pressures in excess of 1.7 GPa. Combined carbon and nitrogen stable isotope, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar, trace-element and petrological data have been used to determine the nature and distribution of fluids across the anorthosite-eclogite transition. A metre-wide drilled section traverses the eclogitic centre of the shear into undeformed granulite facies garnet-clinopyroxene anorthosite. Clinozoisite occurs along grain boundaries and microcracks in undeformed anorthosite up to 1 m from the centre of the shear and clinozoisite increases in abundance as the edge of the shear zone is approached. The eclogite-granulite transition, marked by the appearance of sodic pyroxene and loss of albite, occurs within the most highly sheared section of the traverse. The jadeite-in reaction coincides with increased paragonite activity in mica. The separation between paragonite and clinozoisite reaction fronts can be semiquantitatively modelled assuming advective fluid flow perpendicular to the shear zone. The inner section of the traverse (0.25 m wide) is marked by retrogressive replacement of omphacite by plagioclase + paragonite accompanied by veins of quartz-phengite-plagioclase. C-N-Ar characteristics of fluid inclusions in garnet show that fluids associated with precursor granulite, eclogite and retrogressed eclogite are isotopically distinct. The granulite-eclogite transition coincides with a marked change in CO₂ abundance and δ¹³C (<36ppm, δ¹³C=-2% in the granulite; <180 ppm, δ¹³C=-10% in the eclogite). The distribution of Ar indicates mixing between influxed fluid (⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar > 25 times 10³) and pre-existing Ar in the granulite (⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar < 8 times 10³). δ¹⁵N values decrease from +6% in the anorthosite to +3% within the eclogite shear. The central zone of retrogressed eclogite post-dates shearing and is characterised by substantial enrichment of Si, K, Ba and Rb. Fluids are CO₂-rich (δ¹³C ～ -5%) with variable N₂ and Ar abundances and isotopic compositions. Both Ar and H₂O have penetrated the underformed granulite fabric more than 0.5m beyond the granulite/eclogite transition during eclogite formation. Argon isotopes show a mixing profile consistent with diffusion through an interconnecting H₂O-rich fluid network. In contrast, a carbon-isotope front coincides with the deformation boundary layer, indicating that the underformed anorthosite was impervious to CO₂-rich fluids. This is consistent with the high dihedral angle of carbonic fluids, and may be interpreted in terms of evolving fluid compositions within the shear zone.     

Limited basement involvement in Caledonian deformation, Hinnøy, Nnorth Norway, and tectonic implications

Structural and petrographic relationships on east Hinnøy, north Norway, indicate that the Caledonian nappes which are exposed directly to the east were emplaced over an older Precambrian crystalline terrane (Lofoten terrane) while at amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions. Caledonian structural and metamorphic effects disappear structurally downward away from the basal thrust of the nappe stack. The limited involvement of the basement in Caledonian deformation is explained by the limited availability of water which was introduced from external sources. The external water source is hypothetically the autochthonous and allochthonous cover, and the Precambrian Austerfjord Group metasedimentary rocks within the basement, which underwent prograde metamorphic dehydration during Caledonian orogenesis. The mechanisms by which addition of water concentrated strain in the basement probably include reaction-induced ductility-and hydrolytic weakening of the constituent silicate minerals. There are two main tectonic implications: (1) in collisional metamorphic belts, the lithosphere of the underthrusted plate may remain rigid below 15–25 km depth; and (2) the common phenomenon of detachment of crystalline thrust sheets at mid-crustal levels may be controlled in some cases by the limited access of water to pre-existing crystalline rocks, rather than by thermal structure.     

Oxygen and carbon isotopic constraints on the development of eclogites, Holsnøy, Norway

Eclogite formation on the island of Holsnøy required the addition of water to anhydrous granulite-facies protoliths. In order to assess this process, oxygen and carbon isotope ratios of whole rock powders and mineral separates from eclogites and granulites have been measured. Whole rock oxygen isotope ratios range from 7.3 to 6.0%. SMOW in granulites (average = 6.38%.) and 7.2 to 6.1%. in eclogites (average = 6.55%.). Field relations permit identification of the granulite protolith of eclogites. Oxygen isotope measurements show shifts of up to 0.5%. between some eclogites compared to their corresponding granulite protoliths, indicating open system and locally heterogeneous fluid behavior. Mineral pair fractionations in the eclogites show disequilibrium, are incompatible with slow cooling and diffusive exchange between phases, and suggest that open system fluid movement continued after eclogite-facies metamorphism. Carbonate is also present in some of the eclogites as a primary mineral (dolomite) and as part of a retrograde assemblage (calcite). Textural evidence suggests that carbonate formation occurred during and after eclogite formation, however all measured carbonate is out of isotopic equilibrium with eclogite facies minerals, due to the influx of retrograde fluids. Massive calcite marble pods, containing amphibolite facies cale-silicate minerals, have average δ¹⁸O of 9.5 ± 0.6%., while calcite in retrograded eclogites has δ¹⁸O 17.7 ± 2.7%., The δ¹³C (≈ −4 ± 0.8%.) is indistinguishable between these two groups.

Both whole rock and carbonate stable isotope data are interpreted as indicating a continued history of fluid infiltration during and after peak eclogite facies metamorphism. The most probable source of fluids are from dewatered sediments tectonically juxtaposed during the Caledonian orogeny.     

Discrete ultrahigh-pressure domains in the Western Gneiss Region, Norway: implications for formation and exhumation

New eclogite localities and new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages within the Western Gneiss Region of Norway define three discrete ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) domains that are separated by distinctly lower pressure, eclogite facies rocks. The sizes of the UHP domains range from c. 2500 to 100 km²; if the UHP culminations are part of a continuous sheet at depth, the Western Gneiss Region UHP terrane has minimum dimensions of c. 165 × 50 × 5 km. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar mica and K‐feldspar ages show that this outcrop pattern is the result of gentle regional‐scale folding younger than 380 Ma, and possibly 335 Ma. The UHP and intervening high‐pressure (HP) domains are composed of eclogite‐bearing orthogneiss basement overlain by eclogite‐bearing allochthons. The allochthons are dominated by garnet amphibolite and pelitic schist with minor quartzite, carbonate, calc‐silicate, peridotite, and eclogite. Sm/Nd core and rim ages of 992 and 894 Ma from a 15‐cm garnet indicate local preservation of Precambrian metamorphism within the allochthons. Metapelites within the allochthons indicate near‐isothermal decompression following (U)HP metamorphism: they record upper amphibolite facies recrystallization at 12–17 kbar and c. 750 °C during exhumation from mantle depths, followed by a low‐pressure sillimanite + cordierite overprint at c. 5 kbar and c. 750 °C. New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar hornblende ages of 402 Ma document that this decompression from eclogite‐facies conditions at 410–405 Ma to mid‐crustal depths occurred in a few million years. The short timescale and consistently high temperatures imply adiabatic exhumation of a UHP body with minimum dimensions of 20–30 km. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar muscovite ages of 397–380 Ma show that this extreme heat advection was followed by rapid cooling (c. 30 °C Myr^?1), perhaps because of continued tectonic unroofing.     

Molluscan and foraminiferal biostratigraphy of an Eemian-Early Weichselian section on Karmøy, southwestern Norway

Sejrup, Hans Petter 1987 03 01: Molluscan and foraminiferal biostratigraphy of an Eemian-Early Weichselian section on Karmøy, southwestern Norway. Boreas , Vol. 16, pp. 27–42. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
At Karmøy, southwestern Norway, a section with marine sediments from the last interglacial (the Avaldsnes Interglacial) and from two ice-free periods (the Torvastad and Bø Interstadial) in the Weichselian have been examined for molluscs and foraminifera. The following conclusions concerning the depositional environments of these sediments can be drawn: (1) The Avaldsnes Interglacial was a high-energy environment with a sea level 20 to 50 m higher than at present, regressing towards the end of the interglacial. Sea temperatures were as in the area today or slightly warmer. (2) During the Torvastad Interstadial (71–85 ka) the sea level was between 0 and c . 20 m higher than at present, and sea temperatures were as between Svalbard and northern Norway today. (3) The Bø Interstadial (40–64 ka) shows a complete interstadial cycle, with changing sea level and temperatures. Its optimum was close to the conditions prevailing in North Norway today or slightly colder. By comparison with other sites, a total of at least four interstadial episodes through the Weichselian in southwestern Norway is proposed. These date to c . 30 ka, 40–64 ka, 71–85 ka and 87–101 ka. The episodes and the glacial advances between them do not directly correlate with published interpretations of changes in surface circulation in the Norwegian Sea through the Weichselian. It is suggested that the nourishment of the southern part of the Scandinavian ice sheet might be more related to sea surface conditions in the North Atlantic than to those of the Norwegian Sea.     

Contemporary terminal-moraine ridge formation at a temperate glacier: Styggedalsbreen, Jotunheimen, southern Norway

Terminal-moraine ridges up to 6 m high have been forming at the snout of Styggedalsbreen for two decades. Based on intermittent observations during this period, combined with a detailed study of ridge morphology, sedimentary structures and composition during the 1993 field season, a model of terminal-moraine formation that involves the interaction of glacial and glacio-fluvial processes at a seasonally oscillating ice margin is presented. In winter, subglacial debris is frozen-on to the glacier sole; in summer, ice-marginal and supraglacial streams deposit sediments on the wasting ice tongue. The ice tongue overrides an embryonic moraine ridge during a late-winter advance and a double layer of sediment (diamicton overlain by sorted sands and gravels) is added to the moraine ridge during the subsequent ablation season. Particular ridges grow incrementally over many years and exert positive feedback by enhancing snout up-arching during the winter advance and constraining the course of summer meltwater streams close to the ice margin. The double-layer annual-meltout model is related to moraine formation by the stacking of subglacial frozen-on sediment slabs (Krüger 1993). Moraine ridges of this type have a complex origin. are not push moraines, and may be characteristic of dynamic high-latitude and high-altitude temperate glaciers.     

Trace-element distribution and ore formation in vein-metasomatised peridotite at Kalskaret,near Tafjord,South Norway

The concentration profiles of the trace elements, S, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, and Y have been determined across a metasomatic vein in peridotite. The introduced elements Ti, V, Sr, and Y show specific enrichment in particular silicate phases in accordance with the availability of suitable lattice sites. In contrast, the other introduced trace elements (Cu and S) behave more like the redistributed elements, Cr, Ni, Mn, and Co which do not show concentration ‘fronts’ that can be simply related to the silicate minerals. Concentration of pentlandite, chalcopyrite, and Cr-magnetite near the boundary between the enstatite and anthophyllite zones gives rise to maxima in the Ni, Cu, S, and Cr distributions, while in the chlorite zone significant concentrations of Cr and Ni occur in the chlorite itself. Control of the distribution of Ni, Cu, and Cr is ascribed to the oxidation/reduction reactions involved in the formation of pentlandite, chalcopyrite and Cr-magnetite, together with the critical role of Al in limiting chlorite formation during metasomatism.     

Five clinopyroxenes in the Hareidland eclogite,Western Norway

Five clinopyroxenes can be distinguished on petrographic and chemical grounds in the Hareidland eclogite. Of these, three are omphacites. It is suggested that all three were originally of the same composition and that their present chemical differences are due to differences in their immediate chemical environments during retrograde metamorphism of the eclogite. The other two clinopyroxenes are symplectitic, and chemically vary from sodic augite to jadeite-poor omphacite. They were formed by exsolution of a sodic component (sodic plagioclase) from a parental omphacite.Publication no. 49 in the Norwegian Geotraverse Project.     

The Bidjovagge copper-gold deposits of Western Finnmark,Norway

The Bidjovagge copper-gold deposits occur in the Svecokarelian Caskias Group. The rocks in the mineralized district consist of greenstones, carbonate rocks, albite felsite and graphite felsite. Four ore bodies are found in albite felsite and graphite felsite over a strike length of 2.5 km. The ore bodies represent remobilizations from syngenetic, stratabound mineralization. Ore minerals of economic significance are chalcopyrite and native gold. An assemblage of gold and tellurides in the country rock occurs as a late stage mobilization product.

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Zusammenfassung Das Bidjovagge Kupfer-Gold-Vorkommen liegt in der Svecokarelischen Caskias-Gruppe. Die Gesteine innerhalb des mineralisierten Distriktes bestehen aus Grünsteinen, Karbonatgesteinen, Albitfelsiten und Graphitfelsiten. Vier Erzkörper wurden innerhalb der Albitfelsite und Graphitfeisite über eine streichende Länge von 2,5 km gefunden. Die Erzkörper repräsentieren Remobilisate von syngenetischen, schichtgebundenen Mineralisierungen. Erzmineralien von wirtschaftlicher Bedeutung sind Kupferkies und Gold. Verwachsungen von Gold mit Telluriden findet man in den Nebengesteinen als Mobilisationsprodukte einer späteren Phase.

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Résumé Les gisements de cuivre et d'or de Bidjovagge se trouvent dans le groupe svécokarélidien de Caskias. Les roches de ce district minier consistent en roches vertes, roches carbonatées et felsites albitiques et graphitiques. Quatre gisements de minerai ont été trouvés dans les felsites albitiques et graphitiques sur une distance de 2,5 kilomètres. Ces gisements représentent des remobilisations d'une minéralisation syngénétique sédimentaire. La chalcopyrite et l'or sont les seuls minéraux d'importance économique. Des émissions d'or et de tellurures dans les épontes paraissent être le produit d'une phase de mobilisation tardive.

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Bidjovagge Caskias. , , - -. 4 - - 2,5 . . . , .

     

Raman confirmation of microdiamond in the Svartberget Fe‐Ti type garnet peridotite,Western Gneiss Region,Western Norway

Ultra‐high pressure metamorphic rocks have been found worldwide. The volume and areal extent of an exhumed UHPM domain are important for understanding the geodynamic mechanisms responsible for the high pressure and relatively medium temperature conditions needed for their creation. We report here Raman microspectroscopical data that prove the existence of microdiamonds at the Svartberget Fe‐Ti type peridotite locality in the Western Gneiss Region of Norway. Raman microscopy of two carbon microinclusions belonging to polyphase inclusion assemblages included in garnets from a garnet‐phlogopite websterite vein yielded a sharp, narrow, intense peak at 1332 cm^?1, characteristic of diamond. The diamond is associated with polyphase solid inclusions possibly originating from supercritical, dense, H‐C‐N‐O‐F‐P‐S‐Cl fluids. Lithological, textural and geochronological evidence points towards a Caledonian origin of the trapped fluid and subsequent diamond formation.