Unconformity of red sandstones in north Vietnam: field evidence for Indosinian orogeny in northern Indochina?

We re-examine several unconformity sites in northwestern Vietnam where the Indosinian orogenesis has been defined. Field observations in the Black-River (Song Da) region, near Son La, demonstrate that red sandtones and conglomerates, reportedly of Cretaceous age, occur unconformably above schistosed epimetamorphic middle-Triassic sediments. A mesozoic unconformity thus really exists in this region, though the age of deformation is poorly contrained (upper Triassic to upper Cretaceous). In most places, however, the unconformity is strongly deformed, folded Triassic limestones are often thrusted onto the Cretaceous rocks. This implies that Tertiary deformations probably due to the India–Asia collision have been strong in the northern part of the Indochina block.     

Yehlangian,Upper Permian or Lower Triassic?

The Yehlangian of Ting and Graban includes the Paoan shale,the Yülungshanlimestone,the Feihsienkuan shale and the Sanchiao limestone.In their opinion theseformations would represent the Upper Permian of south-western China.The presentpaper tries to show that both by their stratigraphical relation and their faunal contentsthe Yülungshan limestone and the Feihsienkuan shale belong undoubtedly to the LowerTriassic and that the Sanchiao limestone is much younger,probably of Upper Triassicage.The Paoan shale...     

Identifying key environmental and building features affecting the outcome of a seismic event: a case study of the “921” earthquake

Natural Hazards - Major earthquakes in a given location are unpredictable, infrequent, and often fatal. Using data from a previous earthquake disaster, this study explores the relationship between...     

Was the enclosed Qaidam Basin of The Tibetan Plateau Accumulative or Erosive during the Late Quaternary?

正A geological feature in the Qaidam Basin known as the"Shell Bar"contains millions of freshwater articulated clam shells buried in-situ.Since the 1980s this feature in the now hyper-arid basin has been interpreted to be lake deposits that provide evidence for a warmer and more humid climate than present during late Marine Isotope Stage 3(MIS 3)(Bowler et al.,1986).However,the global climate during     

Local earthquake tomography of the Andes at 20°S: Implications for the structure and building of the mountain range

Arrival-times of local events recorded in northern Chile and southern Bolivia were used to determine the P velocity structure above the subducted Nazca plate. The data were recorded between June and November 1994 by the French “Lithoscope” network: 41 vertical and 14 three-component short-period seismic stations were installed along a 700 km long profile crossing the main structures of the Andean chain, from the Coastal Cordillera to the Subandean Zone. The inversion method used is a modified version of Thurber’s 3D iterative simultaneous inversion code. The results were compared with a model obtained from previous German nearby refraction seismic studies and supplemented by field geological observations.The relocated seismicity is consistent with an ∼30° dipping slab between 0 and 170 km depth. We found a variation of about 30 km of the Moho depth along the profile. The crustal thickness is about 47 km under the Coastal Cordillera, 70 km under the Western Cordillera and the western part of the Eastern Cordillera, and 60–65 km beneath the Altiplano. Close to the surface, a good agreement between the velocity model and the geological structures is observed. Generally, in the upper crust, high velocities coincide with zones where basement is present near the surface. Low velocities are well correlated with the presence of very thick sedimentary basins or volcanic material. At greater depth, the trend of the velocity model is consistent with the existence of asymmetrical west-dipping imbricated blocks, overthrusting toward the east, which explain the asymmetrical pattern of the sedimentary basins. Beneath the Western Cordillera, the active volcanic arc, a large zone of low velocity is observed and interpreted to be due to partially molten material. A clear velocity contrast appears between the western and eastern parts of the upper mantle beneath the Andes; this geometry suggests the existence of a low velocity wedge in the mantle above the slab and the presence of a thick old lithosphere in the eastern part of the Andes.     

How many subductions in the Variscan orogeny? Insights from numerical models

We developed a 2D numerical model to simulate the evolution of two superposed ocean-continent-ocean subduction cycles with opposite vergence, both followed by continental collision, aiming to better understand the evolution of the Variscan belt. Three models with different velocities of the first oceanic subduction have been implemented. Striking differences in the thermo-mechanical evolution between the first subduction, which activates in an unperturbed system, and the second subduction, characterised by an opposite vergence, have been enlighten, in particular regarding the temperature in the mantle wedge and in the interior of the slab. Pressure and temperature (P-T) conditions predicted by one cycle and two cycles models have been compared with natural P-T estimates of the Variscan metamorphism from the Alps and from the French Massif Central (FMC). The comparative analysis supports that a slow and hot subduction well reproduces the P-T conditions compatible with data from the FMC, while P-T conditions compatible with data of Variscan metamorphism from the Alps can be reproduced by either a cold or hot oceanic subduction models. Analysing the agreement of both double and single subduction models with natural P-T estimates, we observed that polycyclic models better describe the evolution of the Variscan orogeny.     

Was the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary placed at the wrong stratigraphic level?

In 1985 the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary was designated at the base of the claystone, overlying bed e in the Vrica Section, Italy. This followed a recommendation that the boundary should be at the first physical horizon below the first appearance of Cytheropteron testudo. There is evidence that this supposed ‘cold guest’ has been mis-identified, and it raises the serious question as to whether the boundary could have been better placed.     

Was the Black Sea catastrophically flooded in the early Holocene?

A catastrophic flooding of the Black Sea basin was proposed to have occurred during its reconnection to the ocean in the early Holocene. Possible cultural consequences of the flood include the migration of Neolithic farmers from around the Black Sea towards central Europe as well as the creation of flood myths. Stratigraphic and paleo-geomorphologic information from Danube delta aided by radiocarbon ages on articulated mollusks constrain the level in the Black Sea before the marine reconnection to ca 30 m below the present sea level rather than 80 m or lower. If the flood occurred at all, the sea level increase and the flooded area during the reconnection were significantly smaller than previously proposed.     

Sedimentary-volcanic tufts formed during the early Middle Triassic volcanic event in Guizhou Province and their stratigraphic significance

The sedimentary-volcanic tuff （locally called ＂green-bean rock＂） formed during the early Middle Triassic volcanic event in Guizhou Province is characterized as being thin, stable, widespread, short in forming time and predominantly green in color. The green-bean rock is a perfect indicator for stratigraphic division. Its petrographic and geochemical features are unique, and it is composed mainly of glassy fragments and subordinately of crystal fragments and volcanic ash balls. Analysis of the major and trace elements and rare-earth elements （ REE）, as well as the related diagrams, permits us to believe that the green-bean rock is acidic volcanic material of the calc-alkaline series formed in the Indosinian orogenic belt on the Sino-Vietnam border, which was atmospherically transported to the tectonically stable areas and then deposited as sedimentary-volcanic rocks there. According to the age of green-bean rock, it is deduced that the boundary age of the Middle-Lower Triassic overlain by the sedimentary-volcanic tuff is about 247 Ma.     

Weathering of Fruchtschiefer building stones: mineral dissolution or rock disaggregation?

Building stones manufactured from contact metamorphic slates (Fruchtschiefer slate) from Theuma (Sachsen, Germany) were investigated for mineralogical alterations as well as for changes in porosity and surface roughness due to weathering. After weathering periods of several years to decades, the originally dark gray-colored slates show pale spots of several centimeters in size at the surface of building stones. The dark-colored and light-colored sections of the slate show no differences in mineralogy. Surface weathering did not result in newly precipitated minerals. It was also found that the observed differences in color are not caused by variations in sedimentary organic carbon concentration or in sulfide/sulfate concentrations. Obtained results instead indicate that dark surface sections may show a thin cover of recent organic matter (OM), e.g., living OM, soot, dirt, etc. Microscopic investigations suggested that this cover was exfoliated at light-colored surface sections. The observed disaggregation of the upper 2 mm of the building block material results in an increase in porosity. Porosity of black (unweathered) slate is <2 vol.%. Due to weathering, the slate’s pores with diameters >1 μm show a significant increase in frequency compared to the original pore size distribution. Porosity of weathered rock volumes increased to approx. 8 vol.%. Discolored surface sections show a higher surface roughness (root-mean-square roughness, Rq ~ 1 μm) compared to dark-colored slate surfaces (Rq ~ 200 nm), both data are for cleavage planes. Preferentially, the discolored surface sections are located close to the edges of cut stones. This and the alteration in porosity, pore size, and surface roughness indicate that color changes of the slate are largely influenced by rock disaggregation proceeding from the edges into the center rather than by mineral dissolution/precipitation processes.     

Variogram or Semivariogram? Variance or Semivariance? Allan Variance or Introducing a New Term?

There is a confusing situation in geostatistical literature: Some authors write variogram, and some authors write semivariogram. Based on a formula for the empirical variance that relates to pairwise differences, it is shown that the values depicted in a variogram are entire variances of observations at a given spatial separation (lag). Therefore, they should not be called semivariances, and the term semivariogram should also be avoided. To name a variogram value, we suggest the use of the term gammavariance instead of the misleading semivariance.     

Settling and resuspended particles: A source or a sink of phosphate in two contrasting oligotrophic high mountain lakes?

This study focuses on two Mediterranean oligotrophic high mountain lakes located in the Sierra Nevada National Park (southern Spain): Río Seco (RS) and La Caldera (LC). A combination of field measurements and laboratory experiments is used: (i) to quantify in situ settling fluxes; (ii) to study the soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) release or uptake by settling and resuspended particles; and (iii) to discriminate between the biotic and abiotic contribution for such patterns. In general, all suspensions (lake water untreated and lake water enriched with settling and with resuspended matter) in both study lakes release significantly more SRP to the solution when biological activity was suppressed. Biological uptake from settling and resuspended matter is likely to be limited by the bacterial consumption of P. Despite of these similarities, this study has revealed notable differences in the effect of sediment resuspension on SRP dynamics in both study lakes, when simulating natural conditions (biotic and abiotic processes). While in LC, the enrichment of lake water with settling and with resuspended matter did not cause an increase in SRP concentrations in lake water, SRP concentrations in RS at the end of the experiment were significantly higher (probability P < 0.05) in lake water enriched with resuspended matter (3.2 μg/l) than in natural lake water (lower than the detection limit). Accordingly, it is reasonable to expect that sediment resuspension, which occurs more frequently in RS compared with LC, affects drastically the SRP availability in the water column in RS.     

Anatomy of a Cambrian suture in Gondwana: Pacific-type orogeny in southern India?

Southern India occupies a central position in the Late Neoproterozoic–Cambrian Gondwana supercontinent assembly. The Proterozoic mosaic of southern India comprises a collage of crustal blocks dissected by Late Neoproterozoic–Cambrian crust-scale shear/suture zones. Among these, the Palghat–Cauvery Suture Zone (PCSZ) has been identified as the trace of the Cambrian suture representing Mozambique Ocean closure during the final phase of amalgamation of the Gondwana supercontinent. Here we propose a model involving Pacific-type orogeny to explain the Neoproterozoic evolution of southern India and its final amalgamation within the Gondwana assembly. Our model envisages an early rifting stage which gave birth to the Mozambique Ocean, followed by the initiation of southward subduction of the oceanic plate beneath a thick tectosphere-bearing Archean Dharwar Craton. Slices of the ocean floor carrying dunite–pyroxenite–gabbro sequence intruded by mafic dykes representing a probable ophiolite suite and invaded by plagiogranite are exposed at Manamedu along the southern part the PCSZ. Evidence for the southward subduction and subsequent northward extrusion are preserved in the PCSZ where the orogenic core carries high-pressure and ultrahigh-temperature metamorphic assemblages with ages corresponding to the Cambrian collisional orogeny. Typical eclogites facies rocks with garnet + omphacite + quartz and diagnostic ultrahigh-temperature assemblages with sapphirine + quartz, spinel + quartz and high alumina orthopyroxene + sillimanite + quartz indicate extreme metamorphism during the subduction–collision process. Eclogites and UHT granulites in the orogenic core define P–T maxima of 1000 °C and up to 20 kbar. The close association of eclogites with ultramafic rocks having abyssal signatures together with linear belts of iron formation and metachert in several localities within the PCSZ probably represents subduction–accretion setting. Fragments of the mantle wedge were brought up through extrusion tectonics within the orogenic core, which now occur as suprasubduction zone/arc assemblages including chromitites, highly depleted dunites, and pyroxene bearing ultramafic assemblages around Salem. Extensive CO₂ metasomatism of the ultramafic units generated magnesite deposits such as those around Salem. High temperature ocean floor hydrothermal alteration is also indicated by the occurrence of diopsidite dykes with calcite veining. Thermal metamorphism from the top resulted in the dehydration of the passive margin sediments trapped beneath the orogenic core, releasing copious hydrous fluids which moved upward and caused widespread hydration, as commonly preserved in the Barrovian amphibolite facies units in the PCSZ. The crustal flower structure mapped from PCSZ supports the extrusion model, and the large scale north verging thrusts towards the north of the orogenic core may represent a fold-thrust belt. Towards the south of the PCSZ is the Madurai Block where evidence for extensive magmatism occurs, represented by a number of granitic plutons and igneous charnockite massifs of possible tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) setting, with ages ranging from ca. 750–560 Ma suggesting a long-lived Neoproterozoic magmatic arc within a > 200 km wide belt. All these magmatic units were subsequently metamorphosed, when the Pacific-type orogeny switched over to collision-type in the Cambrian during the final phase of assembly of the Gondwana supercontinent. One of the most notable aspects is the occurrence of arc magmatic rocks together with high P/T rocks, representing the deeply eroded zone of subduction. The juxtaposition of these contrasting rock units may suggest the root of an evolved Andean-type margin, as in many arc environments the roots of the arc comprise ultramafic/mafic cumulates and the felsic rocks represent the core of the arc. The final phase of the orogeny witnessed the closure of an extensive ocean — the Mozambique Ocean — and the collisional assembly of continental fragments within the Gondwana supercontinent amalgam. The tectonic history of southern India represents a progressive sequence from Pacific-type to collision-type orogeny which finally gave rise to a Himalayan-type Cambrian orogen with characteristic magmatic, metasomatic and metamorphic factories operating in subduction–collision setting.     

Was kestel really the source of TIN for ancient bronze?

A site in south-central Turkey has been proposed as the source for early bronze-age tin. Examination of the site shows that this proposal is confounded by the presence of extensive mining and smelting activities for lead. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Zircon U–Pb ages and Hf isotope compositions of the Mayuan migmatite complex,NW Fujian Province,Southeast China: Constraints on the timing and nature of a regional tectonothermal event associated with the Caledonian orogeny

U–Pb ages, trace elements, and Hf isotope compositions of zircons from the Mayuan migmatite complex in NW Fujian province have been determined to provide constraints on the source and genesis of anatexis and tectonothermal evolution related to the Caledonian orogeny in South China. The migmatites investigated consist of various amounts of mesosome, leucosome, and melansome. Zircons extracted from mesosome, leucosome, and granite samples are characterized by oscillatory overgrowths enclosing inherited cores or occur as newly grown grains. The ages of the inherited zircons from the leucosome and granite samples are consistent with those of adjacent basement paragneiss in the study area, suggesting that both leucosome and granite were generated by partial melting of the latter. A comparison of Hf isotopes between the newly-formed zircons and inherited cores indicates that the former resulted from the breakdown of preexisting inherited zircons and/or less Hf-rich minerals other than zircons at the source. One mesosome sample contains typical metamorphic zircons that yielded a weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 453 ± 3 Ma. They show enrichments in heavy REEs (Lu_N/La_N up to 22,709), indicating their growth prior to garnet crystallization. The other mesosome sample, in contrast, contains both newly-formed metamorphic rims and grains that gave a weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 442 ± 8 Ma. They are characterized by relatively low Th/U ratios, depletions in heavy REEs (Lu_N/La_N = 117–396), and low ¹⁷⁶Lu/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios, suggesting their growth synchronous with garnet crystallization. The U–Pb ages of the mesosome samples are interpreted as recording the time of early (ca. 453 Ma) to peak (442 Ma) stages of a regional metamorphic event. Two leucosome and two granite samples yield consistent U–Pb ages of 438 ± 5 Ma to 442 ± 4 Ma, which provide constraints on the timing of subsequent anatexis and magmatism. The geochronological data reported here reveal a consecutive sequence of regional metamorphism, anatexis, and magmatism in NW Fujian province, lasting for at least 15 Myr, which was driven by the Caledonian orogeny that have affected a major part of the SCB.     

Promises and actions: are universities the problem in building partnerships?

Urban planners have to develop a planning doctrine (Faludi and Van der Valk 1990). This concept stands for a body of thoughts concerning (a) spatial arrangements within an area, (b) the development of that area; and (c) the way both should be handled. To be successful, they need a planning community (planners, top officials and sub-national establishments for political support) that nurtures it. The planners of the Amsterdam General Extension Plan (1935) developed a doctrine that covers three levels of functions and activities: (1) Amsterdam is a regional centre, a closed functional system, an orthogenetic city. (2) a monocentric urban form and (3) homogeneous neighbourhood communities around a common neighbourhood centre (church, school, medical services, shops). Since the early 1970s Amsterdam has become (1) an international centre, a heterogenetic city, part of a network city system, (2) has developed into a polycentric urban region, and (3) has been acquiring ethnically mixed quarters, divided communities losing their basic function as common neighbourhood centres and even as control areas or domains (Hägerstrand 1970). So in Amsterdam the planning-doctrine was not particularly successful.