Magnetic minerals in sediments at the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary (the Gams Section,Eastern Alps)

The paper presents results of detailed magnetomineralogical and microprobe studies of sediments at the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/T) boundary in two epicontinental sections in the Eastern Alps (Austria), where deposits, including the K/T boundary, outcrop along the Gams River and its tributaries. K/T boundary layers in these sections are similar in the set of such magnetic minerals as iron hydroxides, ferrospinels, hemoilmenite, titanomagnetite, magnetite, hematite, and metallic iron. However, the boundary layer in the Gams-1 section is distinguished by the presence of metallic nickel and its alloy with iron and by the absence of iron sulfides, whereas nickel has not been discovered in the Gams-2 section, which, however, contains iron sulfides of the pyrite type. Therefore, these minerals occur locally. It is suggested that enrichment in iron hydroxides of a common origin can be regarded as a global phenomenon inherent in the K/T boundary and unrelated to an impact event.     

Enrichment of sediments in iron hydroxides at the Mesozoic-Cenozoic boundary: A synthesis of petromagnetic data

Results of petromagnetic studies of epicontinental sediments at the Mesozoic-Cenozoic (K/T) boundary are generalized. Their analysis shows that an abrupt rise in the concentration of iron hydroxides is confined to this boundary. Their concentration is highest at the base of the boundary layer and drops by more than two times at it top. As distinct from iron hydroxides, other magnetic minerals were variously accumulated, depending on their origin and local deposition conditions of terrigenous material (for example, accumulation of particles of metallic iron and nickel, aerial transport of titanomagnetite grains of volcanic origin, and deposition of terrigenous particles of magnetite and ilmenite).     

Petromagnetic features of sediments at the Mesozoic-Cenozoic boundary: Results from the Gams section

The paper continues a cycle of petromagnetic investigations of epicontinental deposits at the Mesozoic-Cenozoic (K/T) boundary and is devoted to the study of the Gams section (Austria). Using thermomagnetic analysis, the following magnetic phases are identified: goethite (T _C = 90–150°C), hemoilmenite (T _C = 200?300°C), metallic nickel (T _C = 350–360°C), magnetite and titanomagnetite (T _C = 550–610°C), Fe-Ni alloy (T _C = 640–660°C), and metallic iron (T _C = 740–770°C). Their concentrations are determined from M(T). In all samples, ensembles of magnetic grains have similar coercivity spectra and are characterized by a high coercivity. An exception is the lower coercivity of the boundary clay layer due to grains of metallic nickel and iron. With rare exceptions, the studied sediments are anisotropic and generally possess a magnetic foliation, which indicates a terrigenous accumulation of magnetic minerals. Many samples of sandy-clayey rocks have an inverse magnetic fabric associated with the presence of acicular goethite. The values of paramagnetic and diamagnetic components in the deposits are calculated. According to the results obtained, the K/T boundary is marked by a sharp increase in the concentration of Fe hydroxides. The distribution of titanomagnetite reflects its dispersal during eruptive activity, which is better expressed in the Maastrichtian and at the base of the layer J. The along-section distribution of metallic iron, most likely of cosmic origin, is rather uniformly chaotic. The presence of nickel, most probably of impact origin, is a particularly local phenomenon as yet. The K/T boundary is not directly related to an impact event.     

Petromagnetic and paleomagnetic characterization deposits at Mesozoic/Cenozoic boundary: The Tetritskaro section (Georgia)

Petromagnetic and magnetostratigraphic characteristics are obtained for the Tetritskaro section. The boundary layer at the Mesozoic/Cenozoic (K/T) boundary is fixed primarily by an abrupt rise in the paramagnetic magnetization (total Fe concentration) and, to a lesser degree, by an increase in the concentration of such magnetic minerals as goethite, hemoilmenite, and magnetite. The along-section distribution of titanomagnetite of volcanic origin and metallic iron of cosmic origin does not correlate with the K/T boundary and lithologic properties of the sediments.The boundary of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic geological eras lies within the reversed polarity chron C29r and is marked by an abrupt rise in the geomagnetic field paleointensity and an instability of paleomagnetic directions, rather than by a polarity change. The accumulation time of the boundary clay layer is about 1.5–2 kyr, while abrupt changes in the paleointensity and direction of the geomagnetic field encompass 30–40 kyr. Such long occurrence intervals of the events in question cannot be related to a short-term impact phenomenon.     

Cosmic dust and micrometeorites in the transitional clay layer at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in the gams section (Eastern Alps): Morphology and chemical composition

Results of investigation of the cosmic matter in the transitional clay layer at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in the Gams section, Eastern Alps, are presented. A great diversity of iron microspherules and particles of different morphologies, pure nickel spherules, awaruite (Fe₃Ni) particles, and diamond crystals are discovered. Iron microspherules are also met in the overlying Paleocene deposits, but their diversity there is not great. The discovered metallic microspherules and particles are described, their chemical compositions are presented, and their origin is discussed.     

Magnetic and mineralogical characteristics of rocks at the Mezmaiskaya cave Paleolithic site (Northern Caucasus)

The results of magnetic and microprobe studies of the rock sequences in the Mezmaiskaya cave at the unique multilayer Paleolithic site are discussed. The magnetic properties of rocks are analyzed for 17 layers (upwards from layer 4 to layer 1\1) dated from over 73 ka ago to recent times. The rocks of layer 1C (Early Upper Paleolithic, ∼38 ka) are found to have the highest magnetic susceptibility (K) (up to 2500 × 10⁻⁶ SI), which is related to the intensive activity of [Homo sapiens]. The minimum K corresponds to the rocks of layer 2, which is overlain by layer 1D. The sizes of magnetic grains vary throughout the rock section. The largest grains are found in the middle part of the section in the Middle Paleolithic layers 2B3, 2B2, 2B1, 2A, and 2. The superparamagnetic fraction is identified in all layers. This fact supports the view that the cave was open as early as the formation of layer 4. According to the thermomagnetic data on the saturation magnetization and the temperature curves of magnetic susceptibility, magnetite is the main carrier of the rock magnetization; some samples contain iron hydroxides. Samples with iron sulfides (pyrite) are abundant. The study of the hysteresis parameters of rocks showed that the question on whether sulfide-bearing rocks are suitable for reliable paleomagnetic determinations requires further laboratory research into the origin of magnetite in the rocks. The chemical composition of rocks composing layer 2B3 and layers 1D (∼39 ka) and 2B1 (∼45 ka), in which the presence of volcanic ash has been previously established according to the presence of volcanic glass, was determined by detailed microprobe analysis. A wide variety of chemical elements (up to 18 items) was recognized in layers 1D and 2B1. The iron, titan, chrome, manganese content, and concentrations of other components vary from grain to grain. The microprobe analysis of samples from layers 1D and 2B1 revealed a set of magnetic particles with compositions characteristic of volcanic rocks, which supports the ash origin of these layers. Layer 2B3 is established not to be volcanic ash. The results on the volcanic glass in the rocks of layers 1D and 2B1 were published by Golovanova and her colleagues in Current Anthropology in October 2010 [Golovanova et al., 2010].     

The origin of the White Beds below the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Gubbio section, Italy

Immediately below the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary clay layer in Umbrian pelagic limestone sections is a 0.5 m thick interval of white limestone beds. Geochemical and rock magnetic studies have been carried out to investigate the origin of these beds. Fe/Si ratios suggest that the iron abundance is a constant proportion of the detrital component in the red marlstone above the boundary and the pink limestone below the white beds. The stratigraphic variations of initial susceptibility and the IRM intensities acquired in different fields behave similarly to the Fe/Si ratio, and reflect primarily the changing concentrations of the ferromagnetic minerals caused by sedimentary fluctuations. The Fe/Si ratio, overall Fe abundance and the intensities of the magnetic parameters are all anomalously low in the white beds. The differing magnetic properties of the samples are due mainly to differing proportions and grain-size distributions of pigmentary hematite and detrital magnetite. The coercivity spectra of samples from the white beds are very similar to those of the pink beds, but are clearly distinct from those of the red beds. The white beds were probably deposited under the same conditions as the underlying pink beds. The anomalously low intensities in the white beds result from reduction of hematite in originally pink beds and subsequent removal of the Fe²⁺ ions. The reduction may be a consequence of downwards infiltration of reducing waters resulting from the large quantity of organic matter produced by the extinctions at the K-T boundary.     

Magnesioferrite from the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary,Caravaca, Spain

Magnesioferrite grading toward magnetite has been identified as a very small but meaningful constituent of the basal iron-rich portion of the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary clay at the Barranco del Gredero section, Caravaca, Spain. This spinel-type phase and others of the spinel group, found in K-T boundary clays at many widely separated sites, have been proposed as representing unaltered remnants of ejecta deposited from an earth-girdling dust cloud formed from the impact of an asteroid or other large bolide at the end of the Cretaceous period. The magnesioferrite occurs as euhedral, frequently skeletal, micron-sized octahedral crystals. The magnesioferrite contains29 ± 11 ppb Ir, which accounts for only part of the Ir anomaly at this K-T boundary layer(52 ± 1 ppb Ir). Major element analyses of the magnesioferrite show variable compositions. Some minor solid solution exists toward hercynite-spinel and chromite-magnesiochromite. A trevorite-nichromite (NiFe₂O₄-NiCr₂O₄) component is also present. The analyses are very similar to those reported for sites at Furlo and Petriccio, Umbria, Italy.On the basis of the morphology and general composition of the magnesioferrite grains, rapid crystallization at high temperature is indicated, most likely directly from a vapor phase and in an environment of moderate oxygen fugacity. Elemental similarity with metallic alloy injected into rocks beneath two known impact craters suggests that part of the magnesioferrite may be derived from the vaporized chondritic bolide itself, or from the mantle; there is no supporting evidence for its derivation from crustal target rocks.     

The first data on helium isotopy in a transitional clay layer at the cretaceous-paleogene boundary (Gams,Eastern Alps)

The paper presents preliminary results derived from the study of He isotopy in a transitional clay bed at the critical 65-Ma boundary in the Gams area (Eastern Alps). The ratio ³He/⁴He is shown to decrease from bottom to top of the transitional layer, and the difference between its values in the lower-and uppermost sublayers of the layer exceeds by more than ten times the measurement uncertainty (5%). The ratio ³He/⁴He is smallest in the upper part of the section, where all features of an impact event (spherules of pure nickel, diamonds, and awaruite) are established. The general inference of our study is that ³He enrichment in the lower part of the Gams section is related not to cosmic matter but to a change in the conditions in the source area, most likely, to volcanic activity. The effect of the latter has been established, independent of He isotopic studies, from anomalous concentrations of As, Pb, Cu, and Zn and from the presence of particles of gold, copper, and titanomagnetite similar in composition to its basaltic varieties.     

Carbon isotope composition and correlation across the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary in Kalpin Region of the Tarim Basin, China

Biostratigraphically constrained sequences at the Wushi Yingshan and Kalpin Cement Plant sections (Kalpin Region; Tarim Basin) were densely sampled for geochemical studies. Carbonates across the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary of both sections mainly record negative carbon isotope values. Stable isotope curves show four negative and four positive excursions appearing alternately at the Wushi Yingshan section and five negative alternating with five positive excursions at the Kalpin Cement Plant section. The carbon isotope logs of these two sections are correlated with the international Cambrian-Ordovician boundary key sections: (1) Dayangcha section in China, (2) Green Point section in Canada, (3) Black mountain section in Australia and (4) Lowson Cove section in USA. These correlations suggest that the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary of the Wushi Yingshan section and the Kalpin Cement Plant section can be placed within a particular horizon that also corresponds to the observed biostratigraphic units.     

The Permian-Triassic boundary event: a geochemical study of three Chinese sections

Trace elements were determined in two well-documented Chinese Permian-Triassic (P/Tr) boundary sections (Meishan and Shangsi) and in a new section (Liangfenya). Iridium concentrations range from 3 to 87 pg/g, at or below levels in common sedimentary rocks. The results contrast with previous reports of high Ir concentration in the Meishan and Shangsi sections and offer no support to suggestions of a major meteoroid impact at the end of the Permian. A notable feature in each of these widely separated P/Tr sections (500–1500 km) is the existence of 2–5 light-colored clay layers at and near the boundary. These clay layers are strongly enriched in Cs, Zr, Hf, Ta, and Th and depleted in Cr, Co, and Ir, indicating that they are altered ash, apparently from the same massive silicic volcanic eruptions. We estimate the magnitude of these eruptions to be a few thousand km³ of magma, a volume comparable to the great Toba eruption.     

The age of the Permian-Triassic boundary

The 5 cm boundary clay bed in the Chinese stratotype section through the Permian-Triassic boundary has been recognised as a bentonite. SHRIMP ion microprobe dating of zircons in the bentonite indicates a magmatic age of 251.2 ± 3.4 Ma (2σ); this is the first direct constraint on the numerical age of the Permian-Triassic boundary.Future refinements of ages at this important, but poorly constrained, level of the Phanerozoic timescale may depend on re-analysis of this uniquely placed volcanic horizon, and other bentonites in the fossiliferous Chinese Upper Permian and Lower Triassic. The utility of defining the Permian-Triassic boundary in the Chinese stratotype section, in the vicinity of known dateable horizons, should be considered.     

A nonlinear,resistive boundary layer in rotating hydromagnetic flow

A new nonlinear boundary layer in rotating hydromagnetic flows is presented. The purpose of this layer is to provide a smooth transition between the magnetic field at a rigid, electrically insulating boundary and that far from the boundary. The boundary layer problem is solved in a cylindrical geometry, assuming that the variables obey the hydromagnetic analog of the von Karman similarity. The primary momentum balance within this boundary layer is between pressure, Coriolis and hydromagnetic forces; the viscous and nonlinear inertia forces are unimportant. Diffusion of the magnetic field is balanced by advection where the advecting fluid flow is induced by the action of the hydromagnetic body forces within the boundary layer. The structure of the layer depends upon a single parameter which measures the strength of the normal magnetic field. Steady solutions are presented and their uniqueness and temporal stability are analyzed. The relevance of this layer to the core of the Earth is discussed. It is estimated that this boundary layer would be at least as thick as one tenth of the core radius if it exists within the core.     

Magnetolithologic and magnetomineralogical characteristics of sediments at the Mesozoic/Cenozoic boundary: The Koshak section (Mangyshlak peninsula)

Results of a detailed petromagnetic study of sediments of the Koshak section, including the Mesozoic/Cenozoic (K/T) boundary, are presented. The rocks are shown to have a very low magnetization. A relatively high magnetization is characteristic of two thin clayey beds, one at the K/T boundary and the other 0.6 m above it: x up to 2.5 × 10^?9 m³/kg, M _s up to 0.6 × 10^?3 A m²/kg, and M _rs up to 0.4 × 10^?3 A m²/kg. This is related to relatively high concentrations of hemoilmenite (up to 0.2%), magnetite (up to 0.01%), and goethite (up to 0.24%) in these beds. It is evident that the distribution of these magnetic minerals is lithologically controlled (the predominant occurrence in clayey beds), which is expressed, in particular, in the relation between the paramagnetic (clayey) and diamagnetic (carbonate) contributions to the magnetization of the sediments. Thus, clayey interbeds are sharply distinguished by the value of the paramagnetic magnetization (M _p = (83–86) × 10^?5 A m²/kg) as compared with purely diamagnetic chalk (M _d = ?(26–35) × 10^?5 A m²/kg). Minor concentrations of metallic iron (up to ～0.002%) discovered in the sediments have a lithologically uncontrolled distribution (metallic iron is more often observed near the K/T boundary rather than in clayey beds). Most probably, magnetite, hemoilmenite, and goethite were accumulated mostly with clay and other terrigenous material, while fine particles of iron are likely to have been dispersed by air. The whole set of the data of this work suggests that the K/T boundary is not distinguished by characteristic magnetomineralogical and magnetolithologic features.     

山西襄汾大柴更新统剖面划分的新观点

对山西襄汾丁村文化遗址群内大柴剖面进行的磁性地层学研究表明,松山与布容的极性界线（M/B）出现在距剖面顶部45 m处;磁化率对比结果显示,此位置正好与S8上部对应.由这种极性和磁化率的对应结果可推断,下、中更新统（Q₁/Q₂）的地层分界也应在距剖面顶部45 m处的S8上部,而不是传统上认为的Q₁/Q₂的地层分界,在距剖面顶部80 m处.这种以古地磁学为基础的新的划分方案,对丁村遗址群的对比以及丁村遗址年代的最终确定都有重要的指示意义.根据其沉积环境和地层特征推断,采样部位下部的磁化率低值带应为水成黄土.而岩石磁学研究结果显示,磁铁矿、赤铁矿和热不稳定性磁赤铁矿是大柴剖面沉积物中主要的磁性矿物;磁铁矿和赤铁矿同为高温稳定性磁性载体.     

First finding of natural rhenium in the transitional clay layer at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in the Gams section (Eastern Alps,Austria)

As a result of detailed studies by the method of microprobe analysis, a particle of natural rhenium was found for the first time in the transitional clay layer at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in the Gams section (Eastern Alps). It is concluded that the formation of natural rhenium was related to a volcanic aerosol that arose due to the magmatic activity of a mantle plume 65 Myr ago.     

Magnetostratigraphy of the Permo-Triassic boundary section at Shangsi (Guangyuan, Sichuan Province, China)

Continous marine sedimentation characterizes many Late Permian to Early Triassic sections on the Yangtze terrane in South China. The Permo-Triassic (P/Tr) boundary section at Shangsi (Sichuan Province) consists of limestones intercalated with clays and mudstones which belong to the Wuchiapingian and Changxingian (Upper Permian) and the Griesbachian and Dienerian (Lower Triassic) stages. The P/Tr boundary is formed by a clay horizon with an unusually high iridium concentration. The intensity of natural remanent magnetization is very low with a mean of 0.15 mA m⁻¹. About 40% of the samples contain secondary or unstable magnetization components only, whereas the remaining samples carry a characteristic remanent magnetization thought to reflect the polarity of the geomagnetic field during deposition with sufficient accuracy. Normal and reversed polarity of the characteristic magnetization constitute a pattern of at least six polarity zones, the P/Tr boundary being situated very close to the transition from a reversed to a normal polarity zone. The Shangsi polarity sequence represents part of the Illawarra interval of mixed polarity, the exact beginning of which has still to be determined.     

江西九庐公路红土剖面的磁学特征及其反映的风化成土作用

南方第四纪红土是研究古环境变化的重要载体.本文对采自江西九江的九庐公路红土剖面进行了详细的环境磁学研究,拟探讨多项磁参数在提取南方红土古环境信息方面的价值.结果显示,红土剖面上段的弱风化层,磁化率随着成土作用的增强而增大,反映了成土过程中产生的细颗粒亚铁磁性矿物导致的磁化率增加;而在剖面下段强风化的网纹红土层,表现为磁...     

Paleomagnetism of boundary oligocene-miocene deposits in the Kompasskii Bor tract on the Tym River (Western Siberia)

We present the results of a complex (paleomagnetic, geological-stratigraphic, and paleontological) study of reference sections of Oligocene-Miocene deposits in the Kompasskii Bor tract on the Tym River in the eastern part of the western Siberian plate. Three sections of the Kompasskii Bor tract are studied: Belyi Yar (200-m mark), Belyi Yar (300-m mark), and Dunaevskii Yar (200-m mark). A composite magnetostratigraphic section of deposits, including the Oligocene-Miocene boundary dated at 23.8 Ma, is compiled with allowance for the complex data. Two magnetozones (of normal and reversed polarities) are identified in this section. The scale of magnetic polarity of the Cenozoic of the western Siberian plate at the Oligocene-Miocene boundary is determined in greater detail. The time interval of the upper part of the Zhuravka series (Chattian) and the Lyamin layers of the Abrosimov series (Aquitanian) is 24.6-22.9 Ma.     

Native iron and other magnetic minerals in the sediments of the northwestern Atlantic: Thermomagnetic and microprobe evidence

The thermomagnetic and microprobe analyses of sedimentary samples from DSDP 386, 387, 391A, and 391C boreholes in the northwestern Atlantic reveal the ubiquitous occurrence of particles of native iron. The concentrations of native iron are bimodal everywhere with the zero mode necessarily present. The nickel admixture in native iron forms two groups, one represented by pure iron and the comprising native iron with 5–6% Ni. The redeposition of iron particles manifests itself in the correlation between the concentrations of these particles and terrestrial minerals (magnetite), as well as in the equalization and reduction of the concentration of the iron particles. Pyrite and pyrrhotite are widespread in the studied sediments, and the distribution of native iron does not depend on the presence of pyrite (i.e., on redox conditions) in them. At the same time, the distributions of pyrite and particles of magnetite + titanomagnetite are inversely correlated, which can probably be accounted for by the partial dissolution of magnetite and titanomagnetite in the reducing conditions. The increased concentration of particles of volcanogenic homogeneous titanomagnetite is revealed in the volcanoclastic turbidites of the Oligocene and early and middle Miocene age at the base of the Bermuda Rise (borehole 386). The titanomagnetite composition is characteristic of the basalts of plume magmatism; it corresponds to the depth of the magmatic source in the interval of 50–25 km.