Experimental frictional heating of coal gouge at seismic slip rates: Evidence for devolatilization and thermal pressurization of gouge fluids

High velocity (1 m/s) friction experiments on bituminous coal gouge display several earthquake-related phenomena, including devolatilization by frictional heating, gas pressurization, and slip weakening. Stage I is characterized by sample shortening and reduction in the coefficient of friction (μ) from  1 to 0.6. Stage II is characterized by high frequency ( 5 Hz) oscillations in stress and strain records and by gas emissions. Stage III is marked by rapid weakening (μ  0.1 to 0.35) and sample shortening, together with continued gas emissions. Stage IV produces stable stress records and continued weakness (μ  0.2), but without gas emission. Stage I shortening is due to compaction of the gouge and the weakening is attributed to mechanical or thermal effects. Stage II behavior is interpreted as due to coal gasification and fluctuations in fluid pressure, resulting in high frequency stick-slip type behavior. Dramatic reduction in shear stress in stage III is attributed to gas pressurization by pore collapse and corresponds to a frictional instability, analogous to nucleation of an earthquake. Microstructural observations indicate the deformation was brittle during stages I and II but ductile during stages III and IV. Time dependent finite element frictional heat models indicate the center of the samples became hot ( 900 °C) during stage II, whereas the edge of samples remained relatively cold (< 300 °C). Vitrinite reflectance of coal samples shows an increase in reflectance from  0.5 to  0.8% over the displacement interval 20–40 m (20–40 s), indicating that the reflectance responds to frictional heating on a short time scale. The energy expended per unit area in these low stress, large displacement experiments is similar to that of higher stress ( 50 MPa), short displacement ( 1 m) earthquakes ( 10⁷ J/m²).     

Guidelines for assessing the petroleum potential of coaly source rocks using Rock-Eval pyrolysis

Coaly source rocks are sufficiently different from marine and lacustrine source rocks in their organic matter characteristics to warrant separate guidelines for their assessment using Rock-Eval pyrolysis. The rank threshold for oil generation is indicated by the increase in BI (S1/TOC) at Rank(S_r)9–10 (T_max 420–430 °C, R_o 0.55–0.6%), and the threshold for oil expulsion is indicated by the peak in QI ([S1+S2]/TOC) at Rank(S_r)11–12.5 (T_max 430–440 °C, R_o 0.65–0.85%). The pronounced rank-related increase in HI (S2/TOC) prior to oil expulsion renders the use of immature samples inappropriate for source rock characterisation. A more realistic indication of the petroleum generative potential and oil expulsion efficiency of coaly source rocks can be gained from samples near the onset of expulsion. Alternatively, effective HI′ values (i.e. HIs near the onset of expulsion) can be estimated by translating the measured HIs of immature samples along the maturation pathway defined by the New Zealand (or other defined) Coal Band. Coaly source rocks comprise a continuum of coaly lithologies, including coals, shaly coals and coaly mudstones. Determination of the total genetic potential of coaly source rock sequences is best made using lithology-based samples near the onset of expulsion.     

Frictional sliding of gabbro gouge under hydrothermal conditions

We investigated the frictional sliding behaviour of gabbro gouge under hydrothermal conditions. Experiments were performed on 1-mm-thick gabbro gouge sandwiched between country rock pieces (with gouge inclined 35° to the sample axis) in a triaxial testing system with argon gas as the confining medium. In the first series, experiments were conducted under effective normal stresses of 200 MPa and 300 MPa respectively, with pore pressure of 10 MPa. For temperature over 400 °C, pore pressure of 30 MPa was also applied to implement supercritical water conditions. At temperatures up to 615 °C, slip rate steps ranging from 0.0488 μm/s to 1.22 μm/s were applied to obtain the rate dependence of friction.At 200 MPa effective normal stress and a pore pressure of 10 MPa, the steady state rate dependence a–b shows velocity-weakening behaviour for temperatures between  200 and  310 °C. The higher temperature limit for velocity-weakening behaviour to occur extends up to  510 °C under supercritical water conditions with a pore pressure of 30 MPa. For the limited sliding distance in our experiments, only velocity-strengthening behaviour occurred at 300 MPa effective normal stress. Considering the limited displacement (< 3.5 mm), velocity-weakening behaviour may not be excluded in the high effective normal stress case for temperature below  510 °C.The coefficient of friction shows an increasing trend with increasing temperature in the low temperature range. The cut-off temperatures for the increasing trend are  250 °C and  440 °C, respectively for the 200 MPa and 300 MPa effective normal stress cases. Above the cut-off temperatures, the coefficient of friction at 1.83 mm permanent displacement varies around an average of 0.73, which is identical to the average for the oven-dried case [He, C., Yao, W., Wang, Z., Zhou, Y., 2006. Strength and stability of frictional sliding of gabbro gouge at elevated temperatures. Tectonophysics 427, 217–229, doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2006.05.023]. Together with the small value of rate dependence (a–b < 0.0073) for the whole temperature range, these results indicate the absence of fluid-assisted creep.With the result of our experiments as a constraint on strength of frictional sliding, comparison between converted strength for strike–slip faults and creep strength of gabbro-like rocks implies fracturing and faulting behaviours in the lower crust of a cool area (Zhangbei) in North China.     

Superposed lateral ramps in the Pell City thrust sheet, Appalachian thrust belt, Alabama

In the Appalachian thrust belt in Alabama, thrust sheets of Paleozoic strata generally strike northeastward and are imbricated northwestward; four transverse zones cross the regional strike of the thrust belt. The large-scale Pell City thrust sheet ends southwestward at an oblique lateral ramp within the Harpersville transverse zone, where the leading edge of the thrust sheet (the Pell City fault) curves abruptly 55° counterclockwise. The northwest-striking segment of the Pell City fault conforms to the geometry of an oblique lateral ramp in the footwall. Furthermore, the Pell City fault cuts up section in the hanging wall southwestward toward the transverse zone, indicating a hanging-wall lateral ramp emplaced over the footwall oblique lateral ramp.In the hanging wall adjacent to the northwest-trending segment of the Pell City fault, a pervasive train of upright, isoclinal folds (with 50% apparent shortening) trends N15°W, oblique to the regional translation direction. The fold train is limited to the southwestern part of the Pell City thrust sheet; farther northeast, the regional northeasterly strike prevails. The isoclinal folds in the hanging wall indicate contractional crowding perpendicular to the footwall oblique lateral ramp.     

Oscillations in the southern extent of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool during the mid-Holocene

The Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) is thought to play a key role in the propagation and amplification of climate changes through its influence on the global distribution of heat and water vapour. However, little is known about past changes in the size and position of the IPWP. In this study, we use a total of 48 modern and fossil coral records from the Mentawai Islands (Sumatra, Indonesia) and Muschu/Koil Islands (Papua New Guinea) to reconstruct oscillations in the extent of the IPWP since the mid-Holocene. We show that reliable estimates of mean sea surface temperature (SST) can be obtained from fossil corals by using low-resolution Sr/Ca analysis of a suite of corals to overcome the large uncertainties associated with mean Sr/Ca-SST estimates from individual coral colonies. The coral records indicate that the southeastern and southwestern margins of the IPWP were cooler than at present between 5500 and 4300 years BP (1.2 °C ± 0.3 °C) and were similarly cool before 6800 years BP. This mid-Holocene cooling was punctuated by an abrupt, short-lived shift to mean SSTs that were warmer than at present between 6600 and 6300 years BP (1.3 °C ± 0.3 °C), while similarly warm conditions may have also existed after 4300 years BP. We suggest that mid-Holocene cooling at our study sites was related to contractions of the southeastern and southwestern margins of the IPWP, associated with the more northerly position of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) that accompanied mid-Holocene strengthening of the Asian summer monsoon. Conversely, intervals of abrupt warming appear to correspond with widespread episodes of monsoon weakening and accompanying southward migrations of the ITCZ that caused the IPWP to expand beyond our coral sites. Intervals of a strengthened Asian monsoon and cooling in the southwestern IPWP during the mid-Holocene appear to correspond with a more positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)-like mean configuration across the tropical Indian Ocean, suggesting that the Asian monsoon–IOD interaction that exists at interannual time scales also persists over centennial to millennial scales. Associated mean changes in the Pacific ENSO modes may have also occurred during the mid-Holocene. The dynamic and inter-connected behaviour of the IPWP with tropical climate systems during the mid-Holocene highlights the fundamental importance of the warm pool region for understanding climate change throughout the tropics and beyond.     

Brittle–ductile–brittle deformation during cooling of tonalite (Adamello, Southern Italian Alps)

Late- to post-magmatic deformation in slightly diachronous contiguous intrusions of the north-western Adamello batholith (Southern Alps, Italy) is recorded as, from oldest to youngest: (i) joints, (ii) solid-state ductile shear zones, (iii) faults associated with epidote-K-feldspar veins and (iv) zeolite veins and faults. Structures (ii) to (iv) are localized on the pervasive precursory network of joints (i), which developed during the earliest stages of pluton cooling. High temperature ( 500 °C), ductile overprinting of joints produced lineations, defined by aligned biotite and hornblende, on the joint surfaces and highly localized mylonites. The main phase of faulting, producing cataclasites and pseudotachylytes, occurred at  250 °C and was associated with extensive fluid infiltration. Cataclasites and pseudotachylytes are clustered along different E–W-striking dextral strike-slip fault zones correlated with the activity of the Tonale fault, a major tectonic structure that bounds the Adamello batholith to the north. Ductile deformation and cataclastic/veining episodes occurred at P = 0.25–0.3 GPa during rapid cooling of the batholith to the ambient temperatures ( 250 °C) that preceded the exhumation of the batholith. Timing of the sequence of deformation can be constrained by ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar ages of  30 Ma on pseudotachylytes and various existing mineral ages. In the whole composite Adamello batholith, multiple magma pulses were intruded over the time span 42–30 Ma and each intrusive body shows the same ductile-to-brittle structural sequence localized on the early joint sets. This deformation sequence of the Adamello might be typical of intrusions undergoing cooling at depths close to the brittle–ductile transition.     

SHRIMP zircon U–Pb geochronological and whole-rock geochemical evidence for an early Neoproterozoic Sibaoan magmatic arc along the southeastern margin of the Yangtze Block

It has been generally accepted that the South China Block was formed through amalgamation of the Yangtze and Cathaysia Blocks during the Proterozoic Sibaoan orogenesis, but the timing and kinematics of the Sibao orogeny are still not well constrained. We report here SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronological and geochemical data for the Taohong and Xiqiu tonalite–granodiorite stocks from northeastern Zhejiang, southeastern margin of the Yangtze Block. Our data demonstrate that these rocks, dated at 913 ± 15 Ma and 905 ± 14 Ma, are typical amphibole-rich calc-alkaline granitoids formed in an active continental margin. Combined with previously reported isotopic dates for the  1.0 Ga ophiolites and  0.97 Ga adakitic rocks from northeastern Jiangxi, the timing of the Sibao orogenesis is thus believed to be between  1.0 and  0.9 Ga in its eastern segment. It is noted that the Sibao orogeny in South China is in general contemporaneous with some other early Neoproterozoic (1.0–0.9 Ga) orogenic belts such as the Eastern Ghats Belt of India and the Rayner Province in East Antarctica, indicating that the assembly of Rodinia was not finally completed until  0.9 Ga.     

Differential Late Paleozoic active margin evolution in South-Central Chile (37°S–40°S) – the Lanalhue Fault Zone

The N–S oriented Coastal Cordillera of South Central Chile shows marked lithological contrasts along strike at 38°S. Here, the sinistral NW–SE-striking Lanalhue Fault Zone (nomen novum) juxtaposes Permo-Carboniferous magmatic arc granitoids and associated, frontally accreted metasediments (Eastern Series) in the northeast with a Late Carboniferous to Triassic basal-accretionary forearc wedge complex (Western Series) in the southwest. The fault is interpreted as an initially ductile deformation zone with divergent character, located in the eastern flank of the basally growing, upwarping, and exhuming Western Series. It was later transformed and reactivated as a semiductile to brittle sinistral transform fault. Rb–Sr data and fluid inclusion studies of late-stage fault-related mineralizations revealed Early Permian ages between 280 and 270 Ma for fault activity, with subsequent minor erosion. Regionally, crystallization of arc intrusives and related metamorphism occurred between 306 and 286 Ma, preceded by early increments of convergence-related deformation. Basal Western Series accretion started at >290 Ma and lasted to 250 Ma. North of the Lanalhue fault, Late Paleozoic magmatic arc granitoids are nearly 100 km closer to the present day Andean trench than further south. We hypothesize that this marked difference in paleo-forearc width is due to an Early Permian period of subduction erosion north of 38°S, contrasting with ongoing accretion further south, which kinematically triggered the evolution of the Lanalhue Fault Zone. Permo-Triassic margin segmentation was due to differential forearc accretion and denudation characteristics, and is now expressed in contrasting lithologies and metamorphic signatures in todays Andean forearc region north and south of the Lanalhue Fault Zone.     

Holocene activity of the Scilla Fault, Southern Calabria: Insights from coastal morphological and structural investigations

Integration of on-land and offshore geomorphological and structural investigations coupled to extensive radiometric dating of co-seismically uplifted Holocene beaches allows characterization of the geometry, kinematics and seismotectonics of the Scilla Fault, which borders the eastern side of the Messina Strait in Calabria, Southern Italy. This region has been struck by destructive historical earthquakes, but knowledge of geologically-based source parameters for active faults is relatively poor, particularly for those running mostly offshore, as the Scilla Fault does. The  30 km-long normal fault may be divided into three segments of  10 km individual length, with the central and southern segments split in at least two strands. The central and northern segments are submerged, and in this area marine geophysical data indicate a youthful morphology and locally evidence for active faulting. The on-land strand of the western segment displaces marine terraces of the last interglacial (124 to 83 ka), but seismic reflection profiles suggest a full Quaternary activity. Structural data collected on bedrock faults exposed along the on-land segment provide evidence for normal slip and  NW-SE extension, which is consistent with focal mechanisms of large earthquakes and GPS velocity fields in the region. Detailed mapping of raised Holocene marine deposits exposed at the coastline straddling of the northern and central segments supplies evidence for two co-seismic displacements at  1.9 and  3.5 ka, and a possible previous event at  5 ka. Co-seismic displacements show a consistent site value and pattern of along-strike variation, suggestive of characteristic-type behaviour for the fault. The  1.5–2.0 m average co-seismic slips during these events document M_e  6.9–7.0 earthquakes with  1.6–1.7 ka recurrence time. Because hanging-wall subsidence cannot be included into slip magnitude computation, these slips reflect footwall uplift, and represent minimum average estimates. The palaeoseismological record based on the palaeo-shorelines suggests that the last rupture on the Scilla Fault during the February 6, 1783 M_w = 5.9–6.3 earthquake was at the expected time but it may have not entirely released the loaded stress since the last great event at  1.9 ka. Comparison of the estimated co-seismic extension rate based on the Holocene shoreline record with available GPS velocities indicates that the Scilla Fault accounts for at least  15–20% of the contemporary geodetic extension across the Messina Strait.     

Geochronological constraints on Paleoarchean thrust-nappe and Neoarchean accretionary tectonics in southern West Greenland

Major regional deformation and metamorphic events in the Godthåbsfjord region, southern West Greenland, occurred at 3650 and 2820–2720 Ma (e.g. Precambrian Res. 78 (1996) 1). New geochronological constraints (U–Pb zircon, Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe [SHRIMP] and thermal ionisation mass spectrometry [TIMS]) have been obtained from a stack of mylonitic, crystalline thrust-nappes in the footwall of the western part of the Paleoarchean (3.8–3.7 Ga) Isua Greenstone Belt, Isukasia. A mylonitic tonalite sheet, interpreted to have intruded synkinematically with respect to mylonitisation, yields a magmatic crystallisation age of 3640±3 Ma. A cross-cutting pegmatite and a post-kinematic tonalite pluton yield magmatic crystallisation ages of 2948±8 and 2991±2 Ma, respectively. Accordingly, we interpret the thrust-nappe stack to have formed during the Paleoarchean (3640 Ma), making it the oldest example known on Earth. The similarity of this structural regime to that of modern mountain belts suggests that Paleoarchean and modern continental crust were comparable in terms of mechanical strength and constitution.Southern West Greenland has been interpreted in terms of Neoarchean accretion, comparable with modern plate tectonics (e.g. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 142 (1996) 353). Isukasia lies just east of a purported Neoarchean accretionary boundary between the Akia terrane to the Northwest and the Akulleq terrane to the Southeast. The Akia terrane was previously considered to overthrust the Akulleq terrane at 2820–2720 Ma. Our geochronological and geological data indicate (i) that the two “terranes”, as presently defined, were stitched at 2991±2 Ma and (ii) that thrusting across the boundary was directed toward the Akia terrane. Therefore, we suggest that the Akia–Akulleq interface was not a fundamental tectonic structure during the Neoarchean, and we question its identification as an accretionary boundary.     

Evolution of mineralizing fluids in the Zn–Pb–Cu(–Ag ± Au) skarn and epithermal deposits of the world-class San Martín district, Zacatecas, Mexico

Mineralizing fluids at the San Martín skarn show an evolution characterized by prograde and retrograde associations. The prograde mineral associations consist of (1) a massive garnet zone, (2) a tremolite ± garnet zone, and (3) a late association of quartz, sphalerite, calcite and fluorite lining the vugs in the garnet zone. The fluids of the prograde associations exhibit decreasing temperatures of homogenization (Th) and variable salinities. The fluids of the massive garnet zone have salinities of 36 wt.% NaCl equiv. and Th of 645 to 570 °C, corresponding to pressures of 1055 bar. At the tremolite ± garnet zone, Th range from 438 to 354 °C. In the late association at the endoskarn, the following evolution can be drawn: (a) salinities of 50 to 42 wt.% NaCl equiv., and Th of 455 to 346 °C in quartz, (b) salinities of 46 wt.% NaCl equiv., and Th of 415 to 410 °C in sphalerite, (c) salinities of 50 to 37 wt.% NaCl equiv., and Th of 479 to 310 °C in calcite, (d) salinities of 33 to 28 wt.% NaCl equiv. and of 24 to 22 wt.% KCl in fluorite, and (e) two types of fluids with salinities of 2 and 39 wt.% NaCl equiv. and Th 344 and 300 °C, respectively, in later saccharoidal quartz segregations. The retrograde mineral associations comprise pervasive propylitic alteration to carbonization, and mantos with sulfides. Fluids in epidote have salinities of 7.6 wt.% NaCl equiv. and Th of 287 to 252 °C, and in calcite have salinities of 9.2 to 1 wt.% NaCl equiv. and Th of 188 to 112 °C. Fluids in the sulfide assemblages in the mantos have salinities of 8 to 3 wt.% NaCl equiv. and Th 300 °C, with corresponding pressures of 94 bar. Fluids in late epithermal veins close to the intrusive body have salinities of 10 to 5 wt.% NaCl equiv. and Th of 275 to 200 °C, and distal veins show salinities of 2 to 1 wt.% NaCl equiv. and Th of 160 °C.     

Reconstruction of climate and vegetation changes of Lake Bayanchagan (Inner Mongolia): Holocene variability of the East Asian monsoon

A high-resolution pollen and Pediastrum record, spanning 12,500 yr, is presented for Lake Bayanchagan (115.21°E, 41.65°N, and 1355 m a.s.l.), southern Inner Mongolia. Individual pollen taxa (PT-MAT) and the PFT affinity scores (PFT-MAT) were used for quantitative climatic reconstruction from pollen and algal data. Both techniques indicate that a cold and dry climate, similar to that of today, prevailed before 10,500 cal yr B.P. The wettest climate occurred between 10,500 and 6500 cal yr B.P., at which time annual precipitation was up to 30–60% higher than today. The early Holocene increases in temperature and precipitation occurred simultaneously, but mid-Holocene cooling started at approximately 8000 cal yr B.P., 1500 yr earlier than the drying. Vegetation reconstruction was based on the objective assignment of pollen taxa to the plant functional type. The results suggest that this region was dominated by steppe vegetation throughout the Holocene, except for the period 9200 to 6700 cal yr B.P., when forest patches were relatively common. Inner Mongolia is situated at the limit of the present East Asian monsoon and patterns of vegetation and climate changes in that region during the Holocene probably reflect fluctuations in the monsoon's response to solar insolation variations. The early to middle Holocene monsoon undoubtedly extended to more northern latitudes than at present.     

Peri-equatorial paleolatitudes for Jurassic radiolarian cherts of Greece

Radiolarian-rich sediments dominated pelagic deposition over large portions of the Tethys Ocean during middle to late Jurassic time as shown by extensive bedded chert sequences found in both continental margin and ophiolite units of the Mediterranean region. Which paleoceanographic mechanisms and paleotectonic setting favored radiolarian deposition during the Jurassic, and the nature of a Tethys-wide change from biosiliceous to biocalcareous (mainly nannofossil) deposition at the beginning of Cretaceous time, have remained open questions. Previous paleomagnetic analyses of Jurassic red radiolarian cherts in the Italian Apennines indicate that radiolarian deposition occurred at low peri-equatorial latitudes, similar to modern day deposition of radiolarian-rich sediments within equatorial zones of high biologic productivity. To test this result for other sectors of the Mediterranean region, we undertook paleomagnetic study of Mesozoic (mostly middle to upper Jurassic) red radiolarian cherts within the Aegean region on the Peloponnesus and in continental Greece. Sampled units are from the Sub-Pelagonian Zone on the Argolis Peninsula, the Pindos–Olonos Zone on the Koroni Peninsula, near Karpenissi in central Greece, and the Ionian Zone in the Varathi area of northwestern Greece. Thermal demagnetization of samples from all sections removed low-temperature viscous and moderate-temperature overprint magnetizations that fail the available fold tests. At Argolis and Koroni, however, the cherts carry a third high-temperature magnetization that generally exhibits a polarity stratigraphy and passes the available fold tests. We interpret the high-temperature component to be the primary magnetization acquired during chert deposition and early diagenesis. At Kandhia and Koliaky (Argolis), the primary declinations and previous results indicate clockwise vertical-axis rotations of  40° relative to “stable” Europe. Due to ambiguities in hemispheric origin (N or S) and thus paleomagnetic polarity, the observed declinations could indicate either clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) vertical-axis rotations. Thus at Adriani (Koroni), the primary declinations indicate either CW or CCW rotations of  95° or  84°, depending on paleomagnetic polarity and age. The primary inclinations for all Peloponnesus sites indicate peri-equatorial paleolatitudes similar to those found for coeval radiolarian cherts exposed in other Mediterranean orogenic belts. Our new paleomagnetic data support the interpretation that Mesozoic radiolarites within the Tethys Ocean were originally deposited along peri-equatorial belts of divergence and high biologic productivity.     

Constraining models of the tectonic setting of the giant Olympic Dam iron oxide–copper–gold deposit, South Australia, using deep seismic reflection data

In the Gawler Craton, the completeness of cover concealing the crystalline basement in the region of the giant Olympic Dam Cu–Au deposit has impeded any sufficient understanding of the crustal architecture and tectonic setting of its IOCG mineral-system. To circumvent this problem, deep seismic reflection data were recently acquired from  250 line-km of two intersecting traverses, centered on the Olympic Dam deposit. The data were recorded to 18 s TWT ( 55 km). The crust consists of Neoproterozoic cover, in places more than 5 km thick, over crystalline basement with the Moho at depths of 13–14 s TWT ( 40–42 km). The Olympic Dam deposit lies on the boundary between two distinct pieces of crust, one interpreted as the Archean–Paleoproterozoic core to the craton, the other as a Meso–Neoproterozoic mobile belt. The host to the deposit, a member of the  1590 Ma Hiltaba Suite of granites, is situated above a zone of reduced impedance contrast in the lower crust, which we interpret to be source-region for its  1000 °C magma. The crystalline basement is dominated by thrusts. This contrasts with widely held models for the tectonic setting of Olympic Dam, which predict extension associated with heat from the mantle producing the high temperatures required to generate the Hiltaba Suite granites implicated in mineralization. We use the seismic data to test four hypotheses for this heat-source: mantle underplating, a mantle-plume, lithospheric extension, and radioactive heating in the lower crust. We reject the first three hypotheses. The data cannot be used to reject or confirm the fourth hypothesis.     

Climate and ocean variability during the middle and late Holocene recorded in laminated sediments from Alfonso Basin, Gulf of California, Mexico

A laminated sequence (core BAP96-CP 24°38.12′N, 110°33.24′W; 390 m depth) from the Alfonso Basin in Bay of La Paz, southern Gulf of California, contains a record of paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes of the past 7900 yr. Radiolarian assemblages and magnetic susceptibility are used as proxies of oceanographic and climatic variability. The records provide a regional scenario of the middle and late Holocene, suggesting two major climatic regimes and several millennial-scale events. Conditions relatively warmer and drier than today occurred from 7700 to 2500 cal yr BP, promoting the intensification of evaporation processes and the prevalence of the Gulf of California water in the Basin. These conditions correlate with strong droughts in the middle Holocene of North America and with minimal incursion of tropical waters into the Gulf of California. Proxies indicate a warm scenario and the dominance of the Equatorial Surface Water in the Alfonso Basin from 2400 to 700 cal yr BP, suggesting the intensification of ENSO cycles. A climatic signal between 1038 and 963 cal yr BP may be correlated with global signal of the “Medieval Warm Period.” Several cooling events are recognized at 5730, 3360, 2700, 1280 and 820 cal yr BP and are associated with intensification of northwest winds leading to upwellings and enhanced productivity in the Basin.     

Latest Pleistocene and Holocene glaciation of Baffin Island, Arctic Canada: key patterns and chronologies

Melting glaciers and ice caps on Baffin Island contribute roughly half of the sea-level rise from all ice in Arctic Canada, although they comprise only one-fourth of the total ice in the region. The uncertain future response of arctic glaciers and ice caps to climate change motivates the use of paleodata to evaluate the sensitivity of glaciers to past warm intervals and to constrain mechanisms that drive glacier change. We review the key patterns and chronologies of latest Pleistocene and Holocene glaciation on Baffin Island. The deglaciation by the Laurentide Ice Sheet occurred generally slowly and steadily throughout the Holocene to its present margin (Barnes Ice Cap) except for two periods of rapid retreat: An early interval 12 to 10 ka when outlet glaciers retreated rapidly through deep fiords and sounds, and a later interval 7 ka when ice over Foxe Basin collapsed. In coastal settings, alpine glaciers were smaller during the Younger Dryas period than during the Little Ice Age. At least some alpine glaciers apparently survived the early Holocene thermal maximum, which was several degrees warmer than today, although data on glacier extent during the early Holocene is extremely sparse. Following the early Holocene thermal maximum, glaciers advanced during Neoglaciation, beginning in some places as early as 6 ka, although most sites do not record near-Little Ice Age positions until 3.5 to 2.5 ka. Alpine glaciers reached their largest Holocene extents during the Little Ice Age, when temperatures were 1–1.5 °C cooler than during the late 20th century. Synchronous advances across Baffin Island throughout Neoglaciation indicate sub-Milankovitch controls on glaciation that could involve major volcanic eruptions and solar variability. Future work should further elucidate the state of glaciers and ice caps during the early Holocene thermal maximum and glacier response to climate forcing mechanisms.     

Changes in Zn speciation during soil formation from Zn-rich limestones

In order to better understand the long-term speciation and fractionation of Zn in soils, we investigated three soils naturally enriched in Zn (237–864 mg/kg Zn) from the weathering of Zn-rich limestones (40–207 mg/kg Zn) using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and sequential extractions. The analysis of bulk EXAFS spectra by linear combination fitting (LCF) indicated that Zn in the oolitic limestones was mainly present as Zn-containing calcite (at site Dornach), Zn-containing goethite (Gurnigel) and Zn-containing goethite and sphalerite (Liestal). Correspondingly, extraction of the powdered rocks with 1 M NH₄-acetate at pH 6.0 mobilized only minor fractions of Zn from the Gurnigel and Liestal limestones (<30%), but most Zn from the Dornach rock (81%). In the Dornach soil, part of the Zn released from the dissolving limestone was subsequently incorporated into pedogenic hydroxy-interlayered vermiculite (Zn-HIV, 30%) and Zn-containing kaolinite (30%) and adsorbed or complexed by soil organic and inorganic components (40%). The Gurnigel and Liestal soils contained substantial amounts of Zn-containing goethite (50%) stemming from the parent rock, smaller amounts (20%) of Zn-containing kaolinite (and possibly Zn-HIV), as well as adsorbed or complexed Zn-species (30%). In the soil from Liestal, sphalerite was only found in trace amounts, indicating its dissolution during soil formation. In sequential extractions, large percentages of Zn (55–85%) were extracted in recalcitrant extraction steps, confirming that Zn-HIV, Zn-containing kaolinite and Zn-containing goethite are highly resistant to weathering. These Zn-bearing phases thus represent long-term hosts for Zn in soils over thousands of years. The capability of these phases to immobilize Zn in heavily contaminated soils may however be limited by their uptake capacity (especially HIV and kaolinite) or their abundance in soil.     

Shear wave splitting in the Eastern Alps observed at the TRANSALP network

Data from the temporary TRANSALP seismic network were analysed to investigate the seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle beneath the Eastern Alps. We operated mostly short period and some broadband stations in a dense linear array, which transects the Eastern Alps at 12° E longitude. Recorded SKS and SKKS phases with different backazimuths were used simultaneously to calculate the splitting parameters of delay time and fast axis direction for each seismic station. While we found variations in the delay times between 0.8 and 2.0 s, the determined fast axis directions prove to be rather consistent along the profile (60°–70° N). They coincide well with the trend of the Eastern Alps, thus suggesting orogen-parallel flow in the upper mantle. Our findings support the earlier proposed idea that the Adriatic indenter which was forced northwards into the European plate during the late stage of the Alpine orogeny, triggered an escape movement to the less constrained Pannonian basin to the east.     

15,000-yr pollen record of vegetation change in the high altitude tropical Andes at Laguna Verde Alta, Venezuela

Pollen analysis of sediments from a high-altitude (4215 m), Neotropical (9°N) Andean lake was conducted in order to reconstruct local and regional vegetation dynamics since deglaciation. Although deglaciation commenced 15,500 cal yr B.P., the area around the Laguna Verde Alta (LVA) remained a periglacial desert, practically unvegetated, until about 11,000 cal yr B.P. At this time, a lycopod assemblage bearing no modern analog colonized the superpáramo. Although this community persisted until 6000 cal yr B.P., it began to decline somewhat earlier, in synchrony with cooling following the Holocene thermal maximum of the Northern Hemisphere. At this time, the pioneer assemblage was replaced by a low-diversity superpáramo community that became established 9000 cal yr B.P. This replacement coincides with regional declines in temperature and/or available moisture. Modern, more diverse superpáramo assemblages were not established until 4600 cal yr B.P., and were accompanied by a dramatic decline in Alnus, probably the result of factors associated with climate, humans, or both. Pollen influx from upper Andean forests is remarkably higher than expected during the Late Glacial and early to middle Holocene, especially between 14,000 and 12,600 cal yr B.P., when unparalleled high values are recorded. We propose that intensification of upslope orographic winds transported lower elevation forest pollen to the superpáramo, causing the apparent increase in tree pollen at high altitude. The association between increased forest pollen and summer insolation at this time suggests a causal link; however, further work is needed to clarify this relationship.     

Taconic Orogeny in Pennsylvania: A 15 –20 m.y. Apennine-style Ordovician event viewed from its Martic hinterland

In Pennsylvania, the Taconic Orogeny lasted from 461 to 443 Ma as Cambro-Ordovician slope deposits were deformed into mountains edging the Laurentian craton at the same time that materials from an adjacent deep-water basin were being transported 50 –70 km across a carbonate platform into foreland basins. This paper focuses on shelf-edge hinterland features, mostly the Martic Zone as a folded, stack of imbricate thrust sheets of slope materials that corresponds to Vermont's Taconic Mountains and Southern Quebec's zone of Taconic allochthons. Work of the last century is summarized, corrected, and combined with a new 450 Ma radiometric date and fluid inclusion data from the Pequea Mine within the Martic Zone. These and abundant new graptolite and conodont dates in the foreland paint a revised Pennsylvania picture differing from the northern Taconic areas. Differences are: (1) transport of very large allochthonous masses of deep-water material, the Dauphin Formation, far across the carbonate platform, and (2) deformation migrating progressively across that platform during a 15 –20 m.y. period, incorporating it and its foreland cover into alpine-scale, recumbent folds and thrusts. The scenario has many analogies to Italy's modern Apennine Mountains minus the Latian volcanics.