The sedimentological evolution of a Lower Palaeozoic accretionary fore-arc in the Southern Uplands of Scotland

Thick turbidites accumulated along the northern margin of the Iapetus Ocean in Britain from mid-Ordovician to late Silurian times. Recent plate tectonic reconstructions hold that, during subduction, packets of these sediments, together with the underlying pelagic facies and thin portions of the uppermost ocean crust, were stripped from the descending plate and accreted to the inner trench wall on the Laurentian (North American) continental margin. The resulting accretionary prism is represented today by the Ordovician and Silurian rocks of the Southern Uplands of Scotland and the Longford-Down massif of Ireland. In these areas major reverse faults separate tracts of steeply dipping greywackes and mudstones with minor amounts of cherts and basalts. These tracts are up to several kilometres wide; their constituent beds face predominantly to the northwest, away from the site of the ancient ocean, while becoming progressively younger in each major fault slice towards the Iapetus suture in the southeast. From the stratigraphic sequences in these fault slices the sedimentary history of a portion of the Iapetus Ocean, and the British sector of its northern margin, can be reconstructed. In the Southern Uplands the earliest turbidites (mid- and late-Ordovician) are preserved in the northernmost fault slices. Regional facies trends, and vertical facies analysis, suggest that they accumulated in a trench dominated by a series of relatively small lower trench slope-derived fans. Pelagic sediments of the same age are found in the fault slices to the south, suggesting that the Ordovician turbidites were confined to the trench. During the lower and middle Llandovery, volcaniclastic trench turbidites were separated from quartz-rich ocean-floor turbidites (represented in the southern fault slices) by an elongate rise, on which pelagic deposits accumulated. This is interpreted as the outer trench high. In late Llandovery times the rise was overwhelmed, and thick laterally derived quartzose turbidites blanketed both the trench and the ocean floor. Sedimentation was strongly influenced by the evolution of the accretionary prism. By Llandovery times a trench slope break had emerged, supplying sediment both south to the trench and north to an upper slope basin in the Midland Valley of Scotland. In this basin early Silurian turbidites were followed by shallow-water and terrestrial sediments. Most of the sediment was derived from the emergent trench slope break: the volcanic arc and the Grampian orogenic belt to the north provided little or no detritus. Throughout the Ordovician and Silurian, sediment in the trench and on the ocean floor was derived from the volcanic arc, from the lower trench slope/trench slope break, from a degrading plutonic/metamorphic terrain (the Grampian Orogen), and locally by a minor amount of submarine sliding from carbonate-capped volcanic seamounts. Progressive elevation of the trench slope break in Silurian (and perhaps late Ordovician) times indicates that sediment from the arc-orogen hinterland must have bypassed the upper slope in the unexposed section of the margin to the northeast of the Southern Uplands, and travelled into the area axially along the trench floor.     

Element associations and distributions through a Lower Palaeozoic graptolitic shale sequence in the Southern Uplands of Scotland

The Lower Palaeozoic graptolitic sequence in the Southern Uplands of Scotland (Moffat Shales) is a highly condensed succession of marine shales, with much of the Ordovician and Early Silurian being represented by about 100 m of shales, mudstones and cherts. A total of 133 samples were collected from five main inliers and zoned by their graptolitic assemblages. These were analysed for the elements Si and Al (94 samples), Mg (80 samples), Ti, Fe, Mn, Ca, Na, and K (33 samples), and Cu, Pb, Zn, Rb, Sr, Y and Zr (133 samples). X-ray diffraction studies reveal the presence of quartz, illite, chlorite, carbonate and pyrite and these can be related to element associations brought out by correlation and multivariate statistical techniques. These studies reveal a systematic change up the succession based on an increasing contribution of clay to these sediments. Interpretation of the principal components indicates the main control of sedimentation to be physiographic, with physico-chemical conditions and decay of organic matter also being important.     

Late Caledonian dyke-swarms in Southern Scotland: New field,petrological and geochemical data for the Wigtown Peninsula,Galloway

Several hundred, dominantly NE-trending dykes invade Silurian flysch sediments of the Wigtown Peninsula. The most basic dykes are K-rich biotite-lamprophyres, hornblende-lamprophyres and appinites ('diorites' of previous maps). More acidic (qz and cm normative) dykes include restricted andesitic compositions ('porphyritcs', c. 57 per cent SiO₂) and a continuum from dacitic to rhyolitic compositions ('acid porphyrites' and 'porphyries', c. 63–71 per cent SiO₂). The relative abundance of basic to intermediate + acidic dykes, based on examination of 180 thin sections and 70 new whole-rock analyses, is approximately 7:1. The biotite- and hornblende-lamprophyres are distinct in chemistry and distribution, biotite-lamprophyres being confined to the south of the Peninsula. Neither type has any compositional equivalent among the plutonic rocks of the area. Porphyrite and porphyry dykes do not represent simple lamprophyre fractionates, but may be derived from at least two (intermediate and acidic) parent magmas, which may represent crustally-contaminated lamprophyre or entirely separate crustal melts. Emplacement of all dyke compositions was apparently episodic through Wenlock to early Devonian times (c. 425-395 Ma). Early dykes post-date the main deformation (D₁) but predate minor (D₂) folding, both D₁ and D₂ being related to thrusting. On the current accretionary model for the Southern Uplands, this implies that dyke emplacement commenced before the end of accretion in a compressional tectonic regime—scarcely consistent with the moderate (up to 6 per cent) crustal extension represented by the dykes. The geochemistry of the lamprophyres requires a deep mantle origin several hundred kilometres behind any subduction zone. This suggests that the 'lapetus suture', at the time of dyke emplacement, was much farther south than its currently inferred position and places the Southern Uplands in a back-arc situation.     

Geochemistry of mafic and ultramafic xenoliths from Fidra (Southern Uplands, Scotland): implications for lithospheric processes in Permo-Carboniferous times

Several types of xenoliths occur in a Permian basanite sill in Fidra, eastern central Scotland. One group consists of spinel lherzolites, which have geochemical and isotopic characteristics similar to those of lithospheric upper mantle from elsewhere in western Europe, with both LREE-depleted and LREE-enriched compositions. A separate group comprises pyroxenites and wehrlites, some of which contain plagioclase; these have compositions and textures that indicate that they are cumulates from mafic magmas. In terms of Sr and Nd isotope compositions, the pyroxenites closely resemble the host basanite and most likely formed by high-pressure fractionation of Permo-Carboniferous alkaline magmas at lower crustal depths. They also have mantle-like δ¹⁸O values. A third group is composed of granulite xenoliths that vary between plagioclase-rich and clinopyroxene-rich compositions, some of which probably form a continuum with the pyroxenites and wehrlites. They are all LREE-enriched and most have positive Eu anomalies; thus, they are also mostly cumulates from mafic magmas. Many of the granulites also have Sr and Nd radiogenic isotope ratios similar to those of the host basanite, indicating that they have formed from a similar magma. However, several of the granulites show more enriched isotopic compositions, including higher δ¹⁸O values, trending towards an older crustal component. Thus, the pyroxenites and granulites are largely cogenetic and are mainly the product of a mafic underplating event that occurred during the widespread magmatism in central Scotland during Permo-Carboniferous times.     

Palaeomagnetism of the Loch Doon Granite Complex, Southern Uplands of Scotland: The Late Caledonian palaeomagnetic record and an Early Devonian episode of True Polar Wander

The Southern Uplands terrane is an Ordovician–Silurian back-arc/foreland basin emplaced at the northern margin of the Iapetus Ocean and intruded by granite complexes including Loch Doon (408.3 ± 1.5 Ma) during Early Devonian times. Protracted cooling of this 130 km³ intrusion recorded magnetic remanence comprising a predominant (‘A’) magnetisation linked to initial cooling with dual polarity and mean direction D / I = 237 / 64° (α₉₅ = 4°, palaeopole at 316°E, 21°N). Subsidiary magnetisations include Mesozoic remanence correlating with extensional tectonism in the adjoining Irish Sea Basin (‘B’, D / I = 234/− 59°) and minority populations (‘C’, D / I = 106/− 2° and ‘D’, D / I = 199/1°) recording emplacement of younger ( 395 Ma) granites in adjoining terranes and the Variscan orogenic event. The ‘A’ directions have an arcuate distribution identifying anticlockwise rotation during cooling. A comparable rotation is identified in the Orthotectonic Caledonides to the north and the Paratectonic Caledonides to the south following closure of Iapetus. Continental motion from midsoutherly latitudes ( 40°S) at 408 Ma to equatorial palaeolatitudes by  395 Ma is identified and implies minimum rates of continental movement between 430 and 390 Ma of 30–70 cm/year, more than double maximum rates induced by plate forces and interpreted as a signature of true polar wander. Silurian–Devonian palaeomagnetic data from the British–Scandinavian Caledonides define a 430–385 Ma closed loop comparable to the distributed contemporaneous palaeomagnetic poles from Gondwana. They reconcile pre-430 Ma and post-380 Ma APW from this supercontinent and show that Laurentia–Baltica–Avalonia lay to the west of South America with a relict Rheic Ocean opening to the north which closed to produce Variscan orogeny by a combination of pivotal closure and right lateral transpression.     

Strain-related differences in the crystal growth of white mica and chlorite: a TEM and XRD study of the development of metapelitic microfabrics in the Southern Uplands thrust terrane, Scotland

Abstract TEM and XRD techniques were used to study crystal growth characteristics of the fabric-forming phyllosilicates which developed in response to low-grade metamorphism and tectonic imbrication in part of the Southern Uplands thrust terrane. Prograde regional metamorphism, ranging from late diagenesis through the anchizone to the epizone, was accompanied by the development of a slaty cleavage which is commonly bedding-parallel. TEM-measured mean thicknesses of white mica and chlorite crystallite populations increase with advancing grade and correlate with XRD-measured crystallinity indices. Analytical TEM data show that prograde changes in composition lead to a net loss of Si, Ca and minor Fe from the fabric-forming phyllosilicates. White micas are paragonite-poor phengites with a mean b lattice parameter of 9.037 Å, and indicate an intermediate pressure series of metamorphism with a field gradient of <25° C km^-1. Chlorite compositions evolved from diabantite (with intergrown corrensite) to ripidolite over an estimated temperature range of 150–320° C. Field gradient and temperature estimates suggest that crystal growth and fabric development occurred at burial depths ranging from 6 km to at least 13 km in the thrust terrane. During late diagenesis, crystal growth of white mica and chlorite was predominantly a consequence of polytypic and phase transitions, and resulted in similar size distributions which resemble typical Ostwald ripening curves. Under anchizonal and epizonal conditions, white mica grew more rapidly than chlorite because of its greater ability to store strain energy and recover from subgrain development; as a result crystal thickness distributions are not typical of Ostwald ripening. In contrast, chlorite crystals which grew under these conditions developed subgrain boundaries at high strain rates which were only partially recovered at low strain rates; these retained dislocations reduce the crystallite thicknesses detected by TEM and XRD, compared with those of white mica. These differences in strain-induced crystal growth indicate that white mica (illite) and chlorite crystallinity indices are likely to show significant differences where low-grade metamorphism is closely associated with tectonic fabric development.     

渤海东部旅大29-1构造沙二段砂砾岩锆石定年及物源示踪

为示踪辽东凹陷LD29-1构造沙二段（Es₂）砂岩沉积,对LD29-1-1、LD29-1-1Sa及LD29-1-2等3口井的沙二段砂岩6个岩屑样品进行了碎屑锆石U-Pb定年和锆石阴极发光（CL）图像分析。结果表明:LD29-1-1井样品中白垩纪（K）锆石含量高达41.2%,具有108 Ma峰值年龄,锆石柱状晶形完整,并且棱角明显;而LD29-1-1Sa及LD29-1-2井样品的中元古代（Pt₂）锆石含量高达74%~75%,中生代（Mz）锆石含量少,具有~1.5 Ga和~1.8 Ga双峰值特征,锆石晶体明显小于LD29-1-1井沉积物,并且晶形不完整、边缘均被磨圆。因此,认为LD29-1-1井沙二段砂岩为近源沉积,母岩为长兴岛凸起斜坡带中生界碎屑岩,而LD29-1-1Sa及LD29-1-2井沙二段砂体为远源沉积,母岩以辽东半岛西部复州地区广泛分布的中、上元古界沉积岩为主,在搬运至斜坡带时才混入少量中生界碎屑岩。     

东营凹陷沙三中亚段东营三角洲沉积期次成因及对含油性的影响

根据岩性组合变化、测井曲线叠加样式及地震反射特征,将东营三角洲沙三中亚段划分为八个期次,准层序组PS8~PS1,各期次间沉积小型湖泛泥岩楔。结合岩心及测录井沉积相分析,认为研究区发育三角洲-重力流-湖泊沉积体系。东南部主要发育三角洲分流河道、河口坝、席状砂,西北部发育与三角洲前缘滑塌相伴生的坡移堆积体、滑塌浊积岩和远源浊积岩。准层序组PS8~PS1,活动三角洲经历了由南至北的迁移演化过程。当波浪与河流能量能够抗衡并往复运动时,形成厚度较大的三角洲楔状体叠加区,沉积席状砂和河口坝砂体。受湖平面变化、构造沉降及沉积物供给速率的影响,湖退体系域早期PS7~PS4重力流砂体含油丰富,而浅水区准层序组界线附近的席状砂和河口坝由于临近具有侧向封堵及局部盖层作用的泥岩楔及沼泽沉积,其含油性也较好。     

Phosphoinnelite, Ba4Na3Ti3Si4O14(PO4,SO4)2(O,F)3, a new mineral species from peralkaline pegmatite of the Kovdor pluton, Kola Peninsula

Phosphoinnelite, an analogue of innelite with P > S, has been found in a peralkaline pegmatite vein crosscutting calcite carbonatite at the phlogopite deposit, Kovdor pluton, Kola Peninsula. Cancrinite (partly replaced with thomsonite-Ca), orthoclase, aegirine-augite, pectolite, magnesioarfvedsonite, golyshevite, and fluorapatite are associated minerals. Phosphoinnelite occurs as lath-shaped crystals up to 0.2 × 1 × 6 mm in size, which are combined typically in bunch-, sheaf-, and rosettelike segregations. The color is yellow-brown, with vitreous luster on crystal faces and greasy luster on broken surfaces. The mineral is transparent. The streak is pale yellowish. Phosphoinnelite is brittle, with perfect cleavage parallel to the {010} and good cleavage parallel to the {100}; the fracture is stepped. The Mohs hardness is 4.5 to 5. Density is 3.82 g/cm³ (meas.) and 3.92 g/cm³ (calc.). Phosphoinnelite is biaxial (+), α = 1.730, β = 1.745, and γ = 1.764, 2V (meas.) is close to 90°. Optical orientation is Z^c ∼ 5°. Chemical composition determined by electron microprobe is as follows (wt %): 6.06 Na₂O, 0.04 K₂O, 0.15 CaO, 0.99 SrO, 41.60 BaO, 0.64 MgO, 1.07 MnO, 1.55 Fe₂O₃, 0.27 Al₂O₃, 17.83 SiO₂, 16.88 TiO₂, 0.74 Nb₂O₅, 5.93 P₂O₅, 5.29 SO₃, 0.14 F, −O=F₂ = −0.06, total is 99.12. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of (Si,Al)₄O₁₄ is (Ba_3.59Sr_0.13K_0.01)_Σ3.73(Na_2.59Mg_0.21Ca_0.04)_Σ3.04(Ti_2.80Fe _0.26 ³⁺ Nb_0.07)_Σ3.13[(Si_3.93Al_0.07)_Σ4O₁₄(P_1.11S_0.87)_Σ1.98O_7.96](O_2.975F_0.10)_Σ3.075. The simplified formula is Ba₄Na₃Ti₃Si₄O₁₄(PO₄,SO₄)₂(O,F)₃. The mineral is triclinic, space group P or P1. The unit cell dimensions are a = 5.38, b = 7.10, c = 14.76 ?; α = 99.00°, β = 94.94°, γ = 90.14°; and V = 555 ?³, Z = 1. The strongest lines of the X-ray powder pattern [d, ? in (I)(hkl)] are: 14.5(100)(001), 3.455(40)(103), 3.382(35)(0 2), 2.921(35)(005), 2.810(40)(1 4), 2.683(90)(200, 01), 2.133(80)( 2), 2.059(40)(204, 1 3, 221), 1.772(30)(0 1, 1 7, 2 2, 2 3). The infrared spectrum is demonstrated. An admixture of P substituting S has been detected in the innelite samples from the Inagli pluton (South Yakutia, Russia). An innelite-phosphoinnelite series with a variable S/P ratio has been discovered. The type material of phosphoinnelite has been deposited at the Fersman Mineralogical Museum, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Original Russian Text ? I.V. Pekov, N.V. Chukanov, I.M. Kulikova, D.I. Belakovsky, 2006, published in Zapiski Rossiiskogo Mineralogicheskogo Obshchestva, 2006, No. 3, pp. 52–60. Considered and recommended by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names, Russian Mineralogical Society, May 9, 2005. Approved by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names, International Mineralogical Association, July 4, 2005 (proposal 2005-022).     

A hydrothermal investigation of the system FeO, Fe2O3, TiO2

Phase relations in the system FeO---Fe₂O₃---TiO₂, at temperatures ranging between 300°C and 700°C, have been investigated experimentally with special refference to the reaction Fe₃O₄ + TiO₂ = Fe₂O₃ + FeTiO₃. Pressure was varied between 500 and 2000 bars but its effect was negligible. Magnetite and rutile are the stable assemblage at temperatures above 550 dgC, and hematite and ilmenite are stable for lower temperatures. The equilibrium oxygen fugacity is estimated to be 10^−17.5 bars at equilibrium temperature. It is suggested that intermediate hematite-ilmenite solid solutions are inhomogeneous, consisting of ‘domains’ of hematite and ilmenite. The ‘domains’ are too small to be resolved by X-ray diffraction techniques. The top of the solvus curve in the hematite-ilmenite solution corresponds to a temperature of 660°C. Regular solution theory is not applicable to the solid solution.     

Primary cracking of kerogens. Experimenting and modelling C1, C2–C5, C6–C15 and C15+ classes of hydrocarbons formed

Mathematical models of hydrocarbon formation can be used to simulate the natural evolution of different types of organic matter and to make an overall calculation of the amounts of oil and/or gas produced during this evolution. However, such models do not provide any information on the composition of the hydrocarbons formed or on how they evolve during catagenesis.From the kinetic standpoint, the composition of the hydrocarbons formed can be considered to result from the effect of “primary cracking” reactions having a direct effect on kerogen during its evolution as well as from the effect of “secondary cracking” acting on the hydrocarbons formed.This report gives experimental results concerning the “primary cracking” of Types II and III kerogens and their modelling. For this, the hydrocarbons produced have been grouped into four classes (C₁, C₂–C₅, C₆–C₁₅ and C₁₅₊). Experimental data corresponding to these different classes were obtained by the pyrolysis of kerogens with temperature programming of 4°C/min with continuous analysis, during heating, of the amount of hydrocarbons corresponding to each of these classes.The kinetic parameters of the model were optimized on the basis of the results obtained. This model represents the first step in the creation of a more sophisticated mathematical model to be capable of simulating the formation of different hydrocarbon classes during the thermal history of sediments. The second step being the adjustment of the kinetic parameters of “secondary cracking”.     

渤海海域环渤中地区沙一二段混积岩优质储层差异及成因

渤海海域环渤中地区沙一二段发育混积岩储层,其中发现了大量的油气,但储层物性差异较大,非均质性较强,其差异及成因方面的研究较少,严重制约了该类型储层的进一步勘探评价.利用钻井及常规物性、铸体薄片、全岩、黏土矿物等分析化验资料,探讨了环渤中地区沙一二段混积岩优质储层的差异及成因.研究结果表明:（1）环渤中地区沙一二段发育以生物碎屑为主的混积岩、以陆源碎屑为主的混积岩和以化学沉淀碳酸盐为主的混积岩储层,前2类储层中发育大量的螺壳和介壳.其中,生物碎屑为主的混积岩储层以生物体腔孔为主,白云石化作用强,物性最好;陆源碎屑为主的混积岩储层以溶蚀孔为主,生物体腔孔和原生孔次之,泥晶包壳发育、白云石化作用强、含大量中酸性火山岩岩屑、埋藏浅的储层物性好;化学沉淀碳酸盐为主的混积岩储层方解石胶结作用强,物性较差.不同构造混积岩储层类型及物性具有明显的差异性.（2）研究区混积岩储层差异主要受母岩类型、基底岩性、沉积水体环境、沉积相、大气淡水淋滤、埋深压实作用、胶结作用、溶解作用以及构造作用的共同控制,但每个构造的优质储层均具有独特的控制因素组合.非碳酸盐岩母岩区,原生沉积期-火成岩基底、含大量生物碎屑混积岩,准同生期-大气淡水淋滤、早期白云石化,以及深埋藏期-强溶解、裂缝发育是环渤中坳陷沙一二段混积岩优质储层形成的共性.混积岩优质储层差异及成因分析为陆相断陷湖盆中深部油气勘探和评价过程中优质储层的预测具有重要的借鉴意义.      

Adsorption of dissolved organic matter on clay minerals as assessed by infra-red, CPMAS C NMR spectroscopy and low field T1 NMR relaxometry

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a very important environmental constituent due to its role in controlling factors for soil formation, mineral weathering and pollutant transport in the environment. Prediction of DOM physical-chemical properties is achieved by studying its chemical structure and spatial conformation. In the present study, dissolved organic matter extracted from compost obtained from the organic fraction of urban wastes (DOM-P) has been analysed by FT-IR, CPMAS ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and ¹H T₁ NMR relaxometry with fast field cycling (FFC) setup. While the first two spectroscopic techniques revealed the chemical changes of dissolved organic matter after adsorption either on kaolinite (DOM-K) or montmorillonite (DOM-S), the latter permitted the evaluation of the conformational variations as assessed by longitudinal relaxation time (T₁) distribution at the fixed magnetic field of 500 mT. Alterations of T₁ distributions from DOM-P to DOM-K and DOM-S were attributed to a decreasing molecular complexity following DOM-P adsorption on the clay minerals. This study applied for the first time solid state ¹H T₁ NMR relaxometry to dissolved organic matter from compost obtained from the organic fraction of urban wastes and revealed that this technique is very promising for studying environmentally relevant natural organic systems.     

High temperature calorimetric studies of heat of solution of NiO, CuO, La2O3, TiO2, HfO2 in sodium silicate liquids

The enthalpies of solution of La₂O₃, TiO₂, HfO₂, NiO and CuO were measured in sodium silicate melts at high temperature. When the heat of fusion was available, we derived the corresponding liquid-liquid enthalpies of mixing. These data, combined with previously published work, provide insight into the speciation reactions in sodium silicate melts. The heat of solution of La₂O₃ in these silicate solvents is strongly exothermic and varies little with La₂O₃ concentration. The variation of heat of solution with composition of the liquid reflects the ability of La(III) to perturb the transient silicate framework and compete with other cations for oxygen. The enthalpy of solution of TiO₂ is temperature-dependent and indicates that the formation of Na-O-Si species is favored over Na-O-Ti at low temperature. The speciation reactions can be interpreted in terms of recent spectroscopic studies of titanium-bearing melts which identify a dual role of Ti⁴⁺ as both a network-former end network-modifier. The heats of solution of oxides of transition elements (Ni and Cu) are endothermic, concentration-dependent and reach a maximum with concentration. These indicate a charge balanced substitution which diminishes the network modifying role of Na⁺ by addition of Ni²⁺ or Cu²⁺. The transition metal is believed to be in tetrahedral coordination, charge balanced by the sodium cation in the melts.