Abrupt deglaciation events and Holocene palaeoceanography from high-resolution cores,Cartwright Saddle,Labrador Shelf,Canada

The uppermost Quaternary sediments in Cartwright Saddle, Labrador Shelf, are acoustically laminated, with reflectors that can be traced over long distances. Two piston cores from the saddle record changes in sediment and meltwater delivery from the northeast margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) during deglaciation. Variations in sediment properties indicate a similar history of sediment accumulation over the last 12 kyr. The temporal sampling interval reaches decadal resolution in the last deglacial period 7–9 ka. Analyses of total carbonate content, sediment magnetic variables, foraminiferal species and stable isotope measurements on planktic foraminifers show that abrupt changes occurred ca. 10.9, 9.2, 8.8, 7.9 and 7 ka (with 450 yr correction). There was no distinct change in sediment character during much of the Younger Dryas chronozone. In the δ¹⁸O record, the 8.8 ka event is a dramatic 1‰ shift toward lower values, which we associate with the Noble Inlet glacial event within Hudson Strait. We do not see the pronounced low δ¹⁸O event at 7.1 ka reported off Nova Scotia, but surprisingly, neither the Nova Scotia records nor other records in the Labrador Sea capture the impressive 8.8 ka change. Serious consideration must be given to the final collapse of the LIS as the cause of the 8.2 cal. ka cold event recorded in Greenland and northwest Europe. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The deglaciation of Clyde Inlet,northeastern Baffin Island,Arctic Canada

The behaviour of ice sheets as they retreated from their Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) positions provides insights into Lateglacial and early Holocene ice‐sheet dynamics and climate change. The pattern of deglaciation of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) in arctic fiord landscapes can now be well dated using cosmogenic exposure dating. We use cosmogenic exposure and radiocarbon ages to constrain the deglaciation history of Clyde Inlet, a 120 km long fiord on northeastern Baffin Island. The LIS reached the continental shelf during the LGM, retreated from the coastal lowlands by 12.5 ± 0.7 ka (n = 3), and from the fiord mouth by 11.7 ± 2.2 ka (n = 4). Rapid retreat from the outer fiord occurred 10.3 ± 1.3 ka (n = 6), with the terminus reaching the inner fiord shortly after 9.4 ka (n = 2), where several moraine systems were deposited between ca. 9.4 and ca. 8.4 ka. These moraines represent fluctuations of the LIS during the warmest summers since the last interglaciation, and this suggests that the ice sheet was responding to increased snowfall. Before retreating from the head of Clyde Inlet, the LIS margin fluctuated at least twice between ca. 7.9 and ca. 8.5 ka, possibly in response to the 8.2 ka cold event. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Subglacially precipitated carbonates record geochemical interactions and pollen preservation at the base of the Laurentide Ice Sheet on central Baffin Island,eastern Canadian Arctic

The mineralogy and isotopic compositions of subglacially precipitated carbonate crusts (SPCCs) provide information on conditions and processes beneath former glaciers and ice sheets. Here we describe SPCCs formed on gneissic bedrock at the bed of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) during the last glacial maximum on central Baffin Island. Geochemical data indicate that the Ca in the crusts was likely derived from the subglacial chemical weathering Ca-bearing minerals in the local bedrock. C and Sr isotopic analyses reveal that the C in the calcite was derived predominantly from older plant debris. The δ¹⁸O values of the SPCCs suggest that these crusts formed in isotopic equilibrium with basal ice LIS preserved in the Barnes Ice Cap (BIC). Columnar crystal fabric and the predominance of sparite over micrite in the SPCCs are indicative of carbonate precipitation under open-system conditions. However, the mean δ¹⁸O value of the calcite crusts is ~ 10‰ higher than those of primary LIS ice preserved in the BIC, demonstrating that SPCCs record the isotopic composition of only basal ice. Palynomorph assemblages preserved within the calcite and basal BIC ice include species last endemic to the Arctic in the early Tertiary. The source of these palynomorphs remains enigmatic.     

Associated terrestrial and marine fossils in the late-glacial Presumpscot Formation, southern Maine, USA, and the marine reservoir effect on radiocarbon ages

Excavations in the late-glacial Presumpscot Formation at Portland, Maine, uncovered tree remains and other terrestrial organics associated with marine invertebrate shells in a landslide deposit. Buds of Populus balsamifera (balsam poplar) occurred with twigs of Picea glauca (white spruce) in the Presumpscot clay. Tree rings in Picea logs indicate that the trees all died during winter dormancy in the same year. Ring widths show patterns of variation indicating responses to environmental changes. Fossil mosses and insects represent a variety of species and wet to dry microsites. The late-glacial environment at the site was similar to that of today's Maine coast. Radiocarbon ages of 14 tree samples are 11,907 ± 31 to 11,650 ± 50 ¹⁴C yr BP. Wiggle matching of dated tree-ring segments to radiocarbon calibration data sets dates the landslide occurrence at ca. 13,520 + 95/−20 cal yr BP. Ages of shells juxtaposed with the logs are 12,850 ± 65 ¹⁴C yr BP (Mytilus edulis) and 12,800 ± 55 ¹⁴C yr BP (Balanus sp.), indicating a marine reservoir age of about 1000 yr. Using this value to correct previously published radiocarbon ages reduces the discrepancy between the Maine deglaciation chronology and the varve-based chronology elsewhere in New England.     

海相砂岩油田高含水期精细油藏描述及剩余油分布研究

海上油田高含水期剩余油分布复杂,优势渗流通道砂体与隔夹层分布特征决定了剩余油分布,是剩余油主控地质因素。如何准确刻画与表征储层内部的优势渗流通道砂体及隔夹层,明确剩余油分布特征,认清油田调整挖潜的剩余潜力,是油藏描述面临的主要问题。针对南海珠江口盆地西江油田（XJ油田）高含水期面临的优势渗流通道砂体认识不清以及隔夹层分布难以刻画的地质问题,探讨形成海相砂岩油田高含水期精细油藏描述的关键技术。基于“差异放大”理念的精细地层细分与对比技术,解决了精细地层格架建立困难的问题;“波形与属性结合”的优势砂体刻画技术明确了储层砂体的分布范围与空间叠置关系,为识别优势渗流通道砂体与认识渗流特征提供依据;“非均质性分级表征”的三维地质建模技术将储层内部控制剩余油分布的优势渗流通道砂体、隔夹层、储层渗流差异表征在地质模型中。在精细地质模型及数值模拟的基础上定量表征剩余油空间分布特征,为剩余油挖潜和调整方案的实施提供地质依据。     

Provenance comparisons between the Nambucca Block,Eastern Australia and the Torlesse Composite Terrane,New Zealand: connections and implications from detrital zircon age patterns

Detrital zircon U–Pb LAM-ICPMS age patterns for sandstones from the mid-Permian –Triassic part (Rakaia Terrane) of the accretionary wedge forming the Torlesse Composite Terrane in Otago, New Zealand, and from the early Permian Nambucca Block of the New England Orogen, eastern Australia, constrain the development of the early Gondwana margin. In Otago, the Triassic Torlesse samples have a major (64%), younger group of Permian–Early Triassic age components at ca 280, 255 and 240 Ma, and a minor (30%) older age group with a Precambrian–early Paleozoic range (ca 1000, 600 and 500 Ma). In Permian sandstones nearby, the younger, Late Permian age components are diminished (30%) with respect to the older Precambrian–early Paleozoic age group, which now also contains major (50%) and unusual Carboniferous age components at ca 350–330 Ma. Sandstones from the Nambucca Block, an early Permian extensional basin in the southern New England Orogen, follow the Torlesse pattern: the youngest. Early Permian age components are minor (<20%) and the overall age patterns are dominated (40%) by Carboniferous age components (ca 350–320 Ma). These latter zircons are inherited from either the adjacent Devonian–Carboniferous accretionary wedge (e.g. Texas-Woolomin and Coffs Harbour Blocks) or the forearc basin (Tamworth Belt) farther to the west, in which volcaniclastic-dominated sandstone units have very similar pre-Permian (principally Carboniferous) age components. This gradual variation in age patterns from Devonian–late Carboniferous time in Australia to Late Permian–mid-Cretaceous time in New Zealand suggests an evolutionary model for the Eastern Gondwanaland plate margin and the repositioning of its subduction zone. (1) A Devonian to Carboniferous accretionary wedge in the New England Orogen developing at a (present-day) Queensland position until late in the Carboniferous. (2) Early Permian outboard repositioning of the primary, magmatic arc allowing formation of extensional basins throughout the New England Orogen. (3) Early to mid-Permian translocation of the accretionary wedge and more inboard active-margin elements, southwards to their present position. This was accompanied by oroclinal bending which allowed the initiation of a new, late Permian to Early Triassic accretionary wedge (eventually the Torlesse Composite Terrane of New Zealand) in an offshore Queensland position. (4) Jurassic–Cretaceous development of this accretionary wedge offshore, in northern Zealandia, with southwards translation of the various constituent terranes of the Torlesse Composite Terrane to their present New Zealand position.