Micromorphological analysis of poly‐phase deformation associated with the transport and emplacement of glaciotectonic rafts at West Runton,north Norfolk,UK

The ability of glaciers to detach and transport bedrock as glaciotectonic rafts is widely observed throughout Quaternary sections. However, the glaciological, hydrological and geological parameters controlling rafting are currently poorly constrained. There is a lack of structural and sedimentary evidence concerning rafting, and therefore the processes driving raft detachment, transport and emplacement are poorly understood. This paper contributes to our understanding by presenting a macro‐ and microstructural study of deformation associated with a chalk raft at West Runton, north Norfolk. Detailed thin‐section analysis reveals several discrete micro‐fabric orientations, representing poly‐phase deformation occurring during raft transport and emplacement. A four‐stage conceptual model for raft transport and emplacement is proposed, with deformation being partitioned into the relatively weaker Happisburgh Till member, the latter forming the host to the raft. Stage 1 is the main transport phase of the chalk raft, and was dominated by easterly (down‐ice) directed ductile shearing. During Stage 2 a narrow ductile shear zone within the Happisburgh Till member propagated upwards through the base of the raft, leading to the detachment of an elongate block of chalk. Attenuated lenses of diamicton in this shear zone possess kinematics recording an easterly directed sense of shear. As deformation progressed, during Stage 3, the detached block impinged on the ‘high‐strain’ zone wrapping the base of the raft, influencing the style of deformation partitioning and leading to localized, up‐ice‐directed kinematics. Stage 4 represents the final stages of raft emplacement, when the detachment zone at the base of the raft began to ‘lock‐up’. These results demonstrate the relative importance of the hydrological controls associated with raft transport and emplacement underneath an actively advancing glacier. Furthermore, the model represents an example of how micromorphological analysis can reveal detailed poly‐phase deformation histories in deformed glacial sediments.     

The structure and development of foredunes on a locally prograding coast: insights from ground-penetrating radar surveys, Norfolk, UK

The internal structure of coastal foredunes from three sites along the north Norfolk coast has been investigated using ground‐penetrating radar (GPR), which provides a unique insight into the internal structure of these dunes that cannot be achieved by any other non‐destructive or geophysical technique. Combining geomorphological and geophysical investigations into the structure and morphology of these coastal foredunes has enabled a more accurate determination of their development and evolution. The radar profiles show the internal structures, which include foreslope accretion, trough cut and fill, roll‐over and beach deposits. Foredune ridges contain large sets of low‐angle cross‐stratification from dune foreslope accretion with trough‐shaped structures from cut and fill on the crest and rearslope. Foreslope accretion indicates sand supply from the beach to the foreslope, while troughs on the dune crest and rearslope are attributed to reworking by offshore winds. Bounding surfaces between dunes are clearly resolved and reveal the relative chronology of dune emplacement. Radar sequence boundaries within dunes have been traced below the water‐table passing into beach erosion surfaces. These are believed to result from storm activity, which erodes the upper beach and dunes. In one example, at Brancaster, a dune scarp and erosion surface may be correlated with erosion in the 1950s, possibly the 1953 storm. Results suggest that dune ridge development is intimately linked to changes in the shoreline, with dune development associated with coastal progradation while dunes are eroded during storms and, where beaches are eroding, a stable coast provides more time for dune development, resulting in higher foredune ridges. A model for coastal dune evolution is presented, which illustrates stages of dune development in response to beach evolution and sand supply. In contrast to many other coastal dune fields where the prevailing wind is onshore, on the north Norfolk coast, the prevailing wind is directed along the coast and offshore, which reduces the landward migration of sand dunes.     

An investigation of subglacial shear zone processes from Weybourne,Norfolk, UK

The glacial sediments of north Norfolk are a type site for subglacial deforming bed sediments. This investigation focussed on subglacial shear zone process at the field and thin section scale, in order to understand subglacial processes, as well as considering the implications for regional stratigraphies. The sandy and chalky tills from three sites (within 1 km) at Weybourne, Norfolk, showed evidence for subglacial deformation associated with simple shear, producing extension, compression and rotation. It was demonstrated how these processes interacted to cause chalk fragmentation and predictable fabric strengths (dependant on sorting and grain size). It is suggested that the ‘Marly Drift’ is a diachronous unit, and the resultant stratigraphy at Weybourne reflects one deformation till, resulting from a series of ice advances, but with a lithology derived from the local chalk bed rock (with some far travelled erratics), which have undergone different degrees of chalk fragmentation reflecting the nature and duration of the subglacial deformation.     

Patterns of preglacial sedimentation and glaciotectonic deformation within early Middle Pleistocene sediments at Sidestrand, north Norfolk, UK

Middle Pleistocene preglacial and glacial sediments are described from Sidestrand in north Norfolk, UK. The sequence consists of estuarine and fluvial deposits of the Wroxham Crag and Cromer Forest-bed formations that were deposited by, and adjacent to, a major river system that drained northern and central England during the ‘Cromerian Complex’. These preglacial sediments were subsequently overridden and partially tectonised during a glaciation that deposited till of the Happisburgh Formation associated with the first lowland glaciation of eastern England. Detailed examination of the stratigraphy and structural evolution of the sequence reveals that glaciotectonic rafts of Sidestrand Unio Bed material, a regionally important biostratigraphic marker horizon, have been remobilised and partially mixed with other lithologies whilst being transported and emplaced further up-sequence by glaciotetconic processes. Caution should therefore be exercised when examining this deposit for biostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental purposes to ensure that sampling is from in situ material.     

The deforming bed characteristics of a stratified till assemblage in north East Anglia,UK: investigating controls on sediment rheology and strain signatures

The glacial coastal exposures of north Norfolk are a type site for subglacial glaciotectonic deforming bed sediments. This investigation of the lower stratified diamict within the North Sea Drift at West Runton reveals two distinct lamina types. Type 1 laminae are the product of primary extensional glaciotectonism, with ductile, intergranular pervasive shear predominating over brittle shear. Type 2 laminae also exhibit structures that can be attributed to ductile, intergranular pervasive shear and brittle shear, but the lateral continuity of Type 2 laminae and the presence of dropstone—like structures supports a primary subaqueous origin with secondary subglacial deformation.When coupled with micromorphological analysis, these findings show that ductile, viscous creep mechanisms control sedimentary architecture, and that ‘shear stratification’ in particular, has the potential to affect the rheological properties of the sediment pile and the hydraulic routing of basal water, ultimately influencing critical effective pressure fluctuations and the thresholds controlling the subglacial drainage system.     

New insights into the deformation of a Middle Pleistocene glaciotectonised sequence in Norfolk,England through magnetic and structural analysis

North Norfolk is a classic area for the study of glacial sediments with a complex glaciotectonic deformational history, but the processes leading to the formation of some structures can be ambiguous. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) analyses, providing quantitative fabric data, have been combined with the analysis of visible structures and applied to the Bacton Green Till Member, exposed at Bacton, Norfolk. Thermomagnetic curves, low temperature susceptibility and acquisition of isothermal remanent magnetism (IRM) reveal that the magnetic mineralogy is dominated by paramagnetic phases. The magnetic foliation is parallel to fold axial planes and weakly inclined to bedding, whilst the magnetic lineation is orientated parallel to stretching, indicated by the presence of stretching lineations and the trend of sheath folds. Variations in the orientation of the magnetic lineation suggest that the Bacton section has been subject to polyphase deformation. After subaqueous deposition, the sequence was overridden by ice and glaciotectonically deformed which involved stretching initially north–south, then east–west. These results show that AMS can be used to detect strain in three dimensions through a glaciotectonite where paramagnetic mineralogy is dominant. This approach therefore provides further support to the use of AMS as a fast, objective and accurate method of examining strain within deformed glacial sediments.     

Geomechanical model for the post-Variscan evolution of the Permocarboniferous–Mesozoic basins in Northeast Germany

The Permocarboniferous basins in Northeast Germany formed on the heterogeneous and eroded parts of the Variscan orogene and its deformed northern foreland. Transtensional tectonic movements and thermal re-equilibration lead to medium-scale crustal fragmentation, fast subsidence rates and regional emplacement of large amounts of mostly acidic volcanics. The later basin formation and differentiation was triggered by reversals of the large-scale stress field and reactivation of prominent zones of weakness like the Elbe Fault System and the Rhenohercynian/Saxothuringian boundary that separate different Variscan basement domains in the area. The geomechanical behaviour of the latter plays an important role for the geodynamic evolution of the medium to large-scale structural units, which we can observe today in three dimensions on structural maps, geophysical recordings and digital models. This study concentrates on an area that comprises the southern Northeast German Basin, the Saale Basin, the Flechtingen High, the Harz Mountains High and the Subhercynian Basin. The presented data include re-evaluations of special geological and structural maps, the most recent interpretation of the DEKORP BASIN 9601 seismic profile and observations of exposed rock sections in Northeast Germany. On the basis of different structural inventories and different basement properties, we distinguish two structural units to the south and one structural unit to the north of the Elbe Fault System. For each unit, we propose a geomechanical model of basin formation and basin inversion, and show that the Rhenohercynian Fold and Thrust Belt domain is deformed in a thin-skinned manner, while the Mid-German Crystalline Rise Domain, which is the western part of the Saxothuringian Zone, rather shows a thick-skinned deformation pattern. The geomechanical model for the unit north to the Elbe Fault System takes account to the fact that the base of the Zechstein beneath the present Northeast German basin shows hardly any evidence for brittle deformation, which indicates a relative stable basement. Our geomechanical model suggests that the Permocarboniferous deposits may have contributed to the structural stiffness by covering small to medium scale structures of the upper parts of the brittle basement. It is further suggested that the pre-Zechstein successions underneath the present Northeast German basin were possibly strengthening during the Cretaceous basin inversion, which resulted in stress transfer to the long-lived master faults, as indicated for example by the shape of the salt domes in the vicinity of the latter faults. Contrary to this, post-Zechstein successions deformed in a different and rather complex way that was strongly biased by intensive salt tectonic movements.     

Sedimentation and Iithostratigraphy of the North Sea Drift and Lowestoft Till Formations in the Coastal cliffs of northeast Norfolk,England

The most complete terrestrial sequence of Anglian (Elsterian) glacial sediments in western Europe was investigated in northeast Norfolk, England in order to reconstruct the evolution of the contemporary palaeoenvironments. Lithostratigraphically the glacial sediments in the northeast Norfolk coastal cliffs can be divided into the Northn Sea Drift and Lowestoft Till Formations. Three of the diamicton members of the North Sea Drift Formation (Happisburgh, Walcott and Cromer Diamictons) were deposited as lodgement and/or subglacial deformation till by grounded ice, but one, the Mundesley Diamicton, is waterlain and was deposited in an extensive glacial lake. Sands and fine sediments interbedded between the diamictons represent deltaic sands and glaciolacustrine sediments derived not solely from the melting ice in the north but also from extra-marginal rivers in the south. The Lowestoft Till Formation is not well preserved in the cliffs but includes lodgement till (Marly Drift till) and, most probably, associated meltwater deposits. Extensive glaciotectonism in the northern part of the area is shown to relate to oscillating ice that deposited the Cromer Diamicton and also partially to the ice sheet that deposited the Marly Drift till. It is suggested that during the Anglian Stage the present day northeast Norfolk coast was situated on the northwestern margin of an extensive glaciolacustrine basin. This basin was dammed by the Scandinavian ice sheet in the north and northeast. Because the grounding line of this ice sheet oscillated in space and time, part of the North Sea Drift diamictons were deposited directly by this ice. However, during ice retreat phases glaciolacustrine deposition comprised waterlain diamicton, sands and fines. When the Scandinavian ice sheet was situated in northernmost Norfolk, the British ice sheet (responsible for depositing the Marly Drift facies) entered the area from the west. This ice sheet partially deformed the North Sea Drift Formation sediments in the northern part of the area but not in the south, where the British ice sheet apparently terminated in water. The interplay of these two ice sheets on the northern and western margins of the glacial lake is thought to be the major determining factor for the accumulation of thick glacial deposits in this area during the Anglian glaciation.     

Tectonics and geology of spreading ridge subduction at the Chile Triple Junction: a synthesis of results from Leg 141 of the Ocean Drilling Program

An active oceanic spreading ridge is being subducted beneath the South American continent at the Chile Triple Junction. This process has played a major part in the evolution of most of the continental margins that border the Pacific Ocean basin. A combination of high resolution swath bathymetric maps, seismic reflection profiles and drillhole and core data from five sites drilled during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 141 provide important data that define the tectonic, structural and stratigraphic effects of this modern example of spreading ridge subduction.A change from subduction accretion to subduction erosion occurs along-strike of the South American forearc. This change is prominently expressed by normal faulting, forearc subsidence, oversteepening of topographic slopes and intensive sedimentary mass wasting, overprinted on older signatures of sediment accretion, overthrusting and uplift processes in the forearc. Data from drill sites north of the triple junction (Sites 859–861) show that after an important phase of forearc building in the early to late Pliocene, subduction accretion had ceased in the late Pliocene. Since that time sediment on the downgoing oceanic Nazca plate has been subducted. Site 863 was drilled into the forearc in the immediate vicinity of the triple junction above the subducted spreading ridge axis. Here, thick and intensely folded and faulted trench slope sediments of Pleistocene age are currently involved in the frontal deformation of the forearc. Early faults with thrust and reverse kinematics are overprinted by later normal faults.The Chile Triple Junction is also the site of apparent ophiolite emplacement into the South American forearc. Drilling at Site 862 on the Taitao Ridge revealed an offshore volcanic sequence of Plio-Pleistocene age associated with the Taitao Fracture Zone, adjacent to exposures of the Pliocene-aged Taitao ophiolite onshore. Despite the large-scale loss of material from the forearc at the triple junction, ophiolite emplacement produces a large topographic promontory in the forearc immediately after ridge subduction, and represents the first stage of forearc rebuilding.     

Deformation history and timing of granite emplacement in the Butchers Hill — Helenvale region,northern Hodgkinson Province,Queensland

Granite plutons of the Whypalla Supersuite in the Butchers Hill — Helenvale region of north Queensland were intruded into the upper crust of the Hodgkinson Formation during contractional deformation associated with the Permian‐Triassic Hunter‐Bowen Orogeny. A four‐stage structural history has been resolved for the area, with fabric overprinting relationships, porphyroblast‐matrix microstructural geometries and isotopic ages being consistent with granite emplacement during D₄ shortening at ca 274 Ma. Microstructural relationships suggest the possibility of a minor syn‐D₃ phase of granite emplacement. The deformation‐emplacement history of the Butchers Hill — Helenvale area is consistent with that recognised regionally for the Hodgkinson Province, indicating province‐wide synchronous syntectonic granite intrusion during a major phase of contractional deformation. Intense syn‐emplacement deformation partitioning was ongoing in the country rocks during progressive D₄ and was associated with upward translation of country rock from the microscale to the macroscale along D₄ cleavages and shears. Kinematic indicators show that this progressive uplift, at the scale of the area examined, was east‐side‐up.     

Push moraines in the upper valley of Santa Cruz river,southwest Argentina. Structural analysis and relationship with Late Pleistocene paleoclimate

The upper cliff of the Santa Cruz River was used to assess the proglacial environments of the Argentino Glacier outlet of Late Pleistocene age. These cliffs show glaciolacustrine, fluvioglacial and till deposits, where only the first one are deformed. Glacial landforms in the area and these structures suggest that the ice mass advanced, topographically controlled, towards the east from the Patagonian Ice Sheet pushing up the proglacial sediments.The spatial arrangement of thrusts and overturned folds, the drumlins-flutes moraine directions and the end moraines shape, allow inferring the dynamic and the Argentino glacier profile. Detailed analyses of the glaciotectonic structures indicate that these have two origins: load in the north with stress transfer to the southeast, and push from the west. Through the analysis of deformed sediments, their thickness and their sedimentary and structural features, three zones of deformations were recognized. Each of these zones was associated to glacial advances because of changes of the regional climate conditions.     

The glaciotectonic deformation of Quaternary sediments by fault-propagation folding

Fault-propagation folding is an important yet seldom recognised structural style within sediments affected by glacier-induced deformation. Fault-propagation folds develop in the hanging wall of low angle thrust faults and compensate part of the slip along the fault. Field examples are recognised across northern Europe, in glaciotectonic complexes of north Germany, Wales and the Isle of Man. The recognition of the fault-propagation fold mechanism in glaciotectonic deformation is important because resultant structures are related to exactly the same phase of deformation (i.e. the same phase of ice advance), and thus play a critical role in analyses of the temporal and spatial evolution of glacier-induced deformation. Some field examples show monoclinal geometries that are in good agreement with predictions of trishear kinematic theory. The trishear approach is appropriate to model these structures because the structures analysed in the field and simulated below show characteristics that are compatible with fault-propagation folds that were produced by trishear kinematics. The curved forelimb and the monocline geometry of the fault-propagation folds fit to the trishear model. The occurrence of footwall synclines is also in good agreement with trishear kinematics. These synclines show the typical thickening of the strata in the hinge. With respect to the modelling output, most important factors for the structural evolution of the fault-propagation folds is the ramp angle of the thrust, the position of the tip line and the propagation-to-slip ratio along the fault. This fits to observations made by previous studies at large scale fault-propagation folds in fold-and-thrust belts.     

Analysis of syntectonic magmatic veins at the mesoscale

Syntectonic magmatic veins are useful tools to identify the interaction between magmatic and deformation processes in the lithosphere. They can be present at all crustal levels, scales and tectonic regimes. The structural analyses of sets of leucocratic veins and dykes from the Rainy Lake zone (Canada) and from Cap de Creus area (Spain), combined with the results of analogue deformation experiments, allows distinction between structures related to intrusion and emplacement, and structures related to post-emplacement deformation. This study also gives an insight on the influence of host rock rheology, regional thermal conditions and deformation history on the developed structures.     

Emplacement History of Pasupugallu Gabbro Pluton, Eastern Ghats Belt, India: a Structural Study

Structural mapping of the Pasupugallu pluton, an elliptical intrusive gabbro-anorthosite body, emplaced into the western contact zone between the Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt and the Archaean East Dharwar Craton, along the east coast of India, reveals concentric, helicoidal and inward dipping magmatic and/or tectonic foliations. We identify a <1 km-wide structural aureole characterized by pronounced deflection of regional structures into margin parallel direction, mylonitic foliations with S-C fabrics, sigmoidal clasts, moderately plunging stretching lineations, non-cylindrical intrafolial folds, and stretched elliptical mafic enclaves in the aureole rocks. Our results suggest that the pluton emplacement is syn-tectonic with respect to the regional ductile deformation associated with the terrane boundary shear zone at the western margin of the Eastern Ghats. We present a tectonic model for the emplacement of the pluton invoking shear-related ductile deformation, rotation and a minor component of lateral expansion of magma. The intrusive activity (1450-800 Ma) along the western margin of the Eastern Ghats can be correlated with the significant event of recurring mafic, alkaline and granitic magmatism throughout the global Grenvillian orogens associated with the continent-continent collision tectonics possibly related to the amalgamation and the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia.     

下刚果盆地白垩系盐筏物理模拟研究

被动陆边边缘含盐盆地广泛发育的盐筏是一种重力滑脱作用下的极端薄皮伸展形成的构造样式,对于盆地后裂谷期的演化都有着重要的影响。基于物理模拟,除去考虑常规的盐层厚度、基底倾角、前构造沉积层厚度等单因素的影响之外,研究着重基底倾角与同沉积速率的组合影响,同时注重初始模型的设置与实际地质条件的吻合,使模拟结果更有意义。实验结果表明,触发下刚果盆地白垩系盐筏活动的机制为重力滑脱作用而非差异负载作用;盐筏构造最关键的控制因素为基底倾角及同沉积速率;其中基底倾角控制了盐筏形成过程中断裂的分布及筏体的滑脱速率,而同沉积速率则控制了筏体之间沉积填充的样式,两者相对速度的快慢控制了盐筏的构造样式,下刚果盆地白垩系盐筏构造是沉积速率相对较快条件控制的结果。     

Large-scale glaciotectonic deformation in the Great Lakes basin, USA-Canada

Investigation of the sedimentology, stratigraphy and deformation structures of an exposed sedimentary sequence associated with an isolated large ridge along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan reveals that it is part of a broad grounding-line fan complex that was subjected to extensive glaciotectonic deformation. It is concluded that the sequence formed following melting back of the margin of the Lake Michigan lobe and was subsequently overridden and deformed during advance of the ice margin probably to the Port Huron moraine. The lack of reported major glaciotectonic structures in the Lake Michigan basin compared to that in the North Sea and Baltic Sea basins is most likely due to paucity of soft and incompetent bedrock and/or lack of continuous permafrost conditions during deglaciation.     

The origin of glacial rafts: detachment, transport, deposition

Ruszczyńska-Szenajch, Hanna 1987 06 01: The origin of glacial rafts: detachment, transport, deposition. Boreas , Vol. 16, pp. 101–112. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
Characteristics of the processes of detachment and transport of glacial rafts and some aspects of the process of raft deposition are considered for two main genetic groups: (1) glaciotectonic rafts, detached and transported by pure mechanical, i.e. tectonic, action of glacial ice (subdivided into (a) squeezed or pressed-out, (b) dragged, and (c) pushed rafts) and (2) glacio-erosional rafts, detached by freezing-on, transported within the ice, and deposited mostly by a melting-out process. A third group of rafts, of composite origin, is also briefly discussed and exemplified. Attention is drawn to the fact that quite a number of glacial rafts are known by other names, e.g. some of the very large ones, simply representing squeezed-up ('ice thrust') end moraines, or very minute rafts occurring within tills and often called 'soft clasts', 'substratum lenses', etc.     

A simplified analysis method for piled raft foundations subjected to ground movements induced by tunnelling

A simplified method of numerical analysis has been developed to estimate the deformation and load distribution of piled raft foundations subjected to ground movements induced by tunnelling and incorporated into a computer program ‘PRAB’. In this method, a hybrid model is employed in which the flexible raft is modelled as thin plates, the piles as elastic beams, and the soil is treated as interactive springs. The interactions between structural members, pile–soil–pile, pile–soil–raft and raft–soil–raft interactions, are modelled based on Mindlin's solutions for both vertical and lateral forces. The validity of the proposed method is verified through comparisons with some published solutions for single piles and pile groups subjected to ground movements induced by tunnelling. Thereafter, the solutions from this approach for the analysis of a pile group and a piled raft subjected to ground movements induced by tunnelling are compared with those from three‐dimensional finite difference program. Good agreements between these solutions are demonstrated. The method is then used for a parametric study of single piles, pile groups and piled rafts subjected to ground movements induced by tunnelling. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Internal structure and kinematics of Variscan thrust sheets in the valley of the Trubia River (Cantabrian Zone, NW Spain): regional tectonic implications

The Variscan Belt in western Europe shows an arcuate geometry that is usually named Ibero-Armorican Arc. The nucleus of this arc, known as the Asturian Arc, comprises the Cantabrian Zone which is a foreland fold and thrust belt. The Trubia River area is located in the inflexion zone of the Asturian Arc, which is a strategic structural position for unraveling the geometry and kinematics of the Variscan thrust sheets and related folds. Geological mapping, construction of stratigraphic and structural cross sections, analysis of kinematic indicators, and estimate of shortening for each cross section have been carried out. This area consists of two major antiform-synform pairs related to two imbricate thrust systems. These folds are asymmetric, tight, and their axial traces follow the trend of the Asturian Arc. They have been interpreted as fault-propagation folds. The emplacement directions measured in the Trubia River area change from north to south and converge towards the core of the Asturian Arc. The minimum shortening estimated ranges between 16.4 and 17.6 km, which corresponds to 56.9 and 59.4%. The complex cross-cutting relationships between folds and thrusts suggest that, in general, the different structural units followed a forward-breaking sequence of emplacement, with some breaching and a few out-of-sequence thrusts. The analysis of the transport vectors together with the disposition of the fold axes and post-thrusting faults that deform the thrust stack are evidence of a late deformation event that is partially or totally responsible for the arcuate form of the Asturian Arc. The timing of the Asturian Arc, amount of shortening, and sequence of emplacement of the structures are in accordance with previous regional studies of the Cantabrian Zone.     

试论闽西南西溪超单元组合的建立及岩体构造特征

本文总结了闽西南西溪超单元组合的建立依据，系统地阐述了各超单元，单元的侵位变形特征，探讨了侵位机制与区域构造的关系指出岩体构造研究在区域地质调查中的重要意义。