Palaeomagnetic results from Mounts Gambier and Schank,South Australia

Palaeomagnetic results are presented for two young volcanoes in southeastern Australia. Directions for the basalt and lava spatter, erupted near the beginning and end of activity at Mt Gambier respectively, are identical and suggest there was no long break in activity. The direction for basalt at Mt Schank differs from that of Mt Gambier by several degrees, and indicates that the two volcanoes differ in age, probably by three centuries or more. Directions for both volcanoes are much shallower than the present‐day geomagnetic direction at the locality. Palaeomagnetic field strength estimates, from baked ash at Mt Gambier and baked sand at Mt Schank, are higher than the present‐day field strength. Comparisons with other late Pleistocene and Holocene results suggest that ages for Mts Gambier and Schank are either greater than 7000 years or between 5000 and 1000 years. These conclusions are consistent with published radiocarbon ages from charcoal in fossil soil horizons sealed beneath ash deposits.     

Holocene chronostratigraphy of northeastern Baffin Bay based on radiocarbon and palaeomagnetic data

The northeastern Baffin Bay continental margin, which experiences high sediment accumulation rates, is an excellent location to study Holocene sedimentary variations. However, it is often difficult to obtain reliable chronologies of the sediment archives using traditional methods (δ¹⁸O and radiocarbon) due to specific oceanographic conditions (e.g. corrosive bottom waters). Here we propose a chronostratigraphy of three cores collected on the northwestern Greenland margin (AMD14‐204, AMD14‐210 and AMD14‐Kane2B) based on a combination of radiocarbon dating and palaeomagnetic records. Geophysical properties of discrete samples were used to verify the reliability of the palaeomagnetic records. Palaeomagnetic analyses indicate a strong and stable natural remanent magnetization carried by low coercivity ferrimagnetic minerals (magnetite) in the pseudo‐single domain grain size range. Correlation of the full palaeomagnetic vector (inclination, declination, and relative palaeointensity) was used to establish a reliable chronostratigraphical framework for two of the cores (AMD14‐204 and AMD14‐210) and to propose an original palaeomagnetic record for the previously ¹⁴C‐dated core AMD14‐Kane2B that covers most of the Holocene. Overall, this new chronostratigraphy allowed improvement of the timing of the main palaeoenvironmental changes that occurred in this area during the Holocene.     

The Hilina Pali palaeomagnetic excursion and possible self‐reversal in the loess from western Ukraine

A loess‐palaeosol succession from the last glacial cycle was palaeomagnetically studied in the Rivne abandoned brickyard (western Ukraine). Two samples of undisturbed loess from the same depth of parallel sections display steep negative inclinations. These reversed directions in the loess dated at c. 18 ka may possibly be correlated with the Hilina Pali palaeomagnetic excursion. This is the first occurrence of the Hilina Pali in a loess sediment. Unfortunately, the loess with negative inclination does not form any continuous layer that could be suitable for studies of detailed features of geomagnetic field inversion. Another six samples from an illuvial horizon of the Holocene soil also showed negative inclinations and strongly deviated declinations. This part of the section does not represent, however, any palaeomagnetic excursion. The anomalous magnetization in maghemite‐ and titanomagnetite‐rich sediment results most probably from self‐reversal remagnetization. A new insight into palaeomagnetic excursions noted in loess, especially in its parts affected by pedogenic processes, is recommended.     

Rodinia connections between Australia and Laurentia: no SWEAT,no AUSWUS?

Although geological comparisons between Australia and North America have provided a basis for various Neoproterozoic Rodinia reconstructions, quantitative support from precisely dated palaeomagnetic poles has so far been lacking. We report U–Pb ages and palaeomagnetic results for two suites of mafic sills within the intracratonic Bangemall Basin of Western Australia, one of which is dated at 1070 ± 6 Ma and carries a high‐stability palaeomagnetic remanence. Comparison of the Bangemall palaeopole with Laurentian data suggests that previous reconstructions of eastern Australia against either western Canada (SWEAT) or the western United States (AUSWUS) are not viable at 1070 Ma. This implies that the Pacific Ocean did not form by separation of Australia–Antarctica from Laurentia, and that up to 10 000 km of late Neoproterozoic passive margins need to be matched with other continental blocks within any proposed Rodinia supercontinent. Our results permit a reconstruction (AUSMEX) that closely aligns late Mesoproterozoic orogenic belts in north‐east Australia and southernmost Laurentia.     

Palaeoproterozoic mid‐basin inversion in the northern Mt Isa terrane,Queensland

The Mellish Park Syncline is located in the northern part of the Mt Isa terrane. It has an axial trace that transects the remnants of the unconformity‐bounded Palaeoproterozoic Leichhardt and Isa Superbasins. The syncline is separated into a lower and upper component based upon variation in fold geometry across the basin‐bounding unconformity. The lower syncline, in the Leichhardt Superbasin, is tight and has an inclined west‐dipping axial plane. The upper syncline, in the Isa Superbasin, is open and upright. The geometry of the lower syncline is a consequence of a period of shortening and basin inversion which post‐dated the Leichhardt Rift Event (ca 1780–1740 Ma) and pre‐dated the Mt Isa Rift Event (ca 1710–1655 Ma), forming an open and upright north‐oriented syncline. Subsequent southeast tilting and half‐graben development during the Mt Isa Rift Event resulted in the lower syncline being tilted into its inclined geometry. Sequences of the Isa Superbasin were then deposited onto the eroded syncline. The geometry of the upper syncline reflects regional east‐west shortening during the Isan Orogeny (ca 1590–1500 Ma). The position of the upper syncline was largely controlled by the pre‐existing lower syncline. At this time the lower syncline was reactivated and tightened by flexural slip folding.     

A palaeomagnetic study of the Charnian,Caldecote, and Uriconian volcanics and plutons,central England

This palaeomagnetic study has investigated intrusive and extrusive calc-alkaline igneous rocks comprising the pre-Ordovician basement of central England and the Welsh Borderlands and dated ca. 560–530 Ma. Demagnetization studies resolve a range of magnetic components in both the older volcanic successions comprising the eastern Uriconian volcanics, and in the younger intrusive episodes comprising the Charnwood and South Leicestershire outcrops. Post-Ordovician overprinting is largely absent and the remanence record dates from ca. 560–420 Ma. Within this time interval field tests are inadequate to confirm a primary origin and some components may be overprints acquired in immediate post-Uriconian (Cadomian) or during late Ordovician (early Caledonian) thermotectonic events. A first order continuity is recognized on a palaeomagnetic scale between the data from the Midlands-Welsh Borderlands and the terranes exposed in Anglesey and Southwest Wales. The British terranes moved through low latitudes during the interval represented by the Uriconian episode; they crossed the palaeoequator during the folding of these rocks and prior to emplacement of the later intrusive suite. Collectively they had rotated through ca. 170° and moved into intermediate latitudes by mid-Lower Cambrian times. Post-Lower Cambrian movements on the Malvernian lineament are a possible explanation for second order differences between the palaeomagnetic records of the English Midlands and the Welsh Borderlands; the largest possible regional rotation here is a ca. 90° movement of the Charnwood block with respect to the other outcrops. Correlation with the Gondwana APW path places the Anglo-Welsh basement in the vicinity of a comparable calc-alkaline volcanic province linked to a subducting plate margin in the Afro-Arabian area. Subsequent continental breakup led to termination of this volcanic activity and establishment of a passive marine shelf environment later in Lower Cambrian times.     

Palaeomagnetism of the Gawler Range Volcanics and implications for the genesis of the middleback hematite orebodies

A new Precambrian palaeomagnetic pole has been obtained for the Gawler Craton, South Australia. The pole is based on results obtained from the accurately dated Gawler Range Volcanics (1525 ± 15 m.y.) and is situated 230°E 60.4°N with ^a 95 = 6.2°. The pole is in excellent agreement with poles previously determined from the negatively magnetized ore of Iron Monarch and the negatively magnetized dykes that intrude the Gawler Craton. The results suggest that the iron ore‐forming process is closely related to igneous activity and supports the hypothesis of a hypogene origin for the ore.     

Stratigraphy of Vistulian glaciogenic deposits and corresponding thermoluminescence dates in the lower Vistula region, northern Poland

Drozdowski, Eugeniusz & Fedorowicz, Stanislaw 1987 06 01: Stratigraphy of Vistulian glaciogenic deposits and corresponding thermoluminescence dates in the lower Vistula region, northern Poland. Boreas , Vol. 16, pp. 139–153. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
Recent stratigraphical and sedimentological studies of Vistulian deposits in the lower Vistula region combined with the results of thermoluminescence dating substantiate the tripartite scheme of chronostratigraphic subdivision of the Vistulian glaciogenic sequence presented earlier by Drozdowski. All the thermoluminescence dates provided by till and intertill waterlain sediments refer to two major stadials which, in the light of sedimentological analyses, seem to represent two independent glacial cycles: an older, dated approximately to the period 59,000–51,000 years B.P., and a younger, dated to the period 17,000–15,000 years B.P. The dividing interval, named the Grudziadz Interstadial, was rather cool in nature. The evidence for this interstadial, apart from the significant break in glaciogenic sediment deposition, comprises some infills of subglacial stream trenches cut during the earlier deglaciation, loess-like silts, fossil sand wedges, and transgressive marine deposits, the latter occurring in restricted areas in the northern part of the region.     

Sedimentology and stratigraphy in the cave Hamnsundhelleren,western Norway

The stratigraphy in Hamnsundhelleren is as follows. A basal weathered rock bed of unknown age is followed by laminated clay deposited under stadial conditions and correlated with palaeomagnetism to the Laschamp excursion (43–47 000 yr BP). Angular blocks, bones and clay above this are ¹⁴C dated to the Ålesund Interstadial (28–38 000 yr BP). Another stadial laminated clay following the Ålesund Interstadial includes a palaeomagnetic excursion correlated with Lake Mungo (28 000 yr BP). The newly discovered Hamnsund Interstadial above this consists of frost-weathered clay and scattered angular blocks. It is ¹⁴C dated to 24 500 yr BP on bones mixed into the Ålesund Interstadial. The Hamnsund Interstadial is succeeded by another stadial laminated clay and then a Late-glacial–Holocene mixture of bones and blocks. In Hamnsundhelleren and other similar caves four successive phases of sedimentary environments for each ice-free–ice-covered cycle have been identified: (i) ice-free phase (deposition of bones and frost-weathered blocks); (ii) subaerial ice-dammed lake phase (sand or silt deposited in a lateral glacial lake); (iii) subglacial ice-dammed lake phase (cave closed by ice, deposition of till, debris flows and laminated clay); (d) ice-plugged phase (cave is plugged by frozen lake water and/or glacial ice, no deposition).     

Chrono‐stratigraphy of the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological sequence in Cova Gran (south‐eastern Pre‐Pyrenees,Iberian Peninsula)

The Cova Gran de Santa Linya (Lleida, Spain) is a recently discovered site, with a broad chrono‐cultural sequence that contains archaeological levels dating to the Middle Palaeolithic, Early Upper Palaeolithic, Late Upper Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. We present the chronometric and stratigraphic context of these occupations, which were dated using ¹⁴C accelerator mass spectrometry and thermoluminescence. The sequence provides important indicators that aid in the reconstruction of the history of human occupation on the southern slopes of the Spanish Pyrenees over the past 50,000 years. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

长白山地区最近一次火山喷发的热释光年龄

长白山天池在近代和历史时期有过多次喷发 ,目前仍具潜在喷发危险。因此 ,确定最后一次喷发的时代具有重要意义。在长白山白云峰至天池的坡上采集了粗面岩样品 ,通过热释光测年法中的前剂量技术测定 ,获得了各样品的 TL年龄 ,由于原先的粗面岩受到了后期火山活动时岩浆的高温烘烤 ,其热释光年龄代表了天池最后一次喷发的时代 ,距今约 5 33± 2 6 6年     

泥河湾层的氨基酸年龄测定

 用氨基酸外消旋法对泥河湾层下部骨化石和蚌化石进行了年龄测定,获得2.72.9、2.78Ma等年龄数据,结合古地磁探讨了泥河湾层底界及南沟冷期时代以及第四纪下限等问题。     

Palaeomagnetic data from the precambrian Gwalior traps, Central India

From alternating-field and thermal demagnetization studies on two dolerite “Traps” in the Gwalior Series (Central India), dated at 1830 ±200 m.y., three different palaeomagnetic directions could be distinguished. The characteristic magnetization component, which is considered as the primary magnetization, has a mean direction: D=78°, I=+34.5°, α₉₅=5°, k=369, N=4 (Pole): 155.5°E19°N, dp=3°, dm=5.5°.A comparison of the presented data with other Precambrian and Phanerozoic data from the Indian subcontinent might suggest that the Indian subcontinent underwent a continuous anticlockwise rotational movement during the last 1800 m.y.     

Geochemistry of the Mt Wright Volcanics from the Wonominta Block,northwestern New South Wales

The Mt Wright Volcanics are located in the Wonominta Block of northwestern New South Wales. Detailed regional mapping has shown that the block is a composite tectonic unit and that the metavolcanic rocks described as the Mt Wright Volcanics may have been emplaced at different time from Late Proterozoic (northern section: Packsaddle, Nundora) to Early Cambrian (southern section: Mt Wright). Geochemical investigations, including major and trace elements, as well as analyses of relic clinopyroxene, show that the rocks have affinities with alkali basalt with light‐rare‐earth‐element‐enriched compositions. An intra‐plate extensional environment (such as rift‐ and/or plume‐related) is considered most likely for the formation of the rocks. Though metamorphosed to various degrees, the rocks apparently retain much of their primary Sr isotopic character (initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr about 0.7032) and, apart from their age, resemble the Tertiary intraplate volcanism in eastern Australia. The Nd isotope analyses yield remarkably similar results between the two sections of the Mt Wright Volcanics, with ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd between 0.51260 to 0.51271 and _εNd(T) 4.7 ±0.4 (calculated to 525 Ma). A kaersutite‐bearing xenolith found in the northern section of the volcanic sequence has a Nd isotope composition more depleted than its hosts with _εNd(T) of 7.7. The isotope results suggest that the Mt Wright Volcanics were derived from a depleted mantle source without significant crustal contribution. It is proposed that the Mt Wright Volcanics possibly represent the products of a rifting event that led to the breakup of the Proterozoic supercontinent during Early Cambrian in eastern Australia.     

The Early Palaeozoic break-up of northern Gondwana,new palaeomagnetic and geochronological data from the Saxothuringian Basin,Germany

Early Palaeozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks from the Saxothuringian Basin (Franconian Forest, northern Bavaria) have been subjected to detailed radiometric and palaeomagnetic studies in order to determine the tectonic environment and geographic setting in which they were deposited. Two hand samples were collected from the as yet undated pyroclastic flow deposits for ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age dating. Radiometric results for these samples, obtained by the single-zircon evaporation technique, are identical within error, and the mean age of all measured grains is 478.2ǃ.8 Ma (n=11). This age is considered to be primary and firmly constrains the eruption of the ignimbrites and formation of the subaqueous pyroclastic flows as having occurred in Early Ordovician (Arenig) times. Palaeomagnetic studies were carried out on these Early Ordovician volcanic rocks, and also on the biostratigraphically dated, Late Ordovician (Ashgillian) Döbra sandstones. The volcanic rocks carry up to three directions of magnetisation. The poorly defined, low and intermediate unblocking temperature directions are thought to represent secondary overprint directions of post-Ordovician age. The high temperature component, however, identified at temperatures of up to 580 °C, is of mixed polarity and passes the fold test with 99% confidence. The overall mean direction after bedding correction is 189°/76°, !₉₅=11.6°, k=44.7 (25 samples, five sites), and is considered to be primary and Early Ordovician in origin. It yields a palaeo-south pole at 24°N and 007°E, which translates into palaeolatitudes of 63°+21.7°/-17.3° S for the Saxothuringian Terrane. Samples from the Late Ordovician Döbra sandstone are generally very weakly magnetised. A high temperature D component of magnetisation can be identified in some samples and yields a mean direction of 030°/-58°, !₉₅=18.5°, k=25.7 (15 samples, four sites) after bedding correction. The Arenig palaeomagnetic results indicate high palaeolatitudes, but separation from northern Gondwana. This is in basic agreement with data from elsewhere in the Armorican Terrane Assemblage, all of which suggest high southerly palaeolatitudes in the Early Ordovician. The geochemical signatures of these rocks indicate emplacement in an extensional environment. These new data, therefore, are interpreted as marking the onset of rifting of Saxothuringia from the north African margin of Gondwana, and the start of the relative northward migration of the Saxothuringian Terrane. Although the Late Ordovician palaeomagnetic results presented here are only poorly constrained, they suggest an intermediate palaeolatitude for Saxothuringia in Ashgillian times, in good agreement with Late Ordovician palaeomagnetic data from the Barrandian.     

Petrology of Mt Etinde Nephelinite Series

Mt Etinde is a volcano situated on the southwestern flank ofthe large Mt Cameroon. Its eruptions are dated at 065 Ma andtook place during the Mt Cameroon eruptive cycle (6 Ma withrecorded recent activity). The lava types, unrelated to theMt Cameroon alkali basalts, are melanephelinites, nephelinitessensu stricto, and numerous and varied nephelinites that containone or more of the following species: nosean, melilite, perovskite,garnet, aenigmatite, leucite, feldspar and haynophyres. Clinopyroxeneis the dominant mafic phase, with a variable composition betweenAl–Ti augite and aegirine. Zoning is also present in garnets,with conspicuous Ti enrichment in the border. Aenigmatite includesa fair proportion of Fe³⁺ Tschermak's component. Melilite issystematically Sr rich; its SrO contents increase continuouslywith MgO decrease, reaching 16 wt % in some facies. The chemicalcomposition of the lavas is extreme, with unusual concentrationsof volatiles (CO₂, H₂O, SO₃), most incompatible elements, suchas Ba, Sr and Zr, and the light rare earth elements (LREE).The Mt Etinde lavas define two lineages (MgO poor and MgO rich)that partly overlap. The chemical evolution of these two lineagescan be reproduced for major elements using a simple model ofcrystal fractionation. The major fractionating phase is an aluminousclinopyroxene, in accord with the petrographical observations.The scheme proposed can only be validated if the alkalis arenot taken into account, a hypothesis warranted by observationsof other nephelinite provinces or ijolite massifs and theirfenite aureoles. Nephelinite magmas were obviously generatedat great mantle depth, but their exotic composition can onlybe produced by partial melting of a metasomatic mantle. Comparisonwith other provinces would point to a source that has undergonecarbonatitic mtasomatism. KEY WORDS: nephelinites; Mt Etinde; Cameroon; petrogenesis; differentiation ^*Present address: Dpartement des Sciences de la Terre, Facult des Sciences, Universit de Yaound, BP 812, Yaound, Cameroon.Corresponding author.     

Late Quaternary vegetational changes on the east side of Yellowstone park,Wyoming

A bog pond 4 km east of Yellowstone Lake has a pollen record starting with an Artemisia spruce assemblage, implying alpine vegetation. A layer of volcanic ash, dated as 14,360 ± 400 BP (probably Glacier Peak or Mt. St. Helens J), occurs within the zone, which terminates at 11,630 ± 180 BP. The rest of the pollen sequence is dominated by lodgepole pine, with reappearance of spruce pollen in modest quantities about 4500 BP, according to dating provided by a layer of Mt. Mazama ash (6600 BP). The present vegetation of the area is marked by forests of lodgepole pine with some stands of spruce and fir. The pollen sequence suggests that the upper treeline before 11,600 y. a. was perhaps 500 m lower than today. The climate then became warmer and/or drier than today (Altithermal interval). About 4500 y. a., a slight climatic reversal took place, roughly contemporaneous with the regrowth of glaciers in the western mountains (neoglaciation).     

泥河湾层的氨基酸年龄测定

用氨基酸外消旋法对泥河湾层下部骨化石和蚌化石进行了年龄测定,获得2.72.9、2.78Ma等年龄数据,结合古地磁探讨了泥河湾层底界及南沟冷期时代以及第四纪下限等问题。     

The evolution of the mantle source beneath Mt. Etna (Sicily,Italy): from the 600 ka tholeiites to the recent trachybasaltic magmas

ABSTRACT

The spatial/temporal proximity of Mt. Etna to the Hyblean Plateau and the Aeolian slab makes the discussion on the nature of its mantle source/s extremely controversial. In this study, a detailed geochemical overview of the entire Mt. Etna evolutionary sequence and a comparison with the magmatism of the Hyblean Plateau was proposed to: (i) simulate the composition of Mt. Etna tholeiitic to alkaline primitive magmas in equilibrium with a fertile mantle source; (ii) model the nature, composition and evolution of the mantle source from the tholeiitic stage (600 ka) to present magmatism. According to our simulations, two amphibole + phlogopite-bearing spinel lherzolite sources are able to explain the wide range of Etnean primary magmas. The enrichment in LILE, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, Rb and H₂O of the magmas emitted after 1971 (but also discontinuously generated in both historic and prehistoric times) are caused by different melting proportions of amphibole and phlogopite in a modally and compositionally homogeneous mantle domain, with melting degrees analogous to those required to produce magmas erupted prior to 1971. The behaviour of the hydrous phases during melting could be ascribed to a variable H₂O/CO₂ activity in the mantle source, in turn related to the heat/fluxes supply from the asthenospheric upwelling beneath Mt. Etna. All these considerations, strengthened by numerical models, are then merged to review the complex Pliocene/Lower Pleistocene to present day’s geodynamic evolution of eastern Sicily.     

Accuracy limits of palaeomagnetic chronology

The paper deals with palaeomagnetic chronology as a statistical method. Using R. Fisher's statistics, the author derived the mean virtual pole positions, beginning with the Quaternary up to the Devonian, from data published in different countries and laboratories for the Eurasian continent up to the end of the year of 1966. From the mean pole positions the divergence of palaeomagnetic directions was computed and its value for Central Europe versus time was plotted. — Palaeomagnetic research into biostratigraphically dated rocks and mineral deposits in the Bohemian Massif has reached a stage, where it is possible to study the tectonic development of mineral deposits in relation to tectonic development of various basins, grabens and rock blocks. With respect to tectonic deformations, to the natural scattering of palaeomagnetic directions and to the accuracy in deriving the mean values of palaeomagnetic divergence, it is possible to achieve an accuracy in palaeomagnetic dating within the limits of a geological period, i.e. some tens of millions of years. Some other parameters may be used in special instances to reach a higher degree of accuracy.

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Zusammenfassung Die Arbeit behandelt die paläomagnetische Chronologie als statistische Methode im Hinblick auf die Erforschung von Lagerstätten. Mit der statistischen Methode von R. Fisher berechnet der Verfasser die mittleren Lagen der virtuellen Pole vom Quartär bis zum Devon; zur Berechnung wurden die paläomagnetischen Daten ausgenutzt, die für den eurasischen Erdteil bis 1966 veröffentlicht wurden. Von den mittleren Pollagen wurde die Divergenz der paläomagnetischen Richtungen für Mitteleuropa abgeleitet und ihr Wert wurde als Zeitfunktion graphisch dargestellt. Auf diese Weise wurde durch eine objektive Methode eine chronologische Vergleichskala ermittelt, die sich auf ein umfangreiches statistisches Material vom gesamten eurasischen Erdteil stützt. — Die paläomagnetische Erforschung der biostratigraphisch datierten Gesteine und Lagerstätten von Mineralrohstoffen auf dem Gebiet des Böhmischen Massivs ist so weit fortgeschritten, daß es möglich ist, die tektonische Entwicklung der Lagerstätten mit Bezug auf die tektonische Entwicklung verschiedener Becken, Gräben, ganzer Gesteinsblöcke usw. zu untersuchen. Mit Rücksicht auf die tektonischen Deformationen, auf den natürlichen Streubereich der paläomagnetischen Richtungen und auf den Genauigkeitsgrad der Ableitung der mittleren Werte der paläomagnetischen Divergenz besteht die Möglichkeit, bei der paläomagnetischen Datierung die Genauigkeit im Bereich von einigen zehn Millionen Jahren zu erreichen. In speziellen Fällen ist es zweckmäßig, auch andere Parameter zum Erreichen eines höheren Genauigkeitsgrades zu benützen.