Paper I – Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of perennially frozen deposits in north‐central Siberia: OSL characteristics of quartz grains and methodological considerations regarding their suitability for dating

Arnold, L. J. & Roberts, R. G. 2011: Paper I – Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of perennially frozen deposits in north?central Siberia: OSL characteristics of quartz grains and methodological considerations regarding their suitability for dating. Boreas, Vol. 40, pp. 389–416. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2011.00209.x. ISSN 0300?9483. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of coarse‐grained quartz is increasingly being used as the main chronological tool in late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of Siberia. However, relatively little information has been published on the suitability of OSL dating for the various types of perennially frozen sediments found in this region. Here we provide a systematic examination of the quartz luminescence characteristics of 21 perennially frozen samples from the Taimyr Peninsula and adjacent coastal lowlands of north‐central Siberia, and discuss their implications for the reliability of single‐grain and multi‐grain OSL chronologies in such contexts. The results of this study suggest that the quartz luminescence characteristics of these samples are, in principle, favourable for OSL dating but, in practice, require that a series of validation checks are made of the chosen experimental conditions. If these tests are satisfied, then reliable OSL chronologies should be obtained for sedimentary deposits in this region. Importantly, however, the single‐grain and multi‐grain aliquot equivalent dose (D_e) distribution characteristics for our samples reveal that there are advantages in targeting certain types of depositional settings for OSL dating studies of Siberian sediments. We also show that samples from the same depositional settings, and even from the same sites, do not necessarily display similar D_e distribution characteristics. The latter complication favours the use of single‐grain analysis to unravel the bleaching and burial histories of young (mid‐ to late Holocene) sediments in these Arctic environments.     

The importance of radiocarbon dates and tephra for developing chronologies of Holocene environmental changes from lake sediments,North Far East

Developing continuous chronologies of paleoenvironmental change in northern areas of the Far East using ¹⁴C can be problematic because of the low organic content in lake sediments. However, Holocene age-models can be supplemented by widespread tephra deposits reported in the Magadan region. The best documented of these tephras has been correlated to the KO tephra from southern Kamchatka dated to 7600 BP. Although a key chronostratigraphic marker, no detailed compendium of the distribution of this tephra and its associated ¹⁴C dates has been available from sites in the northern Far East. We provide such a summary. Known locally as the Elikchan tephra, lake cores indicate an ash fall that extended ~1800 km north of the Kamchatkan caldera with a ~500 km wide trajectory in the Magadan region. Other Holocene tephras preserved in lake sediments have poorer age control and possibly date to ~2500 BP, ~2700 BP and ~6000 BP. These ashes seem to be restricted to coastal or near-coastal sites. A single record of a ~25,000 BP tephra has also been documented ~100 km to the northeast of Magadan.     

Vented sediments and tsunami deposits in the Puget Lowland,Washington – differentiating sedimentary processes

The sandy deposits produced by tsunamis and liquefaction share many sedimentary features, and distinctions between the two are important in seismically active coastal zones. Both types of deposits are present in the wetlands bordering Puget Sound, where one or more earthquakes about 1100 years ago caused both tsunami flooding and sediment venting. This co‐occurrence allows an examination of the resulting deposits and a comparison with tsunami and liquefaction features of modern events. Vented sediments occur at four of five wetland field localities and tsunami deposits at two. In comparison with tsunami deposits, vented sediments in this study and from other studies tend to be thicker (although they can be thin). Vented sediments also have more variable thickness at both outcrop and map scale, are associated with injected dykes and contain clasts derived from underlying deposits. Further, vented sediments tend to contain a greater variety of sedimentary structures, and these structures vary laterally over metres. Tsunami deposits compared with vented sediments are commonly thinner, fine and thin landward more consistently, have more uniform thickness on outcrop and map scales, and have the potential of containing coarser clasts, up to boulders. For both tsunami deposits and vented sediments, the availability and grain size of source material condition the characteristics of the deposit. In the cases presented in this paper, both foraminifera and diatom assemblages within tsunami deposits and vented sediments consisted of brackish and marine species, and no distinction between processes could be made based on microfossils. In summary, this study indicates a need for more careful analysis and mapping of coastal sediments associated with earthquakes to avoid misidentification of processes and misevaluation of hazards.     

Apparent OSL ages of modern deposits from Fåbergstølsdalen,Norway: implications for sampling glacial sediments

The application of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating within glacial settings can be limited where sediments have not had their OSL signal fully reset by sunlight exposure. Heterogeneous bleaching can result in age overestimations, and although it is recognized that certain depositional settings are more likely to have experienced sufficient sunlight exposure to bleach the OSL signal, no comprehensive study has empirically investigated the processes of sediment bleaching, or the variability in bleaching between deposits of the same type and within the same glacial catchment. A suite of modern glacial and glaciofluvial sediments from Fåbergstølsdalen, southern Norway, have been analysed to explore the controls that sedimentary processes and depositional setting have on bleaching of the OSL signal of quartz. There is considerable variability in the residual OSL ages of similar modern deposits, which reflects high sensitivity of the OSL signal to sediment source, sedimentary process, transport distance and depositional setting. Overdispersion values are greatest for the sediments which have been most heterogeneously bleached and these sediments have the lowest residual ages. Sampling strategies that incorporate sufficient consideration of the depositional framework of sample settings can minimize the effects of unbleached residuals on OSL age determinations.     

Paleoclimatic implications of U-series dates for lake sediments and travertines in the Arava Rift Valley,Israel

The Sayif travertines and lacustrine limestones cropping out in the northern Arava Valley, a region of extreme aridity, have been dated by the ${}^{230}\text{Th}{}^{234}\text{U}$ disequilibrium method. The consistency between the stratigraphic position and the apparent ages at each of the sampling sites strongly supports the reliability of the ages. Most of the ages fall within two clusters that are coincident with ages representative of oceanic oxygen-isotope stages 5 and 7. The colder intervening stage 6 was not a period of substantial travertine formation. During the warmer global episodes of isotopic stages 5 and 7 the arid south of Israel apparently was considerably wetter than at present.     

Marine Isotope Stage 7–6 transition age for beach sediments at Morston,north Norfolk,UK: implications for Pleistocene chronology,stratigraphy and tectonics

Optically stimulated luminescence age estimates for the Pleistocene beach at Morston, north Norfolk, UK, obtained by the single‐aliquot regenerative‐dose protocol, indicate a Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7–6 transition date. The view that the beach is of Ipswichian (MIS 5e) age, held virtually unanimously for the last 75 years, may now be discarded. The extant beach sequence lies up to ～5 m OD, yet global models suggest that MIS 7–6 sea levels were typically substantially below that of today. The explanation may lie with poorly understood regional tectonic movements. The MIS 7–6 date helps to constrain the ages of glacial deposits that bracket the beach sediments at Morston. The underlying Marly Drift till cannot be younger than MIS 8; this may also be true for the complex assemblage of glaciogenic landforms and sediments, including the Blakeney esker, in the adjacent lower Glaven valley. The well‐established Late Devensian (MIS 2) age of the Hunstanton Till is not compromised by the date of the Morston beach. There is no indication of a proposed Briton's Lane glaciation during MIS 6 times. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crustal movements in the tohoku district, Japan, during the period 1900–1975, and their tectonic implications

Vertical crustal movements in the Tohoku district in the past 75 years are discussed with reference to their tectonic implications.

For this purpose, the author first compiled a map of accumulated vertical movement in the past 75 years, by making proper correction for closure. In addition, a new presentation technique utilizing a time-space domain representation of elevation changes is applied to the data. These contour maps provide an informative summary of the vertical crustal movement history in this district. From them, we see that the northeastern part of the district has subsided continuously and aseismically, with an area of significant subsidence inland at a distance about 300 km or more from the trench axis.

In order to explain the mechanism of the remarkable extension of the subsiding area, the finite element method is applied to model the elastic strain field in the district. It is shown that a simple model of uniform dragging at the interface of a sinking slab does not provide a good interpretation of the inland distribution of subsidence. A modification of the conventional model is proposed which hypothesizes vertical movement of the subducting lithospheric slab under the Tohoku district.     

1600–1500 Ma hotspot track in eastern Australia: implications for Mesoproterozoic continental reconstructions

Mesoproterozoic A‐type magmatic rocks in the Gawler Craton, Curnamona Province and eastern Mount Isa Inlier, form a palaeo‐curvilinear belt for reconstructed plate orientations. The oldest igneous rocks in the Gawler Craton are the Hiltaba Granite Suite: c. 1600–1575 Ma. The youngest in the Mount Isa Inlier are the Williams‐Naraku Batholiths: c. 1545–1500 Ma. The belt is interpreted as a segment of a hotspot track that evolved between c. 1600 and 1500 Ma. This hotspot track may define a quasilinear part of Australia’s motion between 1636 and 1500 Ma, and suggests that Australia drifted to high latitudes. An implication of this interpretation is that Australia and Laurentia may not have been fellow travellers leading to the formation of Rodinia. A hotspot model for A‐type magmatism in Australia differs from geodynamic models for this style of magmatism on other continents. This suggests that multiple geologic processes may be responsible for the genesis of Proterozoic A‐type magmas.     

Lead isotopic compositions in fault gouges and their parent rocks: implications for ancient fault activities

This is the first study on Pb stable isotopes in fault gouges and their parent rocks. We analyzed the composition of Pb isotopes and contents of U and Pb in 10 pairs of fault gouges and their parent rocks collected along several active faults in central Japan. Thorium-232-²⁰⁸Pb ages of two fault systems were determined as pre-Tertiary, which are consistent with the data from KAr ages and geological considerations.Naturally, the²³⁵U²⁰⁷Pb system is of little use for dating because the magnitude of difference in²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb between gouges and parent rocks is too small. It is found that the²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb can indicate the contribution of²⁰⁶Pb resulting from excess supplies of²²⁶Ra and²²²Rn along the fault. The excess²⁰⁶Pb accumulation rate corresponds to the average²²²Rn concentration in soil gas or groundwater through geological time since the gouge formation. A comparison of Quaternary fault activity and estimated Tertiary activity reveals the characteristics of each fault system.     

Apogean–perigean signals encoded in tidal flats at the fluvio–estuarine transition of Glacier Creek,Turnagain Arm,Alaska; implications for ancient tidal rhythmites

Turnagain Arm is a macrotidal fjord‐style estuary. Glacier Creek is a small, glacially fed stream which enters the estuary tangentially near Girdwood, Alaska. Trenches and daily sedimentation measurements were made in a mudflat along the fluvio–estuarine transition of Glacier Creek during several summers since 2003. Each year, the flats appear to erode during the winter and then accrete vertically in the spring and summer. In each of the years studied, tidal laminae in vertically thickening and thinning laminae bundles were deposited by twice daily tides in neap–spring tidal cycles. In 2004, bundles of thickening and thinning laminae couplets were noted in trenches cut into the flats. Five laminae bundles alternated between thicker and thinner bundles, corresponding to the perigean (high spring) and apogean (low spring) tides. Well‐preserved apogean–perigean cycles have rarely been documented in modern tidal flat sediments. At this location, vertical accretion of tidal rhythmites with well‐developed neap–spring cyclicity is possible because of the near‐complete removal of the flat from the previous year, which creates accommodation space for vertical accretion without significant reworking. Macrotidal conditions, no reworking by infaunal invertebrates, protection from the main tidal channel by a gravel bar and protection from storm waves and fluvial erosion by a recess in the sedge marsh that surrounds the flats all aid in preservation of rhythmites during aggradation. The position of the flats relative to tidal range allows for accumulation of complete spring cycles and incomplete neap cycles. In the summer of 2004, apogee and perigee were closely aligned with the new and full moons, resulting in successive strong perigee and apogee tides which probably aided in the accumulation of successive thick–thin spring cycles encoding the apogean and perigean tidal cycle. The apogean–perigean signal was not observed in subsequent years.     

Transgressive Eocene clastic–carbonate sediments from the Circum‐Rhodope belt,northeastern Greece: implications for a rocky shore palaeoenvironment

Locally exposed Middle to Upper Eocene conglomerates in the western part of the Cenozoic Thrace Basin are interpreted as products of continuous marine erosion of a rocky coast (consisting of Lower Cretaceous carbonates) and subsequent redeposition of the land‐derived limestone material in a wave‐dominated nearshore setting during a prolonged transgression. Contemporaneous biological activity in the warm‐temperate marine environment contributed to the accumulation of mixed coarse‐grained clastic–carbonate sediments on the upper shoreface. The formation of a relatively thick sedimentary succession was favoured by the interplay of several controlling factors as only shoreface deposits were preserved in the rock record. The results may help to elucidate the evolution of the hydrocarbon‐bearing Thrace Basin and to assist with the regional correlation of its basal deposits. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Mind the gap”: Caves,radiocarbon sequences,and the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Europe—lessons from the Mala Triglavca rockshelter site

Radiocarbon sequences from some northern Mediterranean cave sites show a temporal gap between Mesolithic and Neolithic occupations. Some authors regard this as a regional phenomenon and have sought to explain it in terms of a general population decline in the late Mesolithic, which facilitated the replacement of indigenous foragers by immigrant farmers. New evidence from the rockshelter site of Mala Triglavca, in Slovenia, leads us to question this view. We describe the deposits in the rockshelter and discuss the results of AMS radiocarbon dating of bone samples recovered in excavations in the 1980s. New archaeological investigations and associated soil/sediment analyses show that in the central part of the rockshelter a well‐defined stratigraphic sequence can be established, despite post‐depositional modification by soil forming processes. There is also evidence of substantial post‐depositional disturbance of the cave sediments by human agency and geomorphological processes, which have created “temporal gaps” and “inversions” in the radiocarbon sequence. The relatively large series of radiocarbon dates obtained enables some of the post‐depositional processes to be identified. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Frost peat mounds on Hermansenøya (Oscar II Land,NW Svalbard) – their genesis,age and terminology

Here we present research on previously uninvestigated frost peat mounds occurring on a peat bog in the southern part of Hermansenøya, NW Svalbard. Detailed characteristics are given of the environmental conditions of the peat bog and of the morphological features and surface structure of the frost peat mounds, as well as an analysis of the internal structure of one mound. Three types of frost peat mounds have been distinguished: disc‐shaped mounds (low), mid‐sized mounds with gentle sides, and high mounds with steep sides. Radiocarbon dating of the peat within the frost peat mound performed for the first time on Svalbard and a detailed analysis of the deposits demonstrated that in the high mound (1.3 m) there is an ice‐peat core and peat cover without ice. There are three layers of peat of different ages separated by at least two hiatuses. A generalized history of the development of the peat bog from about 8 ka BP is established. The studied mound displays two development cycles unknown elsewhere. The older relict part of the peat mound was formed during a climatic cooling about 3.0–2.5 ka BP, while the younger part originated during the Little Ice Age (c. AD 1550–1850). Despite certain similarities of these mounds to some palsas, this term should not be applied to the mounds because they are smaller and their cores consist mostly of layers of massive injection ice, the presence of which indicates a pressurized system in their genesis.     

Types, abundances and distribution of kimberlite indicator minerals in alluvial sediments, Wawa–Kinniwabi Lake area, Northeastern Ontario: implications for the presence of diamond-bearing kimberlite

In response to the discovery of diamonds within modern alluvium in the glaciated area of Wawa, Ontario, Canada, the Ontario Geological Survey undertook a regional program of surficial mapping and modern alluvial sediment sampling to assess the potential of the area for diamond-bearing kimberlite. Five varieties of kimberlite-derived indicator minerals were recovered and the composition of three varieties was evaluated, resulting in the identification of G10 Cr-pyrope garnet, inclusion field chromite and Mg-ilmenite. The distribution of indicator minerals was examined in the context of the glacial and bedrock geology. Glacial dispersal from non-kimberlitic marker units is restricted (commonly less than 200 m) and many kimberlite indicator minerals were recovered from samples collected close to cross-cutting NE–SW and NW–SE faults and a strong NE–SW trend in the bedrock associated with the Kapuskasing Structural Zone. From this, several potential exploration targets for diamond-bearing kimberlite are defined.     

Flandrian sea-level changes in west Lancashire and their implications for the ‘Hillhouse Coastline’

A relative sea-level curve for the Flandrian Stage has been drawn, based on twenty-three index points from west Lancashire and three from north Cheshire. Twenty-two of the points derive from a restricted area flanking the River Ribble, and one from Morecambe Bay. Evidence for sea-level changes comes from detailed stratigraphic and pollen analyses on material selected for radiocarbon assays. Eleven periods of marine transgression are recognised in northwest England, and these are compared with periods of marine transgression elsewhere in northwest Europe. The evidence for the ‘Hillhouse Coastline’ is considered in relation to the periods of marine transgression established in northwest England.     

Calculated phase equilibria for a morb composition in a P–T range, 450–650 °C and 18–28 kbar: the stability of eclogite

Lower temperature eclogite (with T = 600 °C) represents a significant part of the occurrences of eclogite in orogenic belts. ‘True’ eclogite, with, for example, garnet + omphacite >70%, is well represented in such an occurrence. Calculated phase equilibria in Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–O (NCKFMASHTO), for just one rock composition – that of a representative mid‐ocean ridge basalt, morb – are used to see under what circumstances ‘true’ eclogite is predicted to occur. The variables considered are not only pressure (P) and temperature (T) but also water content and oxidation state. The latter two variables are known to exert a significant control on mineral assemblage but are difficult to establish retrospectively from the observed rocks themselves. It is found that whereas oxidation state does have a strong effect on mineral assemblage, the key control on developing ‘true’ eclogite is shown to be temperature and water content. If temperature is established to be <600 °C, water content has to be low (less or much less than that for H₂O saturation) in order for ‘true’ eclogite to form. Moreover, unless pressure is at the high end in the range considered, lawsonite eclogite and ‘true’ eclogite will tend to be mutually exclusive, with the former requiring high water content at the lower temperature where it occurs, but the latter requiring low water content.     

塔里木盆地奥陶系蓬莱坝组碳酸盐岩缓坡沉积特征及油气勘探意义

塔里木盆地奥陶系蓬莱坝组广泛发育的白云岩是油气勘探的主要目标之一,储层的分布受沉积相控制作用明显,普遍认为蓬莱坝组沉积模式是弱镶边-局限台地的沉积模式。本文基于地震资料精细解释,结合野外露头与钻井岩相类型及发育特征分析,对沉积模式与相带展布特征进行研究,首次提出了蓬莱坝组为碳酸盐岩缓坡沉积的新认识,并探讨了其油气勘探意义。依据地震地层结构、地层厚度变化特征,以及岩相发育规律体现的颗粒滩普遍发育特征、岩性的分区性揭示的岩性变化受古地貌明显控制的特征,认为蓬莱坝组沉积时期为缓坡沉积环境,可分为内缓坡相、中缓坡相和外缓坡相,且具有中缓坡和内缓坡两种成滩背景。其中中缓坡高能颗粒滩平面上呈条带状在塔中北斜坡-顺南-古城地区及塔北南缘地区规模发育,是蓬莱坝组颗粒滩储层勘探的优选区。碳酸盐岩缓坡沉积新认识改变了传统的台缘礁滩勘探思路,拓展了勘探领域,对推动蓬莱坝组勘探具有重要的参考价值。