Precursory slope distress prior to the 2010 Mount Meager landslide,British Columbia

In 2010, the south flank of Mount Meager failed catastrophically, generating the largest (53 ± 3.8 × 10⁶ m³) landslide in Canadian history. We document the slow deformation of the edifice prior to failure using archival historic aerial photographs spanning the period 1948–2006. All photos were processed using Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry. We used the SfM products to produce pre-and post-failure geomorphic maps that document changes in the volcanic edifice and Capricorn Glacier at its base. The photographic dataset shows that the Capricorn Glacier re-advanced from a retracted position in the 1980s then rapidly retreated in the lead-up to the 2010 failure. The dataset also documents 60 years of progressive development of faults, toe bulging, and precursory failures in 1998 and 2009. The 2010 collapse was conditioned by glacial retreat and triggered by hot summer weather that caused ice and snow to melt. Meltwater increased pore water pressures in colluvium and fractured rocks at the base of the slope, causing those materials to mobilize, which in turn triggered several secondary failures structurally controlled by lithology and faults. The landslide retrogressed from the base of the slope to near the peak of Mount Meager involving basement rock and the overlying volcanic sequence. Elsewhere on the flanks of Mount Meager, large fractures have developed in recently deglaciated areas, conditioning these slopes for future collapse. Potential failures in these areas have larger volumes than the 2010 landslide. Anticipated atmospheric warming over the next several decades will cause further loss of snow and glacier ice, likely producing additional slope instability. Satellite- and ground-based monitoring of these slopes can provide advanced warning of future landslides to help reduce risk in populated regions downstream.     

Hazard and risk from large landslides from Mount Meager volcano,British Columbia,Canada

During the past 8000 years, large volcanic debris flows from Mount Meager, a Quaternary volcano in southwest British Columbia, have reached several tens of kilometres downstream in Lillooet River valley, with flow velocities of many metres per second and flow depths of several metres. These debris flows inundated areas that have become settled in the past 100 years and are now experiencing rapid urban growth. Notably, Pemberton, 65 km from Mount Meager, has doubled in size in the past five years. Approval of subdivision and building permits in Pemberton and adjacent areas requires assessment and mitigation of flood hazards, but large, rare debris flows from Mount Meager are not considered in the permitting process. Unlike floods, some volcanic debris flows occur without warning. We quantify the risk to residents in Lillooet River valley from non-eruption triggered volcanic debris flows based on Holocene landslide activity at Mount Meager. The calculated risk exceeds, by orders of magnitude, risk tolerance thresholds developed in Hong Kong, Australia, England, and in one jurisdiction in Canada. This finding poses a challenge for local governments responsible for public safety.     

Controls on natural levée development in the Columbia River, British Columbia, Canada

Natural levées of the Columbia River near Golden, British Columbia, were investigated to identify the mechanisms that control levée development and morphology. Topographic profiles of 12 levée pairs were surveyed, and measurements of water-surface elevation, flow velocity, flow direction and turbidity were obtained during an average magnitude flood (1·2 years recurrence interval). Sedimentation rates and grain-size distributions were measured from sediment traps placed along levée-to-floodbasin transects. Results show that water and sediment exchange between the channel and floodbasin was mainly by advection. During flooding, local floodbasins behave more as efficient water pathways than water storage features, resulting in down-valley floodbasin flows capable of limiting basinward growth of levées. Levée shape results primarily from two independent factors: (1) maximum channel water stage, which limits levée height; and (2) floodbasin hydraulics, which control width. In the Columbia River, the competence of floodbasin flows results in relatively narrow and steep levées. Natural levées grow under two general conditions of deposition as governed by flood-stage elevation relative to levée-crest elevation: front loading and back loading. During large floods when crests are inundated, front loading preferentially aggrades the proximal portions of levées with sediment directly from the channel, thus increasing levée slope. During average or below-average floods when many levée crests are not overtopped, back loading preferentially aggrades the distal levée areas and floodbasin floor, reducing levée slope. In the study area, a balance between front and back loading sustains these narrow and steep levée shapes for long periods, reflecting an equilibrium between hydraulic regime, floodplain morphology and deposition.     

Pressure, temperature and fluid composition during amphibolite facies metamorphism of graphitic metapelites, Howard Ridge, British Columbia

ABSTRACT Graphitic metapelites from the Howard Ridge area, British Columbia, have been studied to estimate the pressure, temperature and fluid composition attending amphibolite facies metamorphism. Results from thermobarometric calculations indicate that P-T conditions of 610–625°C and 6.7kbar were reached during metamorphism. The equilibrium paragonite-quartz-albite-kyanite-H₂O gives significantly different estimates of XH₂O in the metamorphic fluid using different paragonite solution models. Estimates of XH₂O range from a maximum of 0.93 (Eugster et al., 1972) to a minimum of 0.29 (Chatterjee & Flux, 1986). H₂O estimates obtained using the Eugster et al. (1972) and Chatterjee & Froese (1975) solution models give similar results (i.e. 0.8 ± 0.1 versus 0.7 ± 0.1, respectively). Non-ideal mixing in the C-O-H system provides an XH₂O estimate of 0.74 at H₂O maximum conditions, 0.5 log units below the QFM buffer. The Chatterjee & Flux (1986) paragonite solution model provides unrealistically low estimates of XH₂O relative to other paragonite solution models, C-O-H equilibria, and published fluid inclusion and mineral equilibria data. Consistent estimates of fluid composition between C-O-H and mineral equilibria suggest that a H₂O-rich fluid attended metamorphism of graphitic metapelites at Howard Ridge.     

Petrology of metapelites in the Bugaboo aureole,British Columbia,Canada

Contact metamorphism of greenschist facies Neoproterozoic turbidites by the Cretaceous Bugaboo Batholith in southeastern British Columbia has resulted in a well‐developed contact aureole. The aureole is about 1 km wide and can be divided into three main zones: (i) spotted phyllite zone, extending from the first appearance of spots of cordierite or andalusite to the last occurrence of primary chlorite; (ii) cordierite + andalusite + biotite zone, comprising hornfelses or schists with abundant porphyroblasts of cordierite and andalusite and, at higher grades, fibrolitic sillimanite; and (iii) K‐feldspar zone, characterized by hornfelses and schists that, in the inner part of this zone, are variably migmatitic. Four parts of the aureole were examined, three of which are characterized by schists, and one of which (Cobalt Lake area) is characterized by hornfelses and has exceptional exposure and comparatively unaltered rocks. Petrographic, modal, mineral‐compositional and whole rock‐compositional data were collected from the Cobalt Lake transect, allowing the prograde reaction sequence to be inferred. Notable features of the aureole at Cobalt Lake include: initial development of andalusite and plagioclase at the expense of paragonite‐rich white mica; a narrow interval across which cordierite, andalusite and biotite increase markedly at the expense of chlorite; gradual development of andalusite and biotite at the expense of cordierite and muscovite upgrade of chlorite consumption; and near‐simultaneous development of andalusite + K‐feldspar and sillimanite, the latter indicating a pressure of contact metamorphism of ~3 kbar. In other parts of the aureole, the development of sillimanite downgrade of the initial development of K‐feldspar suggests slightly higher pressures of contact metamorphism. Lack of correspondence between the observed sequence of reactions in the aureole and those predicted thermodynamically suggests that modifications to some of the thermodynamic data or activity–composition models may be required. Textural features in the aureole suggest the influence of kinetic factors on metamorphic recrystallization, including: (i) deformation‐catalysed reaction in the schists compared to the hornfelses, as indicated by different mineral‐growth sequences inferred from microstructures, and (ii) heating rate‐controlled recrystallization, as indicated by the decrease in grain size of hornfelses with increasing metamorphic grade.     

Avulsions, channel evolution and floodplain sedimentation rates of the anastomosing upper Columbia River, British Columbia, Canada

Ages of channels of the anastomosing upper Columbia River, south‐eastern British Columbia, Canada, were investigated in a cross‐valley transect by ¹⁴C dating of subsurface floodplain organic material from beneath levees. The avulsion history within the transect was deduced from these data, and morphological stages in channel development were recognized. Additionally, floodplain sedimentation rates were established. The new data demonstrate that the upper Columbia River is a long‐lived, dynamic anastomosing system. Results show that anastomosis at the study location has persisted since at least 2700 cal. years BP, with avulsions occurring frequently. At least nine channels have formed in the studied cross‐valley transect within the past 3000 years. Channel lifetimes from formation to abandonment appear to be highly variable, ranging from approximately 800 to 3000 years. Log jams provoking avulsions and/or silting up of old channels are proposed as reasons for this variability. Long‐term average floodplain sedimentation rates appear to be significantly lower than previously proposed by Smith (1983, Int. Assoc. Sedimentol. Spec. Publ., 6, 155–168). A long‐term (4550 years) average of 1·75 mm year^?1 (after compaction) was based on ¹⁴C dates, while a short‐term sedimentation rate of 0·8 mm was determined for a single, relatively small, seasonal flood in 1994 using sediment traps. However, short‐term sedimentation rates vary considerably over the floodplain, with levees aggrading up to four times faster than floodbasins. Channels of the upper Columbia River anastomosed reach follow a consistent pattern in their development, with each stage being characterized by different morphology and processes. Channel evolution comprises the following succession: (1) avulsion stage, in which a crevasse splay channel deepens by scour and levee sedimentation; (2) widening and deepening stage, in which bank slumping and bed scouring dominates; (3) infilling stage, in which either channel narrowing (bank accretion) or channel shallowing (bed accretion) takes place; and (4) abandonment stage, in which the residual (remnant) channel is filled exclusively by silt, clay and organic material. Vertical stacking (super‐ imposition) of active channels on recent channel‐fill sand bodies is a notable feature of the upper Columbia River, which suggests that reoccupation of residual channels is a common process.     

Compositional evolution in Ca-amphibole in the Karmutsen metabasites, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Abstract The 6-km-thick Karmutsen metabasites, exposed over much of Vancouver Island, were thermally metamorphosed by intrusions of Jurassic granodiorite and granite. Observations of about 800 thin sections from the Campbell River and Buttle Lake area show that the metabasites provide a complete succession of mineral assemblages ranging from the zeolite to pyroxene hornfels facies around the intrusion. The most important observations are as follows. (1) The compositional change of Ca-amphiboles with increasing metamorphic grade is not straightforward. The tremolite component decreases from the prehnite–actinolite facies to the greenschist facies with a compensating tschermak component increase, but the tendency is not clear thereafter. Instead, the edenite component increases from the amphibolite facies to the pyroxene hornfels facies. (2) The most pargasitic Ca-amphibole occurs in high-Fe²⁺/Mg metabasite from the greenschist/amphibolite transition zone. (3) The reasons for such irregular compositional trends, even in the rather uniform MORB-like composition of the Karmutsen metabasites, are non-ideal solid solutions of Ca-amphibole at low temperature and the effective control by bulk rock composition in the amphibolite facies. (4) The data from this study support, but do not prove, a transition loop for the actinolite–hornblende compositional gap rather than a solvus. If the gap is a solvus, its shape is asymmetric, and is highly dependent on the other compositional parameters such as Fe³⁺/Al and Fe²⁺/Mg. (5) The X_NaA/X_A±X_Ab) ratios between Ca-amphibole and plagioclase are most useful as an indicator of metamorphic grade even within the amphibolite facies, and these change systematically from 0.2 to 0.5 from the greenschist to pyroxene hornfels facies. (6) The compositional trend of Ca-amphibole from the Karmutsen metabasites indicates a typical low-P/T metamorphic facies series on a Rbk–Gln–Tr–Ts diagram.     

Influence of tectonic structures on the Hope Slide, British Columbia, Canada

The Hope Slide, which occurred on January 9, 1965, involved an estimated 47-Mm³ of meta-volcanics and intrusive rocks. Previous workers reported the presence of tectonic structures (faults and shear zones) along the failure surface at the Hope Slide. These tectonic features were investigated in detail to assess their effects on rock-mass quality and the related implications for slope stability. This paper integrates basic field and laboratory concepts from structural and engineering geology. Subdividing the failure area into structural domains allowed distinct discontinuity sets to be associated with specific tectonic structures. The Geological Strength Index (GSI) was used to estimate the rock-mass damage related to the tectonic structures. Low GSI values were seen to outline tectonic damage zones. Point-load tests were used to characterise the compressive strength of rocks adjacent to the tectonic structures. Strength anisotropy, tentatively attributed to damage caused by a large shear zone, was observed in greenstone samples. Seepage zones along the failure surface were observed preferentially along shallow discontinuities that dipped downslope and in rock masses of good quality (GSI > 40). An alternative morphology of the slope failure is proposed by distinguishing between the extent of the surficial damage due to the rock-slope failure and the zone of failed material (depletion zone). For the first time, a kinematic mechanism for the Hope Slide is proposed, based on a preliminary 3-dimensional block model. A pre-1965 DEM was produced from estimates of material lost and gained as reported by previous workers. The pre-1965 DEM revealed that the tectonic structures recognised during fieldwork bounded the material that failed in the 1965 event.     

Geochemistry of coals from the Elk Valley coalfield, British Columbia, Canada

The Elk Valley coalfield of British Columbia is one of the major coal producing areas in Canada. The coals are of Cretaceous and Jurassic–Cretaceous age and range in rank from high-volatile to low-volatile bituminous (%Ro_max: 0.8–1.6). Coal seams from outcrops and active mines in this coalfield were analysed for rank and maceral composition using reflected light microscopy, for geochemistry using AAS, INAA, and ICPES, and also by proximate and ultimate analyses. The Elk Valley coal seams contain low average concentrations of hazardous elements such as As, Mo, Pb, and Se. However, there are seams that contain relatively high concentrations of some of these elements, such as 8 mg/kg and 108 mg/kg of arsenic. When the geochemistry of coal seams is compared within the different parts of the coalfield, the elemental composition amongst the seams from various sections located in the central area of the coalfield is similar. Coal seams in the northern area of the coalfield have different geochemistry than coal seams in other areas of the coalfield; seams in the northern area have much higher As, Br, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, and Na content, but contain less Ca.     

Coalification levels and their significance in the groundhog coalfield,North-Central British Columbia

The only significant deposits of anthracite and meta-anthracite in Canada occur in Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous strata of the Groundhog coalfield in northcentral British Columbia. The coal rank in the coalfield varies from low volatile bituminous (1.70% R_{0 max}) to meta-anthracite (5.8% R_{0 max}). The main coal bearing unit, the Currier, includes up to 17 seams of anthracite and meta-anthracite most of which are less than 1 m thick. In the McEvoy unit, which overlies the Currier, up to 9 coal seams, mainly of semi-anthracite, occur that are up to 0.8 m thick. The coals are variably argillaceous, locally sheared and cut by quartz and less commonly, by carbonate veins. Coalification gradients in the coalfield vary from 0.8% to 3.0% R_{0 max} km^?1. The rank of coal within both the McEvoy and Currier units appears to increase towards the eastern edge of the coalfield.The level of coalification and the coalification gradients in the coalfield are anomalously high considering an indicated maximum depth of burial of 3500 m. From comparison with coalification models it appears that geothermal gradients in the order of 50° to 70°C/km must have existed for a period of time measured in millions of years. Studies to date suggest the coalification is pre-tectonic and thus pre-Late Cretaceous although there is some evidence for high heat flow in the Tertiary. The origin of the high heat flow may be related to intrusion accompanying collision of the Stikine terrain with the early Mesozoic margin of North America and/or high heat flux over an easterly dipping subduction zone below the Coastal volcanic-plutonic arc to the west.     

Climate controls on nitrate concentration variability in the Abbotsford-Sumas aquifer,British Columbia,Canada

Understanding the linkage between temporal climate variability and groundwater nitrate concentration variability in monitoring well records is key to interpreting the impacts of changes in land-use practices and assessing groundwater quality trends. This study explores the coupling of climate variability and groundwater nitrate concentration variability in the Abbotsford-Sumas aquifer. Over the period of 1992–2009, the average groundwater nitrate concentration in the aquifer remained fairly steady at approximately 15 mg/L nitrate-N. Normalized nitrate data for 19 individual monitoring wells were assessed for a range of intrinsic factors including precipitation, depth to water table, depth below water table, and apparent groundwater age. At a broad scale, there is a negative correlation between nitrate concentration and apparent groundwater age. Each dedicated monitoring well shows unique, non-uniform cyclical variability in nitrate concentrations that appears to correspond with seasonal (1 year) cycles in precipitation as well as longer-period cycles (~5 years), possibly due to ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) or the Pacific North American (PNA) pattern. These precipitation cycles appear to influence nitrate concentrations by approximately ±30 % of the critical concentration (10 mg/L NO₃–N). Not all wells show direct correlation due to many complex local-scale factors that influence nitrate leaching including spatially and temporally variable nutrient management practices and soil/crop nitrogen dynamics (anthropogenic and agronomic factors).     

Compositional variation in Hg-bearing sphalerite from the polymetallic Eskay Creek deposit, British Columbia, Canada

The Eskay Creek, British Columbia, Canada, is a polymetallic, gold- and silver-rich, volcanic-hosted, massive sulfide deposit. The ore in the deposit is divided into subzones distinguished by mineralogy, texture, grade and metallurgical characteristics. This study presents the results of a mineralogical examination of three composite field samples, with emphasis on the chemistry of sphalerite. Sphalerite is associated with variable amounts of Hg-tetrahedrite and cinnabar, and an array of sulfides, sulphosalts and non-opaque minerals. Electron micro probe analyses of sphalerite in the three composite samples reveal wide variations in compositions. The Hg content in sphalerite in the three samples varies between 0.08 and 16.35 wt%, whereas the Fe content ranges from 0.33 to 2.29 wt%. The chemical formula of the sphalerite shows the compositional range (Zn_0.89–0.98Hg_0.01–0.09.Fe_0.005–0.02)S. Sphalerite exhibits an almost perfect substitution of Hg and Zn, as shown by the negative covariance between them. Sphalerite with the highest Hg contents tends to have the lowest Fe concentrations. The highest Hg contents in sphalerite are recorded in the samples with the highest bulk Hg concentrations and with the highest cinnabar contents.

The compositional variations of sphalerite are important because they can be used in mapping ore forming fluids and indicate possible temporal variations. Second, determination of the compositional variation of the sphalerite in the mine has metallurgical implications because the mineral is an important Zn source. The mineralogical data indicate that non-physical processes (e.g. pyrometallurgy) must be used to separate Hg from Zn concentrates, with direct environmental implications, that is, release of metals, such as Hg, into the environment during mining and processing.     

Pore water evolution in sandstones of the Groundhog Coalfield,northern Bowser Basin,British Columbia

The succession of sandstone cements in chert and volcanic lithic arenites and wackes from the northern Bowser Basin of British Columbia comprises a record of diagenesis in shallow marine, deltaic, and coastal plain siliciclastic sediments that pass through the oil window and reach temperatures near the onset of metamorphism. The succession of cements is consistent with seawater in the sandstones mixing with acid waters derived from dewatering of interbedded organic rich muds. Sandstone cement paragenesis includes seven discrete cement stages. From earliest to latest the cement stages are: (1) pore-lining chlorite; (2) pore-lining to pore-filling illite; (3) pore-filling kaolinite; (4) oil migration through some of the remaining connected pores; (5) chlorite dissolution; (6) quartz cement; and (7) calcite cement. These seven cement stages are interpreted as a record of the evolution of pore waters circulating through the sandstones after burial. The earliest cement stages, as well as the depositional environments, are compatible with seawater as the initial pore fluid. Seawater composition changed during transport through the sandstones, first by loss of Mg²⁺ and Fe²⁺ during chlorite precipitation (stage 1). Dewatering of interbedded organic-rich mudstones probably added Mg²⁺ and Fe²⁺ to partially buffer the loss of these cations to chlorite. Acids produced during breakdown of organic matter are presumed to have mixed into sandstone pore fluids due to further compaction of the muds, leading to reduction of initial alkalinity. Reduction in alkalinity, in turn, favours change from chlorite to illite precipitation (stage 2), and finally to kaolinite (stage 3). Pore waters likely reached their peak acidity at the time of oil migration (stage 4). Chlorite dissolution (stage 5) and quartz precipitation (stage 6) occurred when pores were filled by these hydrocarbon-bearing and presumably acidic fluids. Fluid inclusions in fracture-filling quartz cements contain petroleum, high-pressure methane, and methane-rich aqueous solutions. Homogenization temperatures from primary two-phase inclusions are consistent with quartz cementation during progressive heating between approximately 100 and 200°C. Following quartz precipitation, alkaline pore waters were re-established, as evidenced by late-stage calcite cement (stage 7).     

Transition from the Zeolite to Prehnite-Pumpellyite Facies in the Karmutsen Metabasites, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

The upper Triassic Karmutsen metabasites from northeast VancouverIsland, B.C., are thermally metamorphosed by the intrusion ofthe Coast Range Batholith. The amygdaloidal metabasites developedin the outer portion of the contact aureole show a progressivemetamorphism from zeolite to prehnite-pumpellyite facies. Thesize of an equilibrium domain is extremely small for these metabasites,and the individual amygdule assemblages are assumed to be inequilibrium. Two major calcite-free assemblages (+chlorite+quartz)are characteristic: (i) laumontite+pumpellyite+epidote in thezeolite facies and (ii) prehnite+pumpellyite+epidote in theprehnite-pumpellyite facies. The assemblages and compositionsof Ca-Al silicates are chemographically and theoretically interpretedon the basis of the predicted P-T grid for the model basalticsystem, CaO-MgO-A1₂O₃-Fe₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O. The results indicate:(1) local equilibrium has been approached in mineral assemblagesand compositions; (2) the X_Fe³⁺ values in the coexisting Ca-Alsilicates decrease from epidote, through pumpellyite to prehnite;(3) with increasing metamorphic grade, the Fe³⁺ contents ofepidotes in reaction assemblages decrease in the zeolite facies,then increase in the prehnite-pumpellyite facies rocks. Suchvariations in the assemblages and mineral compositions are controlledby a sequence of continuous and discontinuous reactions, andallow delineation of T-X_Fe³⁺ relations at constant pressure.The transition from the zeolite to prehnite-pumpellyite faciesof the Karmutsen metabasites is defined by a discontinuous reaction:0·18 laumontite+pumpellyite+0·15 quartz = 1·31prehnite+ 0·78 epidote+0·2 chlorite+ 1·72H₂O, where the X_Fe³⁺ values of prehnite, pumpellyite and epidoteare 0·03, 0·10 and 0·18, respectively.These values together with available thermodynamic data andour preliminary experimental data are used to calculate theP-T condition for the discontinuous reaction as P = 1·1±0·5 kb and T = 190±30°C. The effectsof pressure on the upper stability of the zeolite facies assemblagesare discussed utilizing T-X_Fe³⁺ diagrams. The stability of thelaumontite-bearing assemblages for the zeolite facies metamorphismof basaltic rocks may be defined by either continuous or discontinuousreactions depending on the imposed metamorphic field gradient.Hence, the zeolite and prehnite-pumpellyite facies transitionboundary is multivariant.     

Exploration Techniques at the Thorn Ag-Au-Cu High-Sulfidation Epithermal Prospect, Northern British Columbia, Canada

Abstract. The Thorn prospect is an El Indio-style high-sulfidation epithermal prospect in a little-explored belt of Late Cretaceous subaerial volcanics and subvolcanic intrusions in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. More than 30 massive sulfide (pyrite-enargite-tennantite/tetrahedrite) veins, quartz-sulfide (quartz-pyrite-enargite-tennantite/tetrahedrite) veins and quartz-vuggy silica-alunite veins/breccias fill ENE fractures and faults over an area of 1,600 times 1,900 m. They are hosted within a Late Cretaceous feldspar-quartz-biotite granodioritic porphyry stock and flanked by alteration envelopes a few meters to tens of meters wide: an inner envelope of intense sericite-clay-pyrite and an outer one of weak clay-sericite-chlorite. Where several veins are close together, the sericite-clay-pyrite alteration envelopes coalesce into zones up to 150 m wide.
The most successful exploration techniques have been prospecting, silt and soil geochemistry, airborne magnetic and electromagnetic surveys and diamond drilling. Silt and soil geochemical anomalies for Au, Ag, As, Cu, Pb, Sb and Zn mark the known veins and indicate prospective areas where veins have not yet been discovered. Magnetics and resistivity outline the gross property-wide structure and lithologies. Most of the sericite-clay-pyrite alteration and known veins are outlined by the <264 ohm-m resistivity contour, which covers an area of 800 times 2,300 m. Weak EM conductors are thought to represent undiscovered massive sulfide and quartz-sulfide veins, and their flanking sericite-clay-pyrite alteration.     

Geometry and pressure-temperature significance of the kyanite-sillimanite isograd in the Mica Creek area,British Columbia

Late Precambrian and Lower Paleozoic metapelitic rocks near Mica Creek, British Columbia, range in metamorphic grade from biotite zone to sillimanite zone. The kyanite-sillimanite isograd was established after phase 2 folding but was deformed by phase 3 folding. Topographic relief of about 2 km, combined with phase 3 folding, permits reasonably precise determination of the geometry of the isogradic surfaces. The effects of phase 3 folding have been accounted for and the isobaric surfaces at the time of metamorphism are inferred to have been dipping gently. Using the kyanite-sillimanite experimental phase diagram, intersection of the isobars and the isograd permits estimates of differences in temperature and pressure along a cross section. These estimates are about 400 bars and 20° C. Mineral geothermometry (garnet-biotite) and geobarometry (garnetplagioclase-Al ₂SiO₅-quartz) does not provide a fine enough resolution to detect these predicted differences.     

Methane-derived high-Mg calcite submarine cement in Holocene nodules from the Fraser Delta, British Columbia, Canada

Carbonate nodules and slabs in late Holocene shelly terrigenous deposits of the modern Fraser River delta (～49°N) are formed close to the seafloor by precipitation from saline pore waters of mainly fibrous to bladed crystals of high-Mg (～ 10–20 mol% MgCO₃) calcite cement as coalescing isopachous crusts on grains. Previous reports that the cement is low-Mg calcite are not supported by this study. Highly negative δ¹³C values of ? 7 to ? 59‰ for the cements indicate that the bulk of their carbonate carbon was derived from the microbiological degradation of organic matter in the deltaic deposits during shallow burial. In particular, the production of biogenic methane (CH₄) by anaerobic bacterial fermentation, its upward migration, chemical or biological oxidation to CO₂ and neutralization in the near-surface sediment, and diffusion to microenvironments relatively enriched in organic components, are a possible set of conditions influencing the process and sites of carbonate cementation. Methane-derived Mg-calcite appears also to be the major submarine cement in several other modern occurrences of lithified shallow-water terrigenous sands and muds at non-tropical latitudes.     

Petrologic variations in quaternary volcanic rocks,British Columbia,and the nature of the underlying upper mantle

Volcanic activity has produced Late Tertiary and Quaternary cinder cones and flows between the Snake River Plain, U.S.A. and the Yukon Territory, Canada. The rock types include basanites, alkali olivine basalts, high-iron basalts, hawaiites, ankaramites, nephelinites, and olivine tholeiites. The alkali olivine basalts, basanites and hawaiites sampled are chemically similar to rocks from the mid-Atlantic islands. Associated with the volcanic rocks are xenoliths of ultramafic rocks, gabbros, granites and granulites.Seismic data indicate that the Moho throughout the region dips eastward at a very shallow angle. The low velocity zone has been located beneath southern British Columbia and displays a topographic high trending northwest-southeast. The nephelinite was erupted from near the crest of this high with less undersaturated lavas erupted from along its flanks.The suite of ultramafic xenoliths spans a greater variety of rock types than can be generated by maximum amounts of partial melting of a uniform source material to produce the lavas in the region. Calculated residual olivine compositions in equilibrium with the magmas at low velocity zone depths and liquidii temperatures are more iron-rich than the typical lherzolite xenolith olivine. This suggests that the residua from the partial melting episodes which produced the volcanic rocks are different from the upper mantle lid above the low velocity zone as represented by the ultramafic xenoliths.     

Extensive deformations of rock slopes in southern Coast Mountains, southwest British Columbia, Canada

Extensive deformations of mountain slopes occur in crystalline intrusive rocks in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. Typical morphological evidence of slope movement includes extensive systems of tension cracks, grabens, and antislope scarps (collectively referred to here as linears). These landforms involve displacements along penetrative joints observed in surface exposures. Kinematic tests on rock-structural data indicate that the observed patterns of linears are generally consistent with the feasible gravitational movements along the dominant discontinuities. Most sites indicate sliding as the most likely initial mode of movement, followed by or accompanied by toppling and toppling-induced sliding movements, and do not support the view that linears are the traces of active faults.     

Seasonal changes in the depth distributions of interstitial salinities in the Fraser River estuary,British Columbia

The vertical distribution of interstitial salinities to a depth of 6 cm in subtidal estuarine sediments was measured monthly from June 1977 to August 1978 in mud substrates in the Fraser River estuary, British Columbia. Measurements were made at six stations ranging from oligohaline to polyhaline. The results of this study demonstrated that vertical salinity gradients were present, particularly in the mesohaline zone of the estuary, in the sediments and that the magnitude of these gradients changes seasonally.