A theoretical consideration of the kinetics of calcite recrystallization produced by two basalt dykes in Co. Antrim,Northern Ireland

The size of crystallites of calcite in the vicinity of a basalt intrusion systematically diminishes with increasing distance from the heat source. A theoretical analysis of the kinetics of recrystallization leads to the conclusion that the particle size change involved the nucleation and growth of new calcite crystallites. The theory of reaction rates, as applied to the natural system, is discussed with reference to the inherent assumptions, inaccuracies and limitations.     

Ammonites from the Lias Group (Lower Jurassic,Sinemurian and Pliensbachian) of White Park Bay,Co. Antrim,Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland's Jurassic succession has received relatively little detailed investigation. Late Sinemurian and early Pliensbachian strata are present in parts of north Antrim but they are poorly exposed at outcrop and have been penetrated by just a single borehole, at Portmore, in which parts of the succession are missing. Collecting from White Park Bay over more than two decades, augmented by examination of museum material, has established the presence within the Rathlin (North Antrim) Basin of ammonite zones and subzones additional to those proven in the Portmore Borehole. This suggests that parts of the Sinemurian and Pliensbachian stages, from the Obtusum Zone through to the Davoei Zone, and possibly even higher, may be preserved in onshore or nearshore parts of the basin. Despite the generally poor exposure, the material recovered encompasses more than 40 ammonite species, including several taxa that are poorly represented elsewhere in the UK, of which two, Vicininodiceras dalriatense sp. nov. and Cheltonia howarthi sp. nov., are previously undescribed.     

Freshwater organic deposits and stratified sediments between Early and Late Midlandian (Devensian) till sheets,at Aghnadarragh,County Antrim,Northern Ireland

The following events have been identified from a complex sequence of Midlandian (Devensian) sediments recently exposed at Aghnadarragh, County Antrim: (1) A lower till interpreted as Early Midlandian was deposited by a major lowland ice sheet which moved south-eastwards from central Ulster across the Lough Neagh depression. (2) Deglacial conditions were followed by a periglacial phase characterised by ice-wedge growth and sedimentation by gravelly debris flows. The latter contain the oldest known remains of Mammuthus primigenius in Ireland. (3) An Early Midlandian interstadial is represented by a woody detritus peat, with evidence of Betula, Pinuos and Picea woodlands and a rich beetle fauna. Wood from this horizon has been shown to be beyond the range of radiocarbon dating (>48 180 BP). (4) Interstadial conditions were succeeded by a cold, non-glacial phase dominated by in-channel gravelly flows and deposition of organic muds which contain plant and insect fossils. These horizons are older than 46 850 BP. (5) An upper, non-drumlinised till was deposited during the Late-Midlandian by a major lowland ice sheet which moved generally eastwards across the Lough Neagh Lowlands from central Ulster. This glaciation probably reached its maximum at ca 20–24 ka. (6) Drumlin formation occurred in the Lough Neagh Lowlands towards the end of the Late-Midlandian. The limiting moraines are dated to 17 ka. The lower till at Aghnadarragh is the first positive record of a major lowland ice sheet in Ireland during the early part of the last cold stage. The Early Midlandian interstadial peats have not been documented elsewhere in Ireland and correlate broadly with the Chelford Interstadial complex of the English Midlands. Related exposures elsewhere in Ulster confirm that the middle part of the last cold stage was free of major lowland ice masses but deposits of this period are absent from Aghnadarragh.     

Lithostratigraphy and structure of the old red sandstone of the Northern Dingle Peninsula,Co. Kerry,Southwest Ireland

The lower part of the Old Red Sandstone in the Dingle Penisula has been previously assigned to one lithostratigraphic group (Dingle Group) despite marked variations in sedimentary facies. However the apparently oldest non-marine sequence in the northwest of the peninsula has sedimentary and lithological attributes that contrast strongly with those of the late Silurian-early Devonian Dingle Group to the south. This northern sequence, here renamed the Smerwick Group, evolved independently of the Dingle Group in a separate basin of deposition. Field relationships between the two groups in the north of the peninsula are interpreted as indicating that the Smerwick Group overlies, with angular unconformity, a normal Dingle Group succession. Similarly, it is argued that the Smerwick Group overlies, with angular unconformity, the Dingle Group in the northwest of the peninsula, but there the Dingle Group is attenuated, represented only by a conglomerate unit some 10 m thick. In the absence of biostratigraphic evidence the age of the Smerwick Group is poorly constrained. Nevertheless, we propose a tectonic model that suggests that the Smerwick Group evolved within a small extensional half-graben on the northern margin of the Munster Basin. This model accounts for the stratigraphic and structural relationships observed, and implies that the Smerwick Group is of Late Devonian age.     

Palaeoenvironmental application of magnetic measurements from inter-drumlin hollow lake sediments near Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Measurements of palaeomagnetic horizontal remanent intensity, saturation isothermal remanence, coercivity of remanence, high field remanence and magnetic susceptibility, have been made on lateglacial and postglacial sediments from two small, inter-drumlin hollow lakes from central Northern Ireland. These magnetic measurements have been compared with pollen and chemical analyses from the same profiles and with complementary mineral magnetic data from local soils. Representative sediment samples have also been divided into a range of particle size fractions and each fraction has been subjected to magnetic investigation. Five distinctive stratigraphic horizons have been identified on the basis of the magnetic mineralogy. Two horizons relate to phases of pronounced erosion. One of these is connected with solifluction processes in the lateglacial and the other to an intensive period of farming activity which started in Medieval times. Two horizons are associated with periods of very high iron and manganese deposition and are possibly related to the precipitation of magnetic minerals within the lake. Hydrological changes during periods of local anthropogenic activity appear to produce magnetic mineral assemblages indicative of stream bed/bank substrate sources. The particle size data also support the suggestion that downcore changes in the mineral magnetic record are mainly caused by changes in the sediment source rather than particle size or sedimentological effects.     

Magma Mixing Origin of Yamatu Granite in Nuoergong-Langshan Area,Western Part of the Northern Margin of North China Craton:Petrological and Geochemical Evidences

华北地块北缘西段巴音诺尔公—狼山地区的牙马图岩体以二长花岗岩为主,岩体中广泛发育岩浆暗色包体,二者界线明显.包体为岩浆结构,大多数具有塑性外形,发育淬冷边、反向脉,存在多种不平衡结构和矿物组合,如斜长石环带、石英眼斑、针状磷灰石等,显示岩浆混合特征;包体的SiO2含量为48.40％～55.40％,寄主花岗岩SiO2含量为65.03％～72.85％,具有明显的SiO2含量间隔;与寄主花岗岩相比,包体的Fe、Mg、Ca、Ti含量较高;包体和寄主花岗岩的主要氧化物之间具有很好的线性关系,微量元素和稀土元素特征相似.包体和寄主花岗岩的这些地球化学特征显示出明显的岩浆混合趋势.岩相学和元素地球化学特征表明暗色包体是基性岩浆侵入到酸性岩浆淬冷的产物,牙马图岩体存在两种岩浆的混合作用.     

Time Scales of Crystal Fractionation in Magma Chambers--Integrating Physical, Isotopic and Geochemical Perspectives

A simple heat balance model for an evolving magma chamber isused to make predictions of the time scales for magma differentiation,which are compared with geological and isotopic constraintson the rates of crystallization and differentiation. In a 10km³ magma chamber releasing thermal energy at a rate of 100MW, basalt and rhyolite magmas should reach 50% crystallizationafter     

Landslides in the Magho district of Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Prior, D.B. and Graham, J., 1974. Landslides in the Magho district of Fermanagh Northern ireland. Eng. Geog., 8: 341–359.

Rotational slumps, shallow debris slides and active shallow rotational slides are identified on slopes developed on rocks of Carboniferous Age. The rotational slides occur on shales which weather to produce a clay-rich soil. Direct shear tests give drained values ofφ′_r = 8.2° andc′_r = 5.0kN/m². Conventional stability analyses suggest that the residual cohesion parameter is significant. Stability calculations are facilitated by the use of a dimensionless stability coefficient.     

Magma mixing and mingling textures in granitoids: examples from the Galway Granite, Connemara, Ireland

Summary ?Many granitoid intrusions display textural evidence for the interaction of mafic and silicic magmas during their genesis. The ∼ 400 Ma Galway Granite exhibits excellent evidence for magma mixing and mingling both at outcrop/map scale (magma mingling and mixing zones), and at thin-section/crystal scale (mixing textures). These textures – quartz ocelli, rapakivi feldspars, acicular and mixed apatite morphologies, inclusion zones in feldspars, anorthite ‘spikes’ in plagioclase, sphene ocelli, K-feldspar megacrysts in mafic microgranular enclaves (MME), and mafic clots – constitute a textural assemblage whose origin can be explained in terms of magma mixing and mingling models. Furthermore, textures from this assemblage have been recorded throughout the Galway batholith indicating that magma mingling and mixing played a key role during its evolution. Received November 18, 2000; revised version accepted November 6, 2001     

The stratigraphy,sedimentology and palaeontology of the Pleistocene Knocknasilloge Member,Co. Wexford. Ireland

The Pleistocene Knocknasilloge Member, an upward coarsening sequence of massive and laminated muds to cross-laminated fine sands and silts, was deposited in a series of shallow lacustrine basins formed at the retreating margin of the Late Devensian Irish Sea ice-sheet. Sedimentary successions mark increased proximity to a sediment input source and a shift from lake floor suspension sedimentation to bottom traction in low-angled prodelta foresets and distributary barmouth channels. The microfauna contained within the sequence is derived from preexisting climatic stages and there is no evidence to support either an in situ interglacial or glaciomarine origin, as previously proposed.     

A multi‐technique study of the glacial stratigraphy of Co. Clare and Co. Kerry,southwest Ireland

A multi‐technique approach has been adopted in a study of the lithostratigraphy of glacial deposits in southwestern Ireland, including clast lithological analysis, fine sand geochemistry, low frequency mass specific susceptibility and fine sand calcium carbonate (equivalent) content. A revised lithostratigraphical scheme is suggested for the Quaternary glacial deposits of the region, together with a simple strategy that may be adopted for stratigraphical studies in other regions of southern Ireland. It appears that geochemical determinations via inductively coupled plasma–atomic absorption spectrometry are particularly useful in characterising and discriminating between till units within local stratigraphical studies and may be used to inform the applicability of other utilitarian techniques for use on a regional scale. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Brigantian and Middle Triassic remagnetizations in Lower Carboniferous carbonates, Northern Ireland: Role of diagenesis and fluid flow

Paleomagnetism (18 sites, 231 specimens) of Lower Carboniferous carbonates in Northern Ireland reveals three characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) components. Six sites from Brigantian limestones have a Middle Triassic (239 ± 7 Ma) secondary chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) in hematite, likely from alteration of the limestones by oxidizing meteoric fluids when continental red beds were deposited immediately above. Twelve sites from early Asbian limestones retain ChRM directions residing in pyrrhotite and magnetite. Their paleopoles are statistically indistinct, but suggest that the pyrrhotite remanence (326 ± 4 Ma) is about a million years younger than the magnetite remanence (327 ± 3 Ma). More importantly, the primary ChRM in these limestones was reset 3 or 4 Ma after deposition, probably by fluids involved in their diagenesis, giving secondary CRMs that are 8 Ma younger than those observed in the Lower Carboniferous carbonates that host the Navan Zn–Pb deposit in the Irish Midlands, suggesting two unrelated fluid histories.     

Understanding groundwater sources and movement using water chemistry and tracers in a low matrix permeability terrain: the Cretaceous (Chalk) Ulster White Limestone Formation,Northern Ireland

The Cretaceous Chalk [Ulster White Limestone Formation (UWLF)] in Northern Ireland has been diagenetically altered to a hard, low porosity, low matrix-permeability rock. It subcrops extensive beneath thick horizontal Tertiary Basalt lavas, but has a restricted strip of outcrop (approximately 80 km²) around the periphery of the overlying igneous rock. Despite its nature and location, numerous springs issue from the Chalk and are used for public and local supply, although little is known about the origin of the groundwater or the type of flow within the Chalk. We have addressed these unknowns using hydrogeochemical data from both rock types and surface stream waters, and fluorescent dye tracing. We have demonstrated that leakage recharge from the basalt to the Chalk accounts for less than 20% of the total water issuing from the Chalk springs using geochemical mass balance of conservative species and discharge data. The majority of the discharge derives from streams coming off the basalt and entering sink holes in the Chalk aquifer. Field and water tracing evidence shows that groundwater flow in the Chalk is dominated by conduit and fissure flow near to the outcrop areas. Karstification has been widespread near outcrop but has not ocurred in the sub-basalt region. Beneath the basalts, the Chalk exhibits different hydraulic properties due to the reduced recharge and dissolution potential that has prevented extensive development of fissure permeability in the UWLF. The Chalk aquifer thus appears to be strongly zoned in terms of the source of water, flow regime and recharge rate.     

Late Llandovery thelodonts and conodonts from the Kilbride Formation,Co. Galway,western Ireland

Acid etching of a calcareous sandstone horizon within the lower part of the upper Llandovery Kilbride Formation, exposed at Coolin Lough, Co. Galway, has yielded a phosphatic microfauna dominated by conodont elements and thelodont scales. The thelodonts are identified as Loganellia ex gr. scotica and provide the first record of fishes from the Lower Silurian of Ireland; they suggest a Telychian age. The conodont fauna is dominated by Icriodella, indicative of a nearshore environment of deposition. The microfossils were extracted from a shell bed packed with Eocoelia curtisi curtisi Ziegler, confirming a late Telychian age and also suggesting a shallow water depositional environment. This fauna developed marginal to Laurentia and is similar to coeval assemblages from the Anglo–Welsh area and Baltoscandia. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.