Concretions, isotopes, and the diagenetic history of the Oxford Clay (Jurassic) of central England

In interpreting the results of a petrographic and isotopic study of concretions, a range of subjects is discussed including the original texture of the Oxford Clay sediment, Jurassic palaeotemperatures, the diagenetic history of pore-waters and the palaeo-hydrology of central England. The concretions are all composed predominantly of calcite. They include precompactional, pyrite-rich concretions that later suffered an eposide of brecciation, and others that only commenced to form after compaction had crushed ammonite shells included in the bituminous clay sediment. Petrographic, chemical, and especially carbon isotope data demonstrate a dominantly organic source for the carbon in the early formed concretions. Oxygen isotopes indicate formation at the same temperatures (13-16°C) at which benthic molluscs were living. Concretion growth in pelleted, anaerobic mud proceeded concurrently with bacterial sulphate reduction and pyrite precipitation. Cracking of the concretions started at this stage: in a few concretions, the cracks were also partially filled with brown calcite. During post-compactional growth, δ¹³C increased and pyrite content decreased, showing waning organic influence; δ¹⁸O decreased. The brecciated concretions were intruded by clay in which baryte crystals grew; finally, most remaining voids were filled with strongly-ferroan calcite of δ¹⁸O about—7 PDB and δ¹³C about O PDB. This must indicate strong depletion of the pore waters in ¹⁸O. Mechanisms that might lead to this are reviewed. It is concluded that the sequence of mineralogical and chemical changes is most readily explained if originally marine porewaters, first modified by bacterial activity, were flushed from the compacting clays by water of ultimately meteoric origin. This had its source in palaeo-aquifers beneath the Oxford Clay. Speculative attempts are made to relate this history to the geology of the region.     

The Upper Pleistocene deposits at Cassington,near Oxford,England

For much of the Middle and all of the Upper Pleistocene the Upper Thames valley has remained outside the limit of ice advance. The main agents of landform evolution have been the River Thames and its tributaries, which have cut down episodically and in so doing have abandoned a series of river terraces. This study reports the findings of an investigation into exposures in the deposits underlying the Floodplain Terrace at Cassington, near Oxford, England. The sequence exposed reveals a stratigraphy of basal, predominantly fine-grained, lithofacies overlain by coarser gravel lithofacies. The fluvial architecture of these deposits indicates a major change in fluvial style from a low-energy (meandering) to a high energy (braided) channel system. The flora and fauna from the lower fine-grained lithofacies display a marked change from temperate at the base, to colder conditions towards the top, indicating a close association between deteriorating climate and changing fluvial depositional style. Amino acid and luminescence geochronology from the basal fine-grained lithofacies suggest correlation with Oxygen Isotope Stage 5 and hence it is argued that the major environmental change recorded at the site relates to the Oxygen Isotope Stage 5–4 transition. Deposition of much of the overlying gravel sequence probably occurred during Oxygen Isotope Stage 4, suggesting that the latter half of the Devensian may be less significant, in terms of fluvial landscape evolution in the Upper Thames valley, than was believed previously. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Injection clastic dykes in the Lower Oxford Clay (Jurassic) of central England: relationship to compaction and concretion formation

An injection dyke of fine-grained sandstone derived from the Kellaways Sand Formation intrudes overlying organic-rich shales and shell beds of the Lower Oxford Clay. The dyke shows cross-cutting relationships with early carbonate concretions, and fills uncompacted kosmoceratid ammonite shells both within the concretions and surrounding shales. Internally the dyke displays flow-like features, and the walls show lobate flow structures. Clasts of uncompacted Lower Oxford Clay and fragments of pyrite-rich concretions occur within the sandstone intrusions. The sandstone of the dyke was cemented by calcite identical to that precipitated in septarian cracks in the concretions. This cementation took place prior to final compaction of the Oxford Clay. The dyke has a sub-parallel relationship to the nearby Tinwell-Marholm fault suggesting that the dyke may be related to local tectonic events during the Middle Jurassic.     

Notes on Mississippian echinoderms from Hurdlow,Derbyshire, central England

The fossil echinoderms of the Lower Carboniferous (Mississippian) of Derbyshire remain understudied, principally due to the nature of the preservation rather than any lack of biodiversity. Echinoids and crinoids are described in float blocks of limestone from near Hurdlow, Derbyshire, which have been etched naturally after many years of being washed by weakly acidic rain. Surface detail is variable, commonly poor, but rare specimens retain enough features for tentative identification. Two species of echinoids are identified from rare disarticulated plates, namely Melonechinus? sp. (ambulacral plates) and archaeocidarid sp. (interambulacral plate); more and superior material will be necessary to confirm this division. Crinoids include a cladid brachial ossicle sp. with a distinctive sculpture; a columnal of a monobathrid camerate platycrinitid sp.; Annulocolumnus (col.) sp. cf. A. annulus Donovan, a columnal morphotaxon with an unusually broad axial canal; and Cyclocyclicus (col.) spp. This is the tenth echinoid site to be recognized from the Mississippian of the White Peak. Examination of etched float blocks provides a further method of investigation of the echinoderm fauna of this and other limestone areas.     

The Quaternary history of the subtidal central Wash,eastern England

The history of Quaternary sedimentation in the subtidal Wash is described using high-resolution seismic profiles. The Pleistocene sequence is divided into three depositional units, comprising Anglian till overlain by possible Late Devensian subglacial scour fill and lacustrine sediments. These latter sediments may provide further evidence for a lake in the Wash impounded by ice along the Lincolnshire–Norfolk coast. The Holocene sequence is divided into six depositional units, each truncated by the one above. Estuarine sediment resting on a marine flooding surface forms the earliest unit. This sediment was partially eroded by migration of the shoreface as the marine flooding progressed landward. The following four units comprise sand and gravel banks deposited on the erosion surface. Bank deposition was followed by an episode of tidal scour caused either by increased tidal current velocities following reclamation of the Fenland or by breakdown of postulated former offshore barriers. The youngest and most extensive Holocene unit rests on the scoured surface and comprises several types of deposit. These are: large sand banks around the periphery of the subtidal area with sediment extending seawards into two NE–SW aligned troughs; low sand banks on a central ridge dividing the troughs and partially covering the sediments in the troughs; thick gravels towards the mouth of the Wash; muddy sediments forming drapes over the sand in the centre of the Wash. The data provide information on the variety of processes related to the advance and retreat of Pleistocene ice sheets in eastern England and the subsequent Holocene marine flooding of the Wash–Fenland embayment. The Holocene sequence reveals periods of widespread sedimentation separated by periods of both local and regional erosion, with possible implications for climatic and hydrodynamic change. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Contrasting styles of Taconian, Eastern Acadian and Western Acadian metamorphism, central and western New England

The two major Early to Middle Palaeozoic tectonic/metamorphic events in the northern Appalachians were the Taconian (Middle to Late Ordovician) in central to western areas and the Acadian (Late Silurian to early Middle Devonian) in eastern to west-central areas. This paper presents a model for the Acadian orogenic event which separates the Acadian metamorphic realm into eastern and western belts based on distinctively different styles. We propose that the Acadian metamorphism in the east was the delayed consequence of Taconian back-arc lithospheric modification. East of the Taconian island arc, thick accumulations of Late Ordovician and Silurian sediments, coupled with plutons rising along a magmatic arc, produced crustal thermal conditions appropriate for anomalously high-T, low-P metamorphism accompanied by major crustal anatexis. In this zone, upward melt migration was coupled with subsequent E-W crustal shortening (possibly due to outboard collision with the Avalon terrane) to produce mechanical conditions that favoured formation of fold and thrust nappes and resultant tectonic thickening to the west (and probably to the east as well). The basis for the distinction between the Eastern and Western Acadian events lies in the contrasting styles of metamorphism accompanying each. Evidence for contrasting metamorphic styles consists of (1) estimated metamorphic field gradients (MFGs) based on thermobarometric studies, and (2) petrological evidence for contrasting P–T trajectories. West of the Acadian metamorphic front, the Taconian zone has an MFG in which peak temperatures of 400-600° C were reached at pressures of about 4–6 kbar, with both P and T increasing to the east. Near its western edge, the Western Acadian metamorphic overprint has a similar MFG to the Taconian, and is mainly discriminated by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating and microtextural evidence. East of this narrow zone, the Western Acadian overprint is characterized by progressively higher temperatures (600–725° C) and pressures (6.5–10 kbar, or more) to the east, yielding an overall MFG that lies along, or slightly above, the kyanite–sillimanite boundary on a P–T diagram. There is little or no plutonism accompanying Western Acadian metamorphism. In contrast, thermobarometry in the Eastern Acadian, east of the Bronson Hill Belt, yields high-T, intermediate-P conditions for the highest grade rocks known in New England: T= 650–750° C, P= 4.5–6.5 kbar for granulite facies assemblages which apparently formed along an ‘anticlockwise’P–T path. The Bronson Hill Belt lies geographically between the Eastern and Western Acadian zones and shows transitional petrological behaviour: anomalously high temperatures at intermediate pressures, but a ‘clockwise’ path with decompression cooling. Radiometric dating indicates peak Taconian conditions may have been achieved as early as 475 Ma in the Taconian hinterland and as late as 445 Ma in the Taconian foreland (including the Taconic allochthons). Eastern Acadian magmatism may have started as early as 425 Ma, and most nappe-stage deformation and metamorphism in the Eastern Acadian zone appears to have ended by about 410 Ma. Tectonic thickening in the Western Acadian (including the western counterparts of the nappe-stage deformation documented in the Eastern Acadian) must pre-date attainment of peak metamorphic conditions dated at 395–385 Ma. Dome-stage deformation clearly post-dates peak metamorphism and deforms metamorphic isograds. The end of Western Acadian deformation is well constrained by 370-375 Ma radiometric ages of late pegmatites and granitoids which cross-cut all structures.     

The diagenesis of the late Dinantian Derbyshire-East Midland carbonate shelf, central England

Carbonate cements in late Dinantian (Asbian and Brigantian) limestones of the Derbyshire carbonate platform record a diagenetic history starting with early vadose meteoric cementation and finishing with burial and localized mineral and oil emplacement. The sequence is documented using cement petrography, cathodoluminescence, trace element geochemistry and C and O isotopes. The earliest cements (Pre-Zone 1) are locally developed non-luminescent brown sparry calcite below intrastratal palaeokarsts and calcretes. They contain negligible Fe, Mn and Sr but up to 1000 ppm Mg. Their isotopic compositions centre around δ¹⁸O =?8.5‰, δ¹³C=?5.0‰. Calcretes contain less ¹³C. Subsequent cements are widespread as inclusion-free, low-Mg, low-Fe crinoid overgrowths and are described as having a‘dead-bright-dull’cathodoluminescence. The‘dead’cements (Zone 1) are mostly non-luminescent but contain dissolution hiatuses overlain by finely detailed bright subzones that correlate over several kilometres. Across‘dead'/bright subzones there is a clear trend in Mg (500–900 ppm), Mn (100–450 ppm) and Fe (80-230 ppm). Zone 1 cements have isotopic compositions centred around δ¹⁸O =?8.0‰ and δ¹³C=?2.5‰. Zone 2 cement is bright, thin and complexly subzoned. It is geochemically similar to bright subzones of Zone 1 cements. Dull Zone 3 cement pre-dates pressure dissolution and fills 70% or more of the pore space. It generally contains little Mn, Fe and Sr but can have more than 1000 ppm Mg, increasing stratigraphically upwards. The δ¹⁸O compositions range from ?5.5 to ?15‰ and the δ¹³C range is ?1 to + 3.2^0/00. Zone 4 fills veins and stylolite seams in addition to pores. It is synchronous with Pb, Ba, F ore mineralization and oil migration. Zone 4 is ferroan with around 500 ppm Fe, up to 2500 ppm Mg and up to 1500 ppm Mn. Isotopic compositions range widely; δ¹⁵O =?2.7 to ?9‰ and δ¹³C=?3.8 to+2.50‰. Unaltered marine brachiopods suggest a Dinantian seawater composition around δ¹⁵O = 0‰ (SMOW), but vital isotopic effects probably mask the original δ¹³C (PDB) value. Pre-Zone 1 calcites are meteoric vadose cements with light soil-derived δ¹³C and light meteoric δ¹⁸O. An unusually fractionated‘pluvial’δ¹⁵O(SMOW) value of around — 6‰ is indicated for local Dinantian meteoric water. Calcrete δ¹⁸O values are heavier through evaporation. Zone 1 textures and geochemistry indicate a meteoric phreatic environment. Fe and Mn trends in the bright subzones indicate stagnation, and precipitation occurred in increments from widespread cyclically developed shallow meteoric water bodies. Meteoric alteration of the rock body was pervasive by the end of Zone 1 with a general resetting of isotopic values. Zone 3 is volumetrically important and external sources of water and carbonate are required. Emplacement was during the Namurian-early Westphalian by meteoric water sourced at a karst landscape on the uplifted eastern edge of the Derbyshire-East Midland shelf. The light δ¹⁸O values mainly reflect burial temperatures and an unusually high local heat flow, but an input of highly fractionated hinterland-derived meteoric water at the unconformity is also likely. Relatively heavy δ¹³C values reflect the less-altered state of the source carbonate and aquifer. Zone 4 is partly vein fed and spans burial down to 2000 m and the onset of tectonism. Light organic-matter-derived δ¹³C and heavy δ¹⁸O values suggest basin-derived formation water. Combined with textural evidence of geopressures, this relates to local high-temperature ore mineralization and oil migration. Low water-to-rock ratios with host-rock buffering probably affected the final isotopic compositions of Zone 4, masking extremes both of temperature and organic-matter-derived CO₂.     

Ophiolitic and metamorphic rocks in the Percy Isles and Shoalwater Bay region,New England Fold Belt,central Queensland

Ophiolitic and metamorphic rocks of the eastern part of the New England Fold Belt in the Shoalwater Bay region and the Percy Isles are grouped in the Marlborough and Shoalwater terranes, respectively. Marlborough terrane units occur on South Island (Percy Isles) and comprise the Northumberland Serpentinite, antigorite serpentinite with rodingite and more silicic dykes and mafic inclusions, the Chase Point Metabasalt, some 800+ metres of pillow lava, and the intervening South Island Shear Zone containing fault‐bounded slices of mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks, schist, and volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks, and zones of mélange. The Shoalwater terrane, an ancient subduction complex, consists of the Shoalwater Formation greenschist facies metamorphosed quartz sandstone and mudstone on North East Island and on the mainland at Arthur Point, the Townshend Formation, amphibolite‐grade quartzite, schist and metabasalt on Townshend Island, and the Broome Head Metamorphics on the western side of Shoalwater Bay, upper amphibolite facies quartz‐rich gneiss. With the exception of a sliver emplaced onto the western Yarrol terrane, possibly by gravity sliding, Shoalwater terrane rocks show the effects of Late Permian polyphase deformation. The Shacks Mylonite Zone along the northwest edge of the Broome Head Metamorphics marks a zone of oblique thrusting and is part of the major Stanage Fault Zone. The latter is a northeast‐striking oblique‐slip dextral tear fault active during Late Permian west‐directed thrusting that emplaced large ultramafic sheets farther south. Marlborough terrane rocks were emplaced along the Stanage Fault Zone, probably from the arc basement on which rocks of the Yarrol terrane were deposited. Structural trends and the distribution of rock units in the Shoalwater Bay‐Percy Isles region are oblique to the overall structural trend of the northern New England Fold Belt, probably due to the presence of a promontory in the convergent margin active in this region in Devonian and Carboniferous time.     

Septarian concretions from the Oxford Clay (Jurassic, England, UK): involvement of original marine and multiple external pore fluids

Septarian concretions occur at several horizons within the Oxford Clay Formation, a marine mudstone containing pristine aragonite and immature biomarker molecules. They record the passage of at least four generations of pore fluids, the first of marine origin and the last still present in cavities. Concretion bodies formed, cracked, and calcite and pyrite precipitated in and around the cracks within the sulphate reduction zone, as demonstrated by C, O, S and Sr isotopic composition (Pore fluid 1). Before major compaction, sandstone dykes were intruded locally, and baryte precipitated, followed by coarse calcite cements with isotopically light oxygen and radiogenic strontium, indicating the introduction of meteoric-derived water (Pore fluid 2). Later, coarse celestine within concretions has distinct sulphur-isotopic composition and requires a further, geographically restricted, water source (Pore fluid 3). Celestine-bearing concretions contain water in tight cavities whose isotopic composition is close to that of modern precipitation. Its chemistry shows that it is equilibrating with pre-existing minerals implying a relatively recent origin (Pore fluid 4). The mineralogy of the Oxford Clay concretions shows that complex results can follow from a simple burial and uplift history, and that multiple generations of pore fluids can pass through a low-permeability clay.     

Evidence for Palaeozoic magmatism recorded in the Late Neoproterozoic Marlborough ophiolite,New England Fold Belt,central Queensland

The ultramafic‐mafic complex in the Marlborough terrane of the northern New England Fold Belt is dominated by members of a Neoproterozoic (ca 560 Ma) ophiolite (V1). The ophiolite has been intruded by the products of three Palaeozoic tectonomagmatic episodes (V2, V3 and V4). The V2 magmatic episode is represented by tholeiitic and calc‐alkaline basalts and gabbros of island‐arc affinities. Sm/Nd isotopes give a whole‐rock isochron age of 380 ± 19 Ma (2σ) to this episode, some 180 million years younger than the V1 ophiolitic rocks. The V3 magmatic episode includes tholeiitic and alkali basalts with enriched geochemical signatures characteristic of intraplate volcanism. A whole‐rock Sm/Nd isochron age of 293 ± 35 Ma is obtained for this event. A fourth magmatic event (V4) is represented by basaltic andesites and siliceous intrusives with geochemical features similar to modern adakites. This event has its type locality in the Percy Isles. These data provide tectonic and geochronological constraints for the previously enigmatic Marlborough terrane and as such contribute to the ever‐evolving understanding of New England Fold Belt development.     

Pyrite replacement of mollusc shells from the Lower Oxford Clay (Jurassic) of England

Replacement of originally aragonite mollusc shells by pyrite commonly occurs in the Lower Oxford Clay. Petrographic studies show the shells to have constituted complex microenvironments in the sediment. A range of replacement textures is found showing a variable amount of solution of the original aragonite. Three distinct textures were found in crushed pyrite-replaced ammonite shells from heavily pyritized concretions. (1) A texture reflecting the original shell structure due to the replacement of the organic shell-matrix by pyrite. (2) An ovoid texture seen at several stages of replacement reflecting processes occurring at discrete centres of sulphate reduction. (3) Euhedral crystals lining cracks and fractures in the shell. Three types of replacement are found in small gastropods and bivalves from shell bed, some of which may relate to those seen in the ammonites. (1) Replacement of organic shell-matrix by pyrite preserving good shell-microstructure. (2) Replacement showing outwardly good preservation of morphological features but inwardly only the gross structure, such as growth lines, is preserved. (3) Replacement of the shell in a matrix of euhedral pyrite leaving only lines of carbonate inclusions marking the margins of the shell. The replacement textures and types appear to be dependent on the initial structure of the shell and the access of iron and sulphate into the shell. Early stages of replacement appear to proceed by pyrite formation within the organic matrix of the shell, with little or no solution of the carbonate, this produces textures which faithfully mimic the original shell microstructure. It is thought that the lack of carbonate solution is due to a limited availability of iron, brought about by the less intensively reducing nature of the sediment. Later stages of replacement are promoted by the cracking and fracturing of the shell and are, generally, not as faithful to the original shell structure. This is due to the greater availability of iron as the sediment becomes more reducing with burial.     

Pt and Pd concentrations and source in urban roadside soils from Xuzhou,China

This investigation represented the preliminary study to characterize Pt and Pd concentrations and enrichment ratios in urban roadside soils. Roadside soil samples were analyzed by ICP-MS. Data from 21 roadside topsoil samples show medians of Pt and Pd concentrations are 2.9 and 2.8 ng g⁻¹, respectively. These values are higher than those of upper crust that average 0.4 and 0.4 ng g⁻¹, respectively. The relatively lower Pt and Pd concentrations are expected due to recent introduction of catalysts to China compared to the prolonged use of catalysts in Europe. Hierarchical clustering analysis indicates that Pt and Pd in Xuzhou urban roadside soils were mainly from the traffic emissions. Computation of enrichment ratios using the upper crust values as background levels suggests that the roadside soils had enrichment medians of 6.4 for Pt (range 2.5–11.75) and of 6.75 for Pd (range 2.75–9.25). Lower Pt/Pd ratios (range 0.35–2.86) in relation to similar studies in other countries were observed due to the different automobile catalytic converters. In general, fine fraction (<250 μm) contains higher Pt and Pd concentrations compared to the coarse fraction (250–500 μm).     

The strontium isotopic composition and origin of burial cements in the Lincolnshire Limestone (Bajocian) of central Lincolnshire, England

Strontium isotopic composition (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) of two petrographically, chemically and isotopically (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) distinct phases of burial calcites from the Lincolnshire Limestone are indistinguishable (0.70820± 26). The mean ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of these phases is considerably more radiogenic than ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of Bajocian marine waters (～0.70725). Neither Bajocian marine waters nor meteoric waters buffered by host marine carbonate in the Limestone could have precipitated the burial spars. Radiogenic strontium may have been contributed from K-feldspar dissolution and/or clay recrystallization, either within clastic portions of the Limestone itself, or from major clastic units adjacent to the Limestone. Alternatively, Palaeozoic marine waters or remobilized Palaeozoic marine carbonate and/or sulphate could have supplied the necessary radiogenic strontium.     

Salt and subsidence in Cheshire,England

Rock salt occurs in the Keuper Marl Series of Cheshire. There are two saliferous beds, the lower being 190 m and the upper 404 m thick. However, most of the Triassic rocks in Cheshire are covered by thick superficial deposits. Nevertheless natural brine springs occur at the surface and salt has been evaporated from these springs since pre-Roman times.Subsidence occurs as a result of wild brine pumping. Gradual collapse takes place above the subterranean brine runs giving rise to cambered depressions at the surface, the flanks of which are often interrupted by tension scars. Flashes occupy many of these depressions. The most disastrous subsidences occurred towards the end of the nineteenth century due to bastard brine pumping, that is, pumping, with reckless abandon, from old mine workings. The associated subsidences were rapid and caused the destruction of many buildings. One of the awkward characteristics of subsidence in salt due to wild brine pumping is that it is unpredictable, indeed subsidence may occur several kilometres from the point of extraction. This means that an individual brine pumper could not and still cannot be proved responsible for subsidence. Accordingly, the Cheshire Brine Subsidence Compensation Board was established by act of Parliament at the end of the nineteenth century which obliged each brine pumper to contribute towards the compensation fund. Because controlled solution mining has not given rise to subsidence in its 40 years of operation this form of extraction is eventually to be extended throughout the whole of the salt field, another field is now being developed. It is hoped to phase out wild brine pumping by the 1980's.     

Monazite geochronology in central New England: evidence for a fundamental terrane boundary

Monazite crystallization ages have been measured in situ using SIMS and EMP analysis of samples from the Bronson Hill anticlinorium in central New England. In west‐central New Hampshire, each major tectonic unit (nappe) displays a distinctive P–T path and metamorphic history that requires significant post‐metamorphic faulting to place them in their current juxtaposition, and monazite ages were determined to constrain the timing of metamorphism and nappe assembly. Monazite ages from the low‐pressure, high‐temperature Fall Mountain nappe range from c. 455 to 355 Ma, and Y zoning indicates that these ages comprise three to four distinct age domains, similar to that found in the overlying Chesham Pond nappe. The underlying Skitchewaug nappe contains monazite ages that range from c. 417 to 307 Ma. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages indicate rapid cooling of the Chesham Pond and Fall Mountain nappes after 350 Ma, which is believed to represent the time of emplacement of the high‐level Chesham Pond and Fall Mountain nappes onto rocks of the underlying Skitchewaug nappe. Garnet zone rocks from western New Hampshire contain monazite that display a range of ages (c. 430–340 Ma). Both the metamorphic style and monazite ages suggest that the low‐grade belt in western New Hampshire is continuous with the Vermont sequence to the west. Rocks of the Big Staurolite nappe in western New Hampshire contain monazite that crystallized between c. 370 and 290 Ma and the same unit along strike in northern New Hampshire and central Connecticut records ages of c. 257–300 Ma. Conspicuously absent from this nappe are the older age populations that are found in both the overlying nappes and underlying garnet zone rocks. These monazite ages confirm that the metamorphism observed in the Big Staurolite nappe occurred significantly later than that in the units structurally above and below. These data support the hypothesis that the Big Staurolite nappe represents a major tectonic boundary, along which rocks of the New Hampshire metamorphic series were juxtaposed against rocks of the Vermont series during the Alleghanian.     

基于MODIS卫星数据的中亚地区水体动态监测研究

水体动态监测是当今资源与环境变化研究的一个热点与重点。及时、准确地获得水体变化信息是对湿地资源保护、利用和可持续发展的有力支持,而遥感技术的快速、周期性等特点为湿地变化监测提供了技术手段。本文的研究区是中亚地区,结合该地区的光谱和时相特征,利用三个时相的MODIS数据,采用监督分类以及人工解译等方法获取了研究区水体分布以及变化信息,并从自然和人为两方面原因对咸水湖泊、淡水湖泊以及含水沟渠的变化情况进行进一步分析评价。