Metamorphic evolution of the southern part of the Hidaka belt, Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract The Hidaka metamorphic terrane in the Meguro-Shoya area, Hokkaido, Japan is divided into four progressive metamorphic zones: A—biotite zone; B—cordierite zone; C—cordierite–K-feldspar zone; and, D—sillimanite–K-feldspar zone of the andalusite–sillimanite facies series type of metamorphism. The metamorphic grade ranges from the higher temperature part of the greenschist facies (zone A) through the amphibolite facies (zones B and C) to the lower temperature part of the granulite facies (zone D). The zone boundaries intersect the bedding planes at high angles. P–T conditions estimated are 450–550°C and 2 kbar for zone A, 550–600°C and 2–2.5 kbar for zone B, 600–650°C and 2.5–3 kbar for zone C and 650–750°C and 3–4 kbar for zone D. The metapelites of zone D were partially melted.
At the later stage of the regional metamorphism which is early Oligocene to early Miocene in age, cordierite tonalite and biotite tonalite intrusives associated with segments of the highest grade rocks (zone D) were emplaced into the lower temperature part of the regional metamorphic rocks, giving rise to a contact metamorphic aureole. The thermally metamorphosed terrain (zone C') belongs to the amphibolite facies and its P–T conditions are estimated to have been 550–700°C and 2 kbar.
The P–T–t paths of the Hidaka metamorphism show a thickening–heating–uplifting process. The metamorphism is inferred to have taken place beneath an active island arc accompanied by partial melting of the crust.     

Influence of deformation partitioning and metamorphic re-equilibration on P–T path reconstruction in the pre-Alpine basement of central Southern Alps (Northern Italy)

The dominant foliation (S2) in the metapelites of the Southalpine basement, near the western side of the Tertiary Adamello intrusive stock, is a Variscan greenschist facies planar fabric, slightly reworked during thick-skin Alpine tectonics. S2 is defined by muscovite and chlorite and was formed by decrenulation of pre-existing foliations, which are confined to metre-size, less-deformed domains and defined by biotite and white mica. The pre-S2 fabric is composite (D1a & D1b) and defined by contrasting amphibolite facies metamorphic assemblages in different residual sites. Cld+Bt_I+Grt+Ms_I+Pl+Qtz and St+Bt_II+Grt+Ms_II+Pl+Qtz assemblages mark D1a and D1b fabrics respectively; these developed during successive steps of a single, temperature-prograde polyphase event, rather than during separate tectonometamorphic imprints affecting different tectonic units, later coupled during a D2 greenschist facies stage. Thermobarometric estimates of assemblages formed during D1a, D1b and D2 show a transition from T  =480–540  °C (during D1a) to T  =570–660  °C (during D1b), corresponding to a slight pressure-increase from 0.75–0.95  GPa to 0.85–1.15  GPa. D2 greenschist retrogression corresponds to a pressure and temperature decrease ( T  <400–550  °C and P <0.3–0.4  GPa). This P–T– deformation–time path is inferred to be the result of uplift from a depth of c. 35  km, after Palaeozoic subduction and continental collision; it is consistent with models postulated for other metamorphic units of the Variscan Belt in Europe. This is the first documented example in the Southern Alps of temperature-prograde metamorphism before Palaeozoic collision.     

Low-P / high-T metamorphism in the Okiep Copper District, western Namaqualand, South Africa

The Okiep Copper District, part of the 1.2–1.0 Ga high-grade terrane in western Namaqualand, is composed of a mid-Proterozoic supracrustal sequence and several pre- to post-orogenic intrusive suites affected by two high-grade events (M2a/M2b, M3) of Kibaran and one low-grade event (M4) of Pan-African age. Peak assemblages in quartz-bearing pelites are characterized either by garnet+cordierite coexisting with sillimanite/biotite, or by biotite+sillimanite±garnet; a difference controlled by bulk composition and variation in water activities (0.1–0.7) during dehydration melting. Maximum P–T conditions were reached during M2a coevally with the major deformational event (D2a) and are estimated at 750–820  °C and 5–6  kbar. A counterclockwise P–T  path is indicated by regionally occurring pseudomorphs of sillimanite after andalusite and by prograde reaction textures preserved as relics in M2a porphyroblasts. Two stages of retrograde metamorphism are distinguished: M2a garnet+cordierite-bearing assemblages were retrogressed to biotite+sillimanite+quartz (M2b) along discontinuous foliation planes and shear zones (D2b). Retrograde M3 corona assemblages formed at similar P–T  conditions (580–660  °C and 5.8±0.5  kbar) to the M2b assemblages but M3 crystallization postdates penetrative D2 deformation, intrusion of 1.06 Ga granitoids and formation of associated W–Mo deposits. It is concluded that: (a) Kibaran high-grade metamorphism in the Okiep Copper District is thermally punctuated and (b) reaction textures documenting apparent isobaric cooling of this low- P high- T  terrane must be interpreted with caution.     

A refreshing 3D view of an ancient sediment collapse and slope failure

The combined analysis of high-resolution 2D seismics and an industrial 3D seismic data volume from the western Porcupine Basin, offshore SW Ireland, revealed an unusual picture of a buried sediment collapse and slope failure. A proportionally thin (≤ 85 m) but vast (> 750 km²) slab of consolidated sediments started to slide downslope, in the meantime breaking into hundreds of vertically undisturbed blocks, up to 500 m in diameter. The most probably overpressured underlying horizon seems to have liquefied and acted as a slide plane until the excess pore pressure had dissipated. Then – still very early in the slide development – the process stopped, freezing the failure at its initial stage.     

Permian to Cretaceous polymetamorphic evolution of the Stewart River region, Yukon-Tanana terrane, Yukon, Canada: P–T evolution linked with in situ SHRIMP monazite geochronology

Textural relationships and the trace element chemistry of accessory minerals and garnet can provide the linkage between in situ SHRIMP ages and quantitative pressure–temperature data that is required to decipher complex polymetamorphic and polydeformational histories. Application of these methods to lower amphibolite facies rocks of the Stewart River area, Yukon (Canada) yields robust new constraints on the tectonic evolution of central Yukon Tanana Terrane (YTT).
A TIMS U/Pb titanite age of 365–350 Ma is interpreted to date low- P metamorphism (M1) and D1 deformation associated with arc plutonism above an east-dipping subduction zone. Monazite inclusions in garnet porphyroblasts record a transition from low to high pressure (∼9 kbar and 600 °C) at c . 239 Ma. These data help to establish a c . 260–240 Ma tectonometamorphic event (M2–D2) reflecting intra-arc thickening during west-dipping subduction of Slide Mountain Ocean. Another transition from low- to high- P (M3–D3; 7.8 kbar and 595 °C), dated by c . 195–187 Ma monazite, is interpreted to reflect the change from regional contact metamorphism during arc plutonism to internal duplication of YTT during initial collision of YTT with the North American craton.
The Mt Burnham (north-eastern) region records a different history because of its proximity to later plutons and its late exhumation via extensional faulting. Monazite growth at 146 Ma dates ∼9 kbar metamorphism (M4), interpreted to reflect a previously unrecognized period of plutonism associated with auriferous quartz veins in the Klondike region. Monazite growth at 114–107 Ma reflects low- P (<4.6 kbar) contact metamorphism (M5) accompanying regional plutonism and extension.     

Contact metamorphism in the Malashan dome, North Himalayan gneiss domes, southern Tibet: an example of shallow extensional tectonics in the Tethys Himalaya

Combined petrographic, structural and geochronological study of the Malashan dome, one of the North Himalayan gneiss domes, reveals that it is cored by a Miocene granite, the Malashan granite, that intruded into the Jurassic sedimentary rocks of Tethys Himalaya. Two other granites in the area are referred to as the Paiku and Cuobu granites. New zircon SHRIMP U-Pb and muscovite and biotite ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar dating show that the Paiku granite was emplaced during 22.2–16.2 Ma (average 19.3 ± 3.9 Ma) and cooled rapidly to 350–400 °C at around 15.9 Ma. Whole-rock granite chemistry suggests the original granitic magma may have formed by muscovite dehydration melting of a protolith chemically similar to the High Himalayan Crystalline Sequence. Abundant calcareous metasedimentary rocks and minor garnet-staurolite-biotite-muscovite ± andalusite schists record contact metamorphism by three granites that intruded intermittently into the Jurassic sediments between 18.5 and 15.3 Ma. Two stages of widespread penetrative ductile deformation, D1 and D2, can be defined. Microstructural studies of metapelites combined with geothermobarometry and pseudosection analyses yield P – T conditions of 4.8 ± 0.8 kbar at 550 ± 50 °C during a non-deformational stage between D1 and D2, and 3.1–4.1 kbar at 530–575 °C during syn- to post-D2. The pressure estimates for the syn- to post-D2 growth of andalusite suggest relatively shallow (depth of ∼15.2 km) extensional ductile deformation that took place within a shear zone of the South Tibetan Detachment System. Close temporal association between intrusion of the Malashan granite and onset of D2 suggests extension may have been triggered by the intrusion of the Malashan granite.     

Holocene glacial variations in Sarek National Park, northern Sweden

Detailed mapping of well-preserved moraine systems fronting 17 small alpine glaciers in Sarek National Park in Swedish Lapland reveals two Holocene intervals of prolonged glacier expansion, each involving a complex of minor fluctuations. The younger interval, which corresponds to the Little Ice Age, experienced advances that culminated about A.D. 1916–1920, 1880–1890, 1850–1860, 1800–1810, 1780, 1700–1720, 1680, 1650, and 1590–1620. The older expansion interval, which probably centered around 2500 ¹⁴C yr B.P., experienced several minor fluctuations spread through about 600 years.
Lichen data collected on moraine systems in Sarek are internally consistent from glacier to glacier. Lichen measurements on surfaces of known age in Sarek and nearby Kebnekaise match closely, allowing moraine correlations between these areas. Several older expansion intervals are recorded in the Kebnekaise Mountains. Taken together, the two sequences suggest that a series of prolonged expansion intervals, each similar to the Little Ice Age, has characterized the Holocene in Lapland. Fluctuations of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in Sweden suggest that this series of Little-Ice-Age events extends back into the late Weichsel in the form of the Younger Dryas and Oldest Dryas stadials.     

考虑简化胶结模型的深海能源土宏观力学性质离散元数值模拟分析

根据蒋明镜等所提出天然结构性砂土微观胶结模型[1–2]及微观胶结试验结果[3–5],将该模型引入离散元商业软件PFC2D,进行能源土双轴试验离散元数值模拟分析,并同Masui等[6]能源土三轴试验结果进行对比分析,结果表明,蒋明镜等所提出胶结模型能够较好的模拟水合物的微观胶结力学行为,水合物胶结的存在对能源土强度具有一定的贡献。     

P–T–t paths and tectonic history of an early Precambrian granulite facies terrane, Jining district, south-east Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract The widespread khondalite series of south-east Inner Mongolia consists largely of biotite–sillimanite–garnet gneiss and quartzo-feldspathic gneiss with some marble and mafic granulite layers. It has experienced two metamorphic events at c. 2500 and 1900–2000 Ma.
A pre-peak stage of the first metamorphism at T = 600–700°C and P > 6–7 kbar is recognized by the relict amphibolite facies assemblage Ky–Grt–Bt–Pl–Qtz and 'protected'inclusions of biotite, hornblende, sodic plagioclase and quartz in garnet or orthopyroxene. The peak stage, with T = c. 800 ± 50°C and P 8–10 kbar, is characterized by the widespread granulite facies assemblages Sil–Grt–Bt–Kfs–Pl–Qtz in gneiss and Opx–Cpx–Pl ± Hbl ± Grt in granulite. The P–T–t path suggests that the supracrustal sequence was buried in the lower crust by tectonic thickening during D1–D2.
The beginning of the second metamorphism is characterized by further temperature rise to 700°C or more at lower pressure. This stage is manifested by the appearance of cordierite after garnet, fibrolite (Sil2) after biotite in gneiss and transformation of Hbl1 into Opx2 and Cpx2 in granulite. Coronas of symplectitic Opx2 + Pl2 surrounding Grt1 and Cpx1 in mafic granulite are interpreted as products of near-isothermal decompression. The P–T–t path may be related tectonically to waning extension of the crust by the end of the early Proterozoic.     

Deglaciation and palaeoclimate of the Andfjord-Vågsfjord area, North Norway

This paper reviews the deglaciation history and palaeoclimate from 22 to 9.5 ¹⁴Cka BP in the Andfjord-Vagsfjord area. Eight main glacial events are recorded: The Egga-I (>22 ¹⁴Cka BP), the Bjerka, the Egga-II (>14.6 ¹⁴Cka BP), the Flesen (14.5 ¹⁴Cka BP), the D (13.8–13.2 ¹⁴Cka BP), the Skarpnes (12.2 ¹⁴Cka BP), the Tromsø–Lyngen (10.7–10.3 ¹⁴C ka BP) and the Stordal (10.0–9.5 ¹⁴Cka BP). Onset of the final deglaciation occurred about 14.6 ¹⁴Cka BP. Most of the western part of the Fennoscandian and Barents Sea Ice Sheets receded from the outer continental shelf 15–14 ¹⁴Cka BP. The delivery and melting of icebergs at this time to the Norwegian-Greenland Sea resulted in a low oxygen isotope event recorded in a number of cores in the region. Atlantic water intruded the area 13.2 ¹⁴Cka BP, and an atmospheric warming commenced 12.9/12.8 ¹⁴Cka BP. A marked glacial recession occurred before the Skarpnes event. During Allerød time, the glaciers retreated to the fjord heads or even farther inland. The Fennoscandian outlet glaciers readvanced (locally more than 40 km), reached their Younger Dryas outer limit after 10.7 ¹⁴Cka BP and retreated from this position before about 10.3 ¹⁴Cka BP.     

Book Review

Principles of Lithogenesis, 2. , N. M. STRAKHOV (English translation by J. PAUL FITZSIMMONS, edited by S. I. TOMKIEFF and J. S. HEMINGWAY).
The New Concepts of Continental Margin Sedimentation-A.G.I. Short Course Lecture Notes, Philadelphia, 7–9 November, 1969. D. J. STANLEY (Convener); J. R. CURRAY, G. V. MIDDLETON, D. J. STANLEY, and D. J. P. SWIFT (Lecturers).
Manual of Sedimentary Structures. C. E. B. CONYBEARE and K. A. W. CROOK.
Methods for the Study of Sedimentary Structures. ARNOLD H. BOUMA.     

Fluctuations of the Deming Glacier and theoretical equilibrium line altitudes during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene on Mount Baker, Washington, USA

Kovanen, D. J. & Slaymaker, O. 2005 (May): Fluctuations of the Deming Glacier and theoretical equilibrium line altitudes during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene on Mount Baker, Washington, USA. Boreas , Vol. 34, pp. 157–175. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
The Deming Glacier is presently nourished by an ice-cap type accumulation area on Mount Baker (3285 m a.s.l.). The specific meso-scale (>10km) form and isolation of the Mount Baker stratovolcano seem to influence temperature and precipitation gradients (contemporary climate data). These data are used as a reference when calculating paleo-equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs). Six radiocarbon dates are reported, between 10 680 70 and 10 500 70 ¹⁴C yr BP (12 903–12 183 cal. yr BP) from detrital logs in drift that were buried during an advance of the Deming Glacier (altitude 3230–1158 m) during possibly the Younger Dryas interval. The calculated range of theoretical ELA depressions (ΔELA) relative to modern is 400–355 m using two different methods. Assuming no change in precipitation, ablation-season temperature would have been 2.5–2.2C cooler, which is consistent with other paleoclimatic reconstructions in this region. Alternatively, assuming that the modern reference climate is appropriate, and based on regressions of modern-day glacial conditions, the predicted mean winter precipitation necessary to support the former Deming Glacier was in the order of 200–150% (mean 175%) or 119–86% (mean 103%). This amount of precipitation could result from reinvigorated moisture transport into the North Cascades and increased seasonality at the end of the last glaciation.     

双跨连拱隧道两种中墙的空间力学效应分析

针对双跨连拱隧道设计和施工中存在的问题,采用三维有限差分程序FLAC3D2.0,对两种中墙结构的空间受力特征进行了研究,对比分析各自的优缺点及适用条件,并提出了施工注意事项。研究结果表明,在II类围岩地质条件下浅埋连拱隧道采用分离式曲中墙结构受力较为合理;左洞掌子面距研究断面3倍洞径时,中墙内力已稳定;左右洞掌子面距研究断面(－1～+1)D的施工,是中墙内力变化较大的关键工序。     

Thermobarometry and granite genesis: the Hercynian low-P, high-T Velay anatectic dome (French Massif Central)

The Velay dome (French Massif Central) offers a quasi-continuous section across an anatectic domain comprising low- to high-grade schists, gneisses and granites. Two main tectonometamorphic events, and their related generation of granitic material, were recognized in addition to a major Barrrovian tangential event (D2) attributed to intracontinental collision tectonics: (i) a medium- to low- P , high- T event (D3) which gave rise to migmatites and syntectonic monzonitic granites and granodiorites, and (ii) a widespread melting event (D4) which led to the generation of migmatities, the Velay granite and post-anatectic granites.
Thermobarometry on samples collected from both the metamorphic envelope and the granitic core distinguishes two distinct geotherms: (i) a first, associated with the D3 event, characterized by P > 5 kbar, T ≤ 750° C and water-present melting (biotite remains stable) which led to large-scale migmatization but minor amount of granites; (ii) a second, associated with the D4 event and characterized by vapour-absent melting ( P = 4–5 kbar, T = 760–850° C) which gave rise to the Velay granites and late-migmatitic granites. The temperature increase during the D4 event is attributed to the intrusion of hot mafic magmas within the crust.
The time-integrated features of the different granitic rocks in the Velay dome can be directly related to a _H2O in the source region and illustrate the progressive dehydration of a middle to lower crustal segment over 60 Ma.     

Discriminating between tectonic and eustatic controls on the stratigraphic record in the Paris basin

The quantification of tectonic and eustatic factors in the control of the sedimentary record is one of the main questions in sedimentary basin dynamics. We propose two methods allowing: (i) 3D measurement of accommodation at basin scale and (ii) to decipher between local (10–100 km wavelength) and basin-scale accommodation. The local signal is necessarily of tectonic origin, the basin-scale signal is of both eustatic and large tectonic origin. The measurement of accommodation requires (a) high-resolution time-lines calibrated in ages (sequence stratigraphy on well-logs and biostratigraphy on cores), (b) decompacted lithologies (well-logs), and (c) palaeodepth/palaeoaltitude (sedimentology and well-logs). Application of these methods to the intracratonic Paris basin during the Lias (early Jurassic) suggests a tectonic origin for the 1–5 Myr stratigraphic cycles, with basin-scale flexure during transgressive half-cycles, and 10–100 km uplift of basement units, during regressive half-cycles.     

When did Sardinia stop rotating? New palaeomagnetic results

Previous palaeomagnetic results from Tertiary volcanic rocks of Sardinia suggest that the island underwent a quick counterclockwise rotation between 20.5 and 19 Ma. In order to test this hypothesis, a new palaeomagnetic study was carried out on sediments and volcanic rocks with well-controlled biostratigraphic or radiometric ages younger than the suggested age for the end of the rotation.
Unrotated palaeomagnetic directions obtained from the Upper Ignimbrites (radiometric age: 18.5–19.7 Myr) and the Aquitanian tuffs collected in the Anglona region (N Sardinia) would suggest that the rotation ended earlier than 20.5 Myr. The directions found in the volcanics are perhaps the result of secular variation, rather than differential rotation of the Anglona region with respect to surrounding regions.
Two sites belonging to the upper ignimbritic unit (SI₂) in the Monte Traessu-Monte Rispisu area (Logudoro region) exhibited a large amount of rotation ( D =320.4°, I =60°) which may be age related (radiometric age: 19.9 Myr). Four dikes (radiometric age: 18.3–16.7 Myr) in the Arcuentu volcanic complex (Arburese region) yield results ( D =348.4°, I =33.8°) that indicate a further amount of rotation after their emplacement.
Stable end-point directions were successfully isolated from three Upper Burdigalian/Langhian sedimentary sites (biostratigraphic age: 18–15Ma) from the Marmilla and Logudoro regions. Consistent paleomagnetic directions obtained from these sites ( D =352°, I =49°) indicate that a small amount of rotation was still to be completed in the Langhian time. This result is consistent with the history of Sardinian volcanism, which did not end until 13 Ma.     

P-T path determinations in the Tormes Gneissic Dome, NW Iberian Massif, Spain

The Tormes Gneissic Dome (TGD, NW sector of the Iberian Massif, Spain) is a high-grade metamorphic complex affected by a major episode of extensional deformation (D2). The syn-D2 P–T  path of the Lower Unit of the TGD was deduced from the analysis of reaction textures related to superimposed fabrics developed during exhumation, analysis of mineral zoning and thermobarometric calculations. It comprises an initial phase of decompression, determined using the tweequ thermobarometric technique, from 6.4–8.1 kbar at 735–750 °C (upper structural levels) and 7.2 kbar at 770 °C (lower structural levels) to 3.3–3.9 kbar and 645–680 °C. This evolution is consistent with the observed sequence of melting reactions and the generation of garnet- and cordierite-bearing anatectic granitoids. The later part of the syn-D2 P–T  path consisted of almost isobaric cooling associated with the thermal re-equilibration of the unit in the new structural position. This segment of the P–T  path is recorded by assemblages with And +Bt+Ms and Ms+ Chl +Ab related to the later mylonitic S2 fabrics, which indicate retrogression to low-amphibolite and greenschist facies conditions.     

Exhumation during oblique transpression: The Feiran–Solaf region, Egypt

The Feiran–Solaf metamorphic complex of Sinai, Egypt, is one of the highest grade metamorphic complexes of a series of basement domes that crop out throughout the Arabian-Nubian Shield. In the Eastern Desert of Egypt these basement domes have been interpreted as metamorphic core complexes exhumed in extensional settings. For the Feiran–Solaf complex an interpretation of the exhumation mechanism is difficult to obtain with structural arguments as all of its margins are obliterated by post-tectonic granites. Here, metamorphic methods are used to investigate its tectonic history and show that the complex was characterized by a single metamorphic cycle experiencing peak metamorphism at ∼700–750 °C and 7–8 kbar and subsequent isothermal decompression to ∼4–5 kbar, followed by near isobaric cooling to 450 °C. Correlation of this metamorphic evolution with the deformation history shows that peak metamorphism occurred prior to the compressive deformation phase D ₂, while the compressive D ₂ and D ₃ deformation occurred during the near isothermal decompression phase of the P–T loop. We interpret the concurrence of decompression of the P–T path and compression by structural shortening as evidence for the Najd fault system exhuming the complex in an oblique transpressive regime. However, final exhumation from ∼15 km depth must have occurred due to an unrelated mechanism.     

Book reviews

Book review in this article
Modern and Ancient Carbonate Environments of Jamaica, by W. D. Liddell, S. L. Ohlhorst and A. G. Coates.
Facies Models (2nd edition), ed. by Roger G. Walker
An Introduction to Seismic Interpretation-Reflection Seismics in Petroleum Exploration (new revised edition), by R. McQuillin, M. Bacon and W. Barclay.
Coastal Geomorphology in Australia, ed. by B. G. Thom.
Terrigenous Clastic Depositional Systems-Applications to Petroleum, Coal, and Uranium Exploration, by W. E. Galloway, and D. K. Hobday
Proceedings of International Symposium on Sedimentation on the Continental Shelf with Special Reference to the East China Sea, April 12–16, Hangzhou, China, ed. by Acta Oceanologica Sinica
Fluvial Hydrology, by S. Lawrence Dingman. W. H. Freeman
Wind as a Geological Process, by R. Greeley and J. D. Iverson.     

The Holocene glacial history of Lyngshalvöya, northern Norway: chronology and climatic implications

Up to four nested Neoglacial moraines occur in front of glaciers on Lyngshalvöya. Lichenometric measurements at 21 glaciers demonstrate that these represent five episodes of glacier expansion, one of which predated the Little Ice Age. Lichenometric, dendrochronological and historical evidence indicates that the oldest Little Ice Age moraines date to the mid-18th century, and the youngest to A.D. 1910-30. At nine small glaciers the A.D. 1910-30 moraine represents the Neoglacial maximum; only larger glaciers were more extensive in the 18th century. It is inferred that conditions for glacier growth were less favourable in the 18th century than in A.D. 1880–1910 because of low winter snowfall. Comparison of the relative magnitude of 18th- and 20th-century advances on Lyngshalvöya with those of southern Norway suggests that the diminished winter precipitation was due to the southerly location of the North Atlantic oceanic polar front in the 18th century, which resulted in a reduction in winter cyclonic activity in northern Scandinavia but in an increase in snowfall farther south.