TERRA abstracts

If you are involved in organizing a meeting, conference or symposium on any aspect of the Earth Sciences, contact the TERRA Abstracts editorial office in Oxford at the earliest stage of your planning. TERRA Abstracts will organize the preparation of high quality supplements containing all the abstracts of your meeting. The headings (titles and authors' names) for the abstracts will be typeset in a standard format and the whole supplement will be bound into a cover designed according to your requirements.
Included in the supplement and at no extra charge, will be two indexes—one for all the authors, the second for keywords.     

TERRA ABSTRACTS/ABSTRACTS CALENDAR

If you are involved in organizing a meeting, conference or symposium on any aspect of the Earth Sciences, contact the TERRA Abstracts editorial office in Oxford at the earliest stage of your planning. TERRA Abstracts will organize the preparation of high quality supplements containing all the abstracts of your meeting. The headings (titles and authors' names) for the abstracts will be typeset in a standard format and the whole supplement will be bound into a cover designed according to your requirements. These will be delivered to the Conference in good time for distribution to all delegates.
Included in the supplement and at no extra charge, will be two indexes—one for all the authors, the second for keywords.     

TERRA ABSTRACTS/ABSTRACTS CALENDAR

If you are involved in organiting a meeting, conference or symposium on any aspect of the Earth Sciences, contact the TERRA Abstracts editorial office in Oxford at the earliest stage of your planning. TERRA Abstracts will organize the preparation of high quality supplements containing all the abstracts of your meeting, The headings (titles and authors' names) for the abstracts will be typeset in a standard format and the whole supplement will be bound into a cover designed according to your requirements. These will be delivered to the Conference in good time for distribution to all delegates.
Included in the supplement and at no extra charge, will be two indexes—one for all the authors, the second for keywords.     

A new Holocene relative sea‐level curve for Terra Nova Bay,Victoria Land,Antarctica

More than 100 radiocarbon dates of penguin guano and remains, shells and seal skin afford ages for raised beaches adjacent to Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. These dates permit construction of a new relative sea‐level curve that bears on the timing of deglaciation. Recession of the Ross Sea ice‐sheet grounding line from Terra Nova Bay occurred no earlier than 7200 ¹⁴C yr (8000 cal. yr) BP. Retreat along the Victoria Land coast may have been rapid, possibly contributing to eustatic sea‐level rise centred at ca. 7600 cal. yr BP. The presence of a significant amount of ice remaining in the Ross Sea Embayment in Holocene time lessens the chance that Antarctica contributed significantly to meltwater pulse 1A several thousand years earlier. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE HISTORY OF TETHYS IN THE LATE PALEOZOIC-EARLY MESOZOIC AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF PANGEA

The Terra Nova ultrapotassic igneous rocks of northeastern Brazil consist of two dike swarms (alkali-feldspar syenites to quartz syenites and alkali-feldspar granites) and one elongated E-W syenitic body (the Serra do Livramento pluton), which intruded metasediments of the Cachoeirinha-Salgueiro fold belt from 580 to 514 Ma. Mafic ultrapotassic syenite enclaves are recorded in the Serra do Livramento and Terra Nova shoshonitic plutons, both of which are cut by the dike swarms.

Mineralogically, Terra Nova ultrapotassic hypabyssal rocks resemble shoshonitic lamprophyres. Pyroxene is present in all facies; the clinopyroxenes are zoned, SiO₂ saturated, and Al₂O₃ poor (0.12 to 1.15%), and range from earlier diopside to late acmite. Amphiboles are characterized by high SiO₂ and low Al₂O₃ (0.20 to 2.00%) and TiO₂ (0.0 to 1.76%) contents; their compositions range from calcic to alkaline. The late amphiboles are riebeckite-arfvedsonites instead of K-richterites, as expected in ultrapotassic rocks, reflecting the early crystallization of K-feldspar.

The syenitic-facies rocks are mostly peralkaline, whereas the granites are metaluminous. The syenites have high concentrations of incompatible elements (Ba, Sr, and Rb) and light-rare-earth-element (LREE) concentrations lower than for typical ultrapotassic rocks, with chondrite-normalized Ce/Yb ratios of 10 to 20 and wide variation in the La/Ta ratios (40 to 250). The granites have lower incompatible-element contents and La/Ta ratios (20 to 60) than do the syenites.

Syenites from the dike swarm exhibit high initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7106), whereas εNd, values for the ultrapotassic mafic enclaves range from -1.1 to -3.7, suggesting that the enclaves and the syenites have different sources.

Field evidence, combined with geochemical data, shows that the granites and the syenites alternate in space and time, suggesting that syenites and granites cannot be associated by either fractional crystallization or partial melting of the same source. The syenites probably represent partial melting of a metasomatized lithospheric mantle, modified by subduction-zone fluids and crustal metasediments during the early stages of a Brasiliano (Pan-African) collisional event. Low-degree partial melting of a metasomatized lower crust appears to be the source of the granites.     

The last millennia history of detrital sedimentation in the Lower Seine Valley (Normandy,NW France): review

Post‐glacial climate changes and sea‐level fluctuations have strongly influenced N‐W European environments and sedimentation. To these natural events, increasing anthropogenic pressure has to be added. Forest clearance and agricultural development are the main factors responsible for the erosional processes in Northwest Europe. This article analyses Holocene sequences of the Lower Seine Valley (LSV) (Paris Basin) to understand better the origin of detrital and terrigenous input and how much humans have contributed to it. Three main sectors of the LSV are analysed: estuarine, fluvial and tributaries. Since Neolithic times, there are seven erosional phases that can be identified and essentially linked to human pressure. Terra Nova, 00, 000–000, 2010     

ERRATUM

To the Editor, Tetra Nova: The very short letter below relates to the very interesting contribution (2, 5, 1990 on mud volcanoes in Burma). It might interest your readers?     

Lamproites as indicators of accretion and/or shallow subduction in the assembly of south‐western Anatolia,Turkey

The geochemistry and mineralogy of lamproites from south‐western Anatolia can be used as a snapshot of the lithospheric composition beneath the Menderes Massif. High and near‐constant K₂O contents, the presence of mantle xenocrystic phlogopite and olivine, highly magnesian olivine phenocrysts and Cr‐rich spinel inclusions all indicate that the lithospheric mantle was phlogopite‐bearing ultradepleted harzburgite at the time of lamproite eruption (20–4 Ma). This mantle assemblage most probably originated in a complex multistage process, including (intra‐oceanic) supra‐subduction zone depletion during the final stages of southern Neotethyan ocean closure, and accretion of the forearc oceanic lithosphere as shallowly subducted material to the already assembled Anatolia. The data presented here support shallow subduction of the oceanic lithosphere as a cause of the uplift of the Menderes Massif, in contrast to the traditional core‐complex model. Terra Nova, 00, 000–000, 2010     

Newania carbonatites, Western India: example of mantle derived magnesium carbonatites

The key mineralogical features of the Newania carbonatites, that illustrate their derivation from primary mantle melts (Gruau et al. Terra Nova, Abstract Suppl 1:336, 1995; Viladkar Petrology 6(3):272–283, 1998; Basu and Murty Abstracts of Goldschmidt Conference A40, 2006), are the presence of magnesite, graphite and Cr-rich magnetite. Magnesite is an early crystallizing phase. Cr-rich magnetite and graphite coexist with carbonatite minerals and precipitated from carbonate magma. Graphite, as well as gaseous CO₂ and carbonate minerals such as dolomite and magnesite, can be stable in peridotite mantle. Coexistence of these minerals is controlled by fO ₂ and PT-conditions. Mineral geothermometers for the Newania carbonatite give temperatures from 463 to 950°C. The parental source for Newania carbonatites was characterized by a relatively high log (fHF/fH₂O) level which increased during the crystallization history of Newania. The estimated oxygen fugacity (for ilmenite–magnetite pairs) varies from ?1.5 to +3.5 (log-bar unit deviation from FMQ buffer), which is supported by the presence of Fe-columbite, and the composition of phlogopite, amphibole and pyroxene that have an elevated concentration of Fe³⁺. However, the oxygen fugacity range represented by co-existing early-crystallized graphite and magnesite is below that of the FMQ buffer and lies on the CCO buffer.     

Rare earth elements record past earthquakes on exhumed limestone fault planes

Evaluating the timing and size of past earthquakes is a constant challenge in palaeoseismology. Here, we show that rare earth element (REE) concentrations can be used to constrain the number and slips of major past earthquakes. We focus on one of the rare faults worldwide – the Magnola normal fault, Italy – whose Holocene earthquake history is precisely known. We analysed 42 samples from along the 10 m that form the surface of the well‐preserved seismically exhumed fault scarp and seven samples extracted from the fault plane section buried in the ground. We show that the first metre of soil contaminates the scarp rocks, producing a marked concentration ‘peak’ in REE. Similar peaks are recognized on the exhumed scarp, at positions that coincide with the transitions between the known past ruptures. We conclude that the REE peaks locate palaeo‐ground levels and are excellent markers for the large earthquakes that exhumed the scarp. Terra Nova, 00, 000–000, 2010     

Testing inferences from palaeocurrents: application of zircon double‐dating to Miocene sediments from the Hengchun Peninsula,Taiwan

Detrital zircon provenance studies that combine low‐temperature fission‐track and high‐temperature U–Pb single‐grain age dating are powerful in constraining sediment provenance by documenting the tectonothermal evolution of the sediment source(s). We apply these techniques to Miocene (12–6 Ma) sandstones of the Hengchun Peninsula, southern Taiwan, which, based on diametrically opposite palaeocurrents, have a controversial provenance. U–Pb grain ages range from the Miocene (8 Ma) to Archaean (2.5 Ga). Cretaceous thermal cooling is recorded by detrital zircon fission tracks at Loshui and Lilongshan. Permian fission‐track grain ages account for <33% of zircon ages from Loshui, while at Lilongshan, Jurassic/Triassic grain ages account for 33–66% of all zircon fission‐track ages. Minor (<12%) Miocene age components are detected in both formations. These new data suggest that the primary sources of these Miocene sediments were similar. A simple model is proposed invoking sediment reworking in this complex tectonic setting. Terra Nova, 00, 000–000, 2010     

Extensional tectonics and volcano lateral collapses: insights from Ollagüe volcano (Chile‐Bolivia) and analogue modelling

Understanding the process of volcanic lateral collapse, which may be governed by numerous possible factors, can be significantly improved by identifying the role of each factor. Here we test the perturbation induced in a volcano by tectonic normal faulting in the basement, magma inflation and multiple flank deformation, based on fieldwork and analogue experiments. Ollagüe Volcano (Chile‐Bolivia) provides a good example of a sector collapse with exposed substrate extensional tectonics, and our experiments have been done with conditions consistent with field data. Results show that none of the possible tectonic conditions led to complete lateral failure; in agreement also with the field data, sector collapse of the model cone occurred only when a shallow magmatic intrusion within the volcano was reproduced. We also found out that volcano flank deformation is enhanced if a previous flank destabilization occurred, interleaved by new cone growth. Terra Nova, 18, 282–289, 2006     

Magma chambers and localization of deformation during thrusting

Terra Nova, 22, 390–395, 2010 Abstract We present the results of coupled analogue and numerical models that provide new insights into the relationships between volcanoes and thrusts. The effects of both upper‐crustal magma chambers and the load of volcanoes on the geometry of thrust systems were investigated. Analogue modelling points to a strong influence exerted by a magma chamber on thrust geometry, which, as suggested by the numerical models used to rationalize these results, is related to the stress redistribution around the weak heterogeneity. The low‐viscosity body below a volcanic edifice localizes compressional deformation and causes a curvature of the thrusts towards the magma chamber, opposite to the direction of tectonic transport. In these conditions, the volcanic load has a negligible effect on the structural geometry. These results are in contrast with those of previous studies, where intrusions or the load of major volcanoes generated a curvature of the thrusts away from volcanic edifices in the direction of tectonic transport.     

The Road Ahead: The Sustainability Transition and Coastal Research

Although the organizing committee for the 2007 Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) Biennial Conference and its international members supported the inclusion of sustainability science as a thematic element of the meeting, a preliminary review of program abstracts, conducted by entering various combinations of key words into the conference search engine, identified only 50 individual abstracts that incorporated one or more of the key words, or 3.8% of the 1,300 papers presented. Moreover, only 25 abstracts (1.9%) made specific reference to the integration of the natural and social sciences in emerging coastal research priorities. In this context, a framework is presented for incorporating the concepts of sustainable development, sustainability science, especially for the urban coast, and human dimensions into the amalgam of future US and international CERF research.     

Extrusion vs. accretion at the frictional–viscous décollement transition in experimental thrust wedges: the role of convergence velocity

In many cases, thrust wedges accreted at shallow crustal levels show an across‐strike rheological variability along the basal décollement, notably from brittle to ductile behaviour. In this paper, we illustrate the results of sandbox analogue modelling research devoted to studying the influence of convergence velocity on wedge architecture when laterally juxtaposed frictional and viscous materials occur along the basal décollement of accreting thrust wedges. Our results show that slow convergence favours a near symmetrical distribution of thrust vergence within wedge sectors accreted above viscous décollement material, whereas fast convergence favours vergence asymmetry. In particular, at fast convergence rates the hinterlandward extrusion of viscous décollement material at the toe of the frictional wedge is favoured and contributed to accommodate a significant amount of the total contraction. Terra Nova, 18, 241–247, 2006     

Sediment provenance of the Wilderness barrier dunes,southern Cape coast,South Africa

Trace‐element geochemistry has been used to discern the provenance of sediments derived from geologically distinct sources found in a range of depositional settings. This study investigates whether this approach can also identify provenance signatures in sediments derived from clastic sedimentary rocks of similar origins, within a complex coastal transport environment. The potential local sediment sources of a coastal barrier dune in South Africa were analysed to assess their relationships with the barrier and whether these have varied with time. Results indicate that the oldest part of the barrier, partly formed during MIS 6 when sea levels were lower than at present, has a closer affinity to fluvial sediment provided by local rivers than either younger samples from the barrier′s seaward flank or the Holocene dunes atop its crest, both formed during sea‐level highstands. Constraints on the timing of barrier formation provided by OSL dating proved helpful in discriminating between provenance and weathering signals. Terra Nova, 00, 000–000, 2010     

Monitoring and mapping landslide displacements: a combined DGPS‐stereophotogrammetric approach for detailed short‐ and long‐term rate estimates

Although desirable for a reliable hazard assessment, rate estimates of landslide motion rarely combine a good time resolution and a sufficiently long time of observation. Here, both angles are tackled for the Manaihan landslide (East Belgium), dramatically reactivated in September 1998. I monitored the landslide displacements by repeated Global Positioning System (GPS) surveys from 1999 to 2005. Two digital elevation models were also produced, one of the landslide topography in 1999 by GPS and a second by stereophotogrammetry from aerial photographs of 1953. Subtracting one model from the other, I mapped the height changes within the landslide over the 1953–1999 period. All measurements consistently showed that, beyond the sudden ～1.5 m slip of September 1998, the landslide moved at a mean rate of c. 20 cm yr^?1 since 1980. Most displacements occurred around the winter's end, when long‐lasting precipitation combined with minimal evaporation and occasional intense daily rainfall. The motions are spatially determined by seepage from a broken sewage pipe inducing local high pore pressures. Terra Nova, 18, 290–298, 2006     

The Central Main Ethiopian Rift is younger than 8 Ma: confirmation through apatite fission‐track thermochronology

An isolated block of Precambrian basement rocks and Mesozoic sediments is exposed at Kella along the western margin of the Central Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), surrounded by Tertiary to Quaternary volcanic rocks. Apatite fission‐track thermochronology on two basement samples yielded ages of 7.2 ± 1.0 Ma and 6.7 ± 3.0 Ma and a long mean track length (>14.5 μm). Rapid Late Miocene cooling is attributed to denudation related to rifting. Despite the paucity of data, due to the absence of suitable lithologies in the area, our data confirm that the Central MER is younger than 8 Ma as recently proposed on the basis of field evidence and radiometric dating of volcanics. This implies that the Central MER formed after the Northern MER, indicating a diachronous development of this third arm of the Red Sea–Gulf of Aden–Ethiopian Rift system. Terra Nova, 00, 000–000, 2010     

Transgressive dune formation along a cliffed coast at 75 ka in Sardinia,Western Mediterranean: a record of sea‐level fall and increased windiness

Transgressive dunes develop frequently along strandplain coastlines; however, they may also form along rocky coasts dominated by cliffs and embayments. Two lithified transgressive dune systems developed along the cliffed Alghero coast (NW Sardinia, Italy) have been investigated. One aeolian system forms a cliff‐front anchored aeolian dune accumulation; the other is a valley‐head anchored sand‐ramp system. Optically stimulated luminescence ages indicate that both systems formed around 75 ka. This period, which corresponds to the beginning of MIS 4, was characterized by a relatively low sea‐level stand (15 m below the present sea level) and was preceded by a sea‐level highstand (+1 m asl) around 81 ka (MIS 5a). Our results show that this rapid sea‐level fall exposed an enormous amount of marine sand, which was transported inland by strong northerly winds and deposited in front of cliffs or in valley heads. Therefore, sediment supply and sea‐level fall seem to be critical factors controlling dune formation along rocky coasts, which generate time‐transgressive aeolianites. Terra Nova, 00, 000–000, 2010     

Microplate motions in the hotspot reference frame

We have computed motions of the major plates (seven large plates and seven medium‐sized plates) and 38 microplates relative to the hotspot reference frame, and present velocities of these 52 plates. Moreover, using updated plate boundaries for the present, we have computed new geometrical factors for plates and microplates, useful for kinematic calculations and to obtain the net‐rotation of the lithosphere and plate velocities in the mean‐lithosphere reference frame. Instead of a continuum or gradational distribution of the plates by size, the plates clearly partition into three groups each having their own characteristics. For the seven large plates, rotation poles generally lie in high latitudes; the seven medium‐sized plates have rotation poles in a restricted equatorial area; the 38 small plates show the greatest scatter. Moreover subsets of the 52 plates reveal differing fractal behaviour: the large, middle and small groupings each have a characteristic fractal dimension, suggestive of microplate clustering. The highest angular velocities occur for some of the smallest plates, with the location of their rotation poles closeby. Terra Nova, 18, 276–281, 2006