Deglacial and Holocene conditions in northernmost Baffin Bay: sediments, foraminifera, diatoms and stable isotopes

A multiproxy study of palaeoceanographic and climatic changes in northernmost Baffin Bay shows that major environmental changes have occurred since the deglaciation of the area at about 12 500 cal. yr BP. The interpretation is based on sedimentology, benthic and planktonic foraminifera and their isotopic composition, as well as diatom assemblages in the sedimentary records at two core sites, one located in the deeper central part of northernmost Baffin Bay and one in a separate trough closer to the Greenland coast. A revised chronology for the two records is established on the basis of 15 previously published AMS ¹⁴C age determinations. A basal diamicton is overlain by laminated, fossil-free sediments. Our data from the early part of the fossiliferous record (12 300–11 300 cal. yr BP), which is also initially laminated, indicate extensive seasonal sea-ice cover and brine release. There is indication of a cooling event between 11 300 and 10 900 cal. yr BP, and maximum Atlantic Water influence occurred between 10 900 and 8200 cal. yr BP (no sediment recovery between 8200 and 7300 cal. yr BP). A gradual, but fluctuating, increase in sea-ice cover is seen after 7300 cal. yr BP. Sea-ice diatoms were particularly abundant in the central part of northernmost Baffin Bay, presumably due to the inflow of Polar waters from the Arctic Ocean, and less sea ice occurred at the near-coastal site, which was under continuous influence of the West Greenland Current. Our data from the deep, central part show a fluctuating degree of upwelling after c . 7300 cal. yr BP, culminating between 4000 and 3050 cal. yr BP. There was a gradual increase in the influence of cold bottom waters from the Arctic Ocean after about 3050 cal. yr BP, when agglutinated foraminifera became abundant. A superimposed short-term change in the sea-surface proxies is correlated with the Little Ice Age cooling.     

Miocene goethitic and chamositic oolites, northeastern Colombia

The late (?) Miocene non-marine to paralic Guayabo Group in northeastern Colombia and adjacent Venezuela contains as many as thirty-four thin (to 15 cm) goethitic and chamositic oolites and ooid-bearing sandstones in 1080 m of section. This eastward prograding deltaic complex consists mainly of chert-rich litharenite in fluvial, distributary channel, and shoreline facies, and of montmorillonite mudstone in floodplain and interdistributary embayment facies. Within this framework the oolites are restricted to a paralic association that developed during episodes of waning detrital sedimentation when distributary abandonment was followed by minor transgression across mudflats. Most of the multilayered and symmetrical ooids are composed of goethite, rarely with a small amount of chamosite. These are essentially spherical; many of the chamosite-rich ones have been plastically deformed. Goethitic ooids resemble those in a thin layer accumulating in brackish Lake Chad, central Africa. Chamositic ooids have affinities with those accumulating in a sea loch in western Scotland. Each of these examples is associated with detrital (silicate) sedimentation, apparently developed directly from colloidal ferric oxide and silicate precursors, and affords no evidence that primary aragonitic ooids were later placed by ironbearing oxide and clay.     

An Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotope Study of the Skaergaard Intrusion and its Country Rocks: a Description of a 55 M.Y. Old Fossil Hydrothermal System

Oxygen isotope analyses have been obtained on rocks and coexistingminerals, principally plagioclase and clinopyroxene, from about400 samples of the Skaergaard layered gabbro intrusion and itscountry rocks. The ¹⁸O values of plagioclase decrease upwardin the intrusion, from ‘normal’ values of about+6.0 to +6.4 in the Lower Zone and parts of the Middle Zone,to values as low as –2.4 in the Upper Border Group. The¹⁸O depletions of the plagioclase all took place under subsolidusconditions, and were produced by the Eocene meteoric-hydrothermalsystem established by this pluton. Clinopyroxene, which is moreresistant to ¹⁸O exchange than is plagioclase, also underwentdepletion in ¹⁸O, but to a lesser degree (¹⁸O = +5.2 to +3.5).The ¹⁸O-depleted rocks typically show reversed ¹⁸Oplag–pxfractionations, except at the top of the Upper Zone, where thepyroxenes are very fine-grained aggregates pseudomorphous afterferrowollastonite; these inverted pyroxenes were much more susceptibleto subsolidus ¹⁸O exchange (¹⁸O = +3–9 to +0.7). D/H analysesof the chloritized basalt country rocks and of the minor quantitiesof alteration minerals in the pluton (D = –116 to –149)confirm these interpretations, indicating that the rocks interactedwith meteoric groundwaters having an original D –100.and ¹⁸O –14. Low D values ( –125) were also foundthroughout the biotites of the Precambrian basement gneiss,requiring that small amounts of water penetrated downward todepths of at least 6 to 10 km. These values, together with thelack of ¹⁸O depletion of the gneiss, imply that the overallwater/rock ratios were very small in that unit (<0.01), andthus that convective circulation of these waters was much morevigorous in the overlying highly jointed plateau basalts (¹⁸O –4.0 to +4–0) than in the relatively impermeablegneiss (¹⁸O +7–3 to +7–7). This contrast in permeabilitiesof the country rocks is also reflected in the distribution of¹⁸O values in the pluton; the plagioclases with ‘normal’¹⁸O values all lie stratigraphically beneath the projectionof the basalt-gneiss unconformity through the pluton. Elsewhere,the ¹⁸O depletions are correlated with abundance of fracturesand faults, particularly in the NE portion of the intrusion,where the Layered Series is very shallow-dipping and permeablebasalts underlie the gabbro. The transgressive granophyres in the lower part of the intrusivehave ¹⁸O values identical to those of the basement gneiss, indicatingthey were probably formed by partial melting of stoped blocksof gneiss. In the upper part of the intrusion these granophyredikes have ¹⁸O values similar to the adjacent host gabbro; thissuggests that much of the hydrothermal alteration occurred aftertheir emplacement. However, because of the rarity of low-temperaturehydrous alteration minerals, it is also clear that most of theinflux of H₂O into the layered gabbro occurred at very hightemperatures (>400–500 °C). Prior to flowing intothe gabbro, these fluids had exchanged with similar mineralassemblages in the basaltic country rocks, explaining the lackof chemical alteration of the gabbro. Xenoliths of roof rockbasalt and of Upper Border Group leucogabbro were strongly depletedin ¹⁸O by the hydrothermal system prior to their falling tothe bottom of the magma chamber and being incorporated in thelayered series. This proves that the hydrothermal system wasestablished very early, at the time of emplacement of the Skaergaardintrusion. However, no measurable ¹⁸O depletion of the gabbromagma could be detected, indicating that very little H₂O penetrateddirectly into the liquid magma, in spite of the fact that ahydrothermal circulation system totally enveloped the magmachamber for at least 100, 000 years during its entire periodof crystallization. Only as crystallization proceeded was thehydrothermal system able to collapse inward and interact withthe solidified and fractured portions of the gabbro. Neverthelesssome H₂O was clearly added directly to the magma by dehydrationof the stoped blocks of altered roof rock. It is also plausiblethat small amounts of meteoric water diffused directly intothe magma, most logically in the vicinity of major fracturezones that penetrated close to, or were underneath, the late-stagesheet of differentiated ferrodiorite magma. It is suggestedthat such influx of meteoric waters was responsible for manyof the gabbro pegmatite bodies that are common in the MarginalBorder Group; also, such H₂O might have produced local increasesin Fe⁺³/Fe⁺² in the magma that in turn could explain some ofthe asymmetric crystallization effects in the magma chamber.Local lowering of the liquidus temperature would also occur,perhaps leading to topographic irregularities on the floor ofthe magma chamber (e.g. the trough bands?).     

甘露醇对石墨存在下Cs_2BO_2~ 离子热电离质谱法测定硼同位素的影响

对石墨涂样检测 Cs2 BO2 离子条件下甘露醇对硼同位素测定的影响进行了研究 ,结果表明在甘露醇存在下 11B/ 10 B比值明显高于只有石墨存在时的比值。硼 -甘露醇络合物的形成可能改变了 Cs2 BO2 -石墨方法的电离和蒸发条件。     

The Cansiwang Melange of Southeast Bohol (Central Philippines): Origin and tectonic implications

Abstract The Cansiwang Melange underlies the Southeast Bohol Ophiolite Complex (SEBOC) and is composed mainly of sheared ophiolite-derived blocks such as harzburgites, microgabbros, basalts and cherts in a pervasive serpentinite matrix. Available field, as well as geophysical evidence show that this melange unit is not diapiric, nor does it have a sedimentary origin considering that it lacks slump and flow structures. A tectonic origin for the Cansiwang Melange is favored in view of the numerous thrust faults, which cut across the exposures, as well as the tectonic contacts that the melange has with the overlying and underlying formations. The presence of the Cansiwang Melange in between the SEBOC and the Alicia Schist provides evidence that the amphibolite of the Alicia Schist do not correspond to the metamorphic sole of SEBOC. Similar to what is recognized in the Josephine Ophiolite, this suggests a 'cold' emplacement of the ophiolite over the Alicia Schist. The Cansiwang Melange represents an accretionary prism product which marks the location of an ancient subduction zone in what is now Central Philippines.     

GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE LAKE SHEWA LANDSLIDE DAM,BADAKHSHAN, AFGHANISTAN,USING REMOTE SENSING DATA

Lake Shewa in northeastern Badakhshan, Afghanistan, was dammed sometime in antiquity when a large rock avalanche (sturzstrom) from the fault‐shattered and strongly weathered Archean gneisses of the Zirnokh peaks to the north moved into the Arakht River valley. This rock avalanche dammed up the river and its tributaries to a dam thickness of c. 400 m, producing a 12‐km‐long lake that is as much as 270 m deep, leaving c. 80 m of freeboard to the top of the dam. At least four separate instances of slope failure have been mapped at the site of the landslide dam, as well as a rock glacier, using remotely sensed data, historical maps, and Google Earth?. Spring seepage through the dam face has caused several recent subsidiary debris slides, which if continued at a large enough scale for long enough, or with additional seismicity from the active strike‐slip faults that cross beneath the landslide dam, could threaten its integrity. Otherwise the clean water that emerges from the dam face could be the source of an unvarying mini‐hydroelectric power source, in addition to the agricultural irrigation that it provides at the present time.     

The Supanberget area – basement imbrication and detached foreland thrusting in the Tertiary fold-and-thrust belt, Svalbard

The Supanberget area, situated in the southern part of the Tertiary Spitsbergen fold-and-thrust belt, occupies a position mainly within the central zone of the belt, characterized by basement-involved thrusting, but includes part of an eastern foreland zone of detached, thin-skinned thrust tectonics. The peculiar feature of Supanberget is the thrust- 'sliced' tectonic style that deforms a previously tightly folded basement-cover contact. Foreland structures indicate the additional presence of a subsurface detachment at a deeper structural level. Contrasts in magnitude and orientation of basement anisotropics may control lateral changes in tectonic style.     

Geology of the southern Zambales Ophiolite Complex, Luzon, Philippines

Abstract Field, geochemical and geophysical evidence show that the southern Zambales Ophiolite Complex attained its present-day configuration through the juxtapositioning of an arc terrane (San Antonio massif) to a back-arc crust (Cabangan massif). The San Antonio massif manifests island arc-related characteristics (i.e. spinel XCr [Cr/(Cr + Al)] >0.60; mostly plagioclase An92–95; pyroxene crystallizing ahead of plagioclase; orthopyroxene as an early, major crystallizing phase) which cannot be directly parental to the Cabangan massif transitional mid-ocean ridge basalt to island arc tholeiitic volcanic carapace. The two massifs are believed to be separated by a left-lateral strike–slip fault, the Subic Bay Fault Zone. Apart from the presence of highly sheared, allochthonous outcrops, the Subic Bay Fault Zone is generally defined by northwest–southeast trending magnetic and bouguer anomalies. The San Antonio massif was translated southward from the northern part of the Zambales Ophiolite Complex through the Subic Bay Fault Zone. This resulted into its suturing with the Cabangan massif and could have led to the formation of the present-day Subic Bay.     

Anorthite--Forsterite and Anorthite--Enstatite Reactions and their bearing on the Basalt--Eclogite Transformation

The reactions betweeon anorthite and forsterite and betweenanorthite and enstatite have been studied at high pressuresand high temperatures with solid-media and gas-media apparatus.For the 1: 1 (molecular ratio) composition of anorthite andforsterite the following three assemblages have been obtainedwith increasing pressure at a constant temperature: anorthiteforsterite,clinopyroxeneorthopyroxenespinelanorthite, and garnet (pyropegrossulariteseries). Two univariant curves between these three assemblageshave been determined. The amounts of pyroxenes relative to spineland anorthite in the second assemblage increase and the contentsof the Tschermak's components in the pyroxenes increase withincreasing pressure. The 1:2 (molecular ratio) composition of anorthite and forsteritewas also studied, and the univariant curve for the reactionclinopyroxeneorthopyroxenespinel garnet (pyropegrossulariteseries)forsterite has been determined. For the 1: 2 (molecular ratio) composition of anorthite andenstatite the following assemblages have been obtained withincreasing pressure at a constant temperature: anorthiteenstatite,anorthiteorthopyroxeneclinopyroxenequartz, and garnet (pyrope-grossulariteseries)quartz. The univariant curve between the last two assemblageshas been determined. Both the pyroxenes in the second assemblagecontain Tschermak's components, which increase in content withincreasing pressure at the expense of anorthite. These experimental results suggest that basalts, either saturatedor undersaturated with silica, transform into aluminous pyroxene-richassemblages at lower pressures or higher temperatures than thestability field of eclogites, and that pyroxene-spinel symplectitesfound in some metamorphosed gabbro, troctolite, and norite mayhave formed in the stability field of the pyroxene-rich assemblages.The stability field of the pyroxene-rich assemblages is probablyincluded within the pressure-temperature conditions of the granulitefacies. It is also suggested that the garnet-free peridotites,such as the peridotite inclusions in basaltic rocks and theintrusive peridotites in the orogenic belts, are stable at lowerpressures or higher temperatures than garnet peridotites, suchas the inclusions in kimberlite and intrusive garnet peridotitein the orogenic belts.     

The pelagic distribution of marine birds in a heterogeneous environment

In this paper I review recent, small-scale, process-oriented studies of the pelagic distribution of marine birds. I examine the roles played by a variety of hydrographic features, including steep flow gradients (fronts) and water column stratification, in determining the abundance or availability of avian prey. The ice edge/marginal ice zone is a frontal area of particular interest in polar regions. In most oceanic systems we have examples of avian use of a feature, hut only poor information on the importance of the feature for supporting the population as a whole. I review recent studies of the spatial and numerical concordance of marine birds and their prey, and find that these studies have yielded mixed results, with correlations stronger for piscivorous birds, particularly murres foraging on capelin, than for planktivores. Review of investigations of multispecies interactions during foraging shows that flock foraging has both beneficial and negative aspects. Interspecific facilitation of foraging occurs in numerous interactions involving both other species of birds and marine mammals. However, co-occurrence of predators may occur because both seek the same prey, and caution must be used in assessing mutualistic interactions between predatory species.