Long-term records of erosional change from marine ferromanganese crusts

Ferromanganese crusts from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans record the Nd and Pb isotope compositions of the water masses from which they form as hydrogenous precipitates. The¹⁰Be/⁹Be-calibrated time series for crusts are compared to estimates based on Co-contents, from which the equatorial Pacific crusts studied are inferred to have recorded ca. 60 Ma of Pacific deep water history. Time series of ɛNd show that the oceans have maintained a strong provinciality in Nd isotopic composition, determined by terrigenous inputs, over periods of up to 60 Ma. Superimposed on the distinct basin-specific signatures are variations in Nd and Pb isotope time series which have been particularly marked over the last 5 Ma. It is shown that changes in erosional inputs, particularly associated with Himalayan uplift and the northern hemisphere glaciation have influenced Indian and Atlantic Ocean deep water isotopic compositions respectively. There is no evidence so far for an imprint of the final closure of the Panama Isthmus on the Pb and Nd isotopic composition in either Atlantic or Pacific deep water masses.     

Paleozoic evolution of continental crust in the Beaujolais-Lyonnais area,northeastern part of the Massif Central,France

In the Beaujolais-Lyonnais area of the northeastern Massif Central accretion of continental and possibly oceanic crustal fragments occurred between Cambrian (?) and early Carboniferous time. Three distinct lithotectonic units (terranes?) have been recognized. The southern (Lyonnais-) Unit consists of medium- to high-grade metamorphics and includes eclogites; it formed in the early Paleozoic. The Brévenne-Unit to the north contains low- to medium-grade metamorphic mafic and felsic volcanics and subordinate sedimentary rocks which possibly originated during the early Paleozoic until Devonian time, in a sialic back-arc environment or along an active continental margin. The Beaujolais-Unit is represented by volcanics on the south and predominantly shallow marine clastics and carbonates on the north. It developed in a late Devonian or early Carboniferous ensialic marginal basin. The peak of metamorphism in the Lyonnais-unit (HP/HT) was reached in Silurian time. Subsequent NW-SE to E-W oriented convergence produced mylonitic foliation, structural imbrication of the Lyonnais basement rocks with the Brévenne-Unit and SE-vergent folds accompanied by low- to medium-grade metamorphism. Late Visean to Namurian N-S to NW-SE directed N-vergent thrusting produced tectonic imbrication of the metamorphic northern Brévenne-Unit with the nonmetamorphic Beaujolais-Unit. In the southern Brévenne-Unit and in the Lyonnais-Unit updoming along right-lateral high-angle normal faults was followed by emplacement of voluminous granitic plutons of crustal origin. Late Carboniferous to early Permian crustal thinning in the Beaujolais-Lyonnais area was associated with N-S trending left-lateral strike-slip faults and E-W to NE-SW trending right-lateral strike-slip faults. Basins that developed along these faults contain continental red beds.     

Sedimentary evolution of Lake Van (Eastern Turkey) reconstructed from high-resolution seismic investigations

This paper presents results of a multi-channel seismic reflection survey at Lake Van and provides constraints on the sedimentary evolution of the lake. The geophysical data of the lake confirm the existence of three physiographic provinces: a shelf, a slope, and a deep, relatively flat basin. The most prominent features identified on the shelf and slope are clinoforms, submerged channels, as well as closely spaced lake floor depressions, reflecting a highly variable lake-level history. The morphological depressions are interpreted as resulting from subaquatic erosion by channelized, sediment-laden currents into horizontally bedded fan sediments. Submerged channels on the eastern shelf are interpreted as meandering-slope channels, probably as a consequence of a lake-level fall that exposed the shelf area. Clinoforms on the Eastern fan may represent relict deltas formed during stationary or slightly rising lake-level intervals. Merging subsurface imaging interpretation with morphological studies of exposed sediments reveals lake-level fluctuations of several hundreds of meters during the past ca. ~550 ka. The lake has three prominent basins (Tatvan, Deveboynu, and the Northern basin) separated by basement ridges (e.g., the Northern ridge). The seismic units in the Tatvan and Northern basins are dominated by alternations of well-stratified and chaotic reflections, while the Deveboynu basin subsurface consists mainly of chaotic units. The chaotic seismic facies are interpreted as mass-flow deposits, probably triggered by earthquakes and/or rapid lake-level fluctuations. The moderate-to-high-amplitude, well-stratified facies seen in the deeper parts of the basins are interpreted as lacustrine deposits intercalated with tephra layers. The occurrence of a clinoform in the deepest part of the lake suggests a major flooding stage of Lake Van more than ~400 ka ago. Seismic profiles from the deepest part of the lake basin show remarkably uniform and continuous stratigraphic units without any major erosional feature following the flooding event, indicating that the lake was never completely dry afterward and therefore significantly older than previously suggested.     

天津蓟县铁岭组新剖面钾质斑脱岩锆石U-Pb测年及Hf同位素研究

天津蓟县西北的大喻山铁岭组剖面钾质斑脱岩夹层锆石U-Pb年龄(1439±14Ma)是约束"蓟县剖面"年代格架的重要锚点,但该剖面露头已遭到严重破坏。最近,笔者在蓟县东北、目前已禁止开采的大五尖采石场发现了铁岭组新剖面,并在其二段近底部再次确认多层钾质斑脱岩,测得其中两层LA-ICPMS锆石U-Pb年龄(1445±12Ma以及1442±10Ma);采自原大喻山剖面该组二段近底部斑脱岩夹层的样品,也获得其LA-ICPMS锆石U-Pb年龄(1439±11Ma)。以上三个年龄值在误差范围内一致,与之前在原大喻山剖面及河北平泉刘家沟剖面该组二段近底部斑脱岩夹层所获的SHRIMP锆石U-Pb年龄(1439±14Ma及1437±21 Ma)也完全可比。与此同时,本文对以上3个样品锆石还开展了锆石原位Hf同位素研究。其结果显示,176Hf/177Hf值变化范围为0. 281703～0. 281880,εHf(t)=-6. 7～-0. 2,两阶段模式年龄为2200～2603Ma,高斯分布峰值为～2360Ma。这表明,铁岭组钾质斑脱岩的物源主要来自于新太古代-古元古代早期地壳物质的部分熔融。本研究为蓟县剖面乃至燕山地区铁岭组高精度年代约束及地层格架厘定等,提供了更多年代学佐证,进一步夯实了整个蓟县剖面作为华北克拉通中-新元古界标准剖面的科学性和代表性;同时,对华北中元古界钾质斑脱岩夹层的锆石首次开展Lu-Hf同位素研究,为探讨这一特殊类型沉积岩的源岩及相关研究提供了新思路;新发现剖面也为未来继续围绕铁岭组的各项研究,提供了一处露头良好、年代框架扎实可靠、可长期观测的新平台。     

The Grüneisen parameter at high pressure: a molecular dynamical study

The method of molecular dynamics is used to calculate values for the thermal Grüneisen parameter, γ, for a face-centred cubic crystal with several simple central force atomic potential functions at three compressions for comparison with free volume and acoustic γ formulations. Neither is found to agree with the computer experiments. A defect in the free-volume formula for γ is shown to arise from the assumption that motions of neighbouring atoms in a crystal at high temperature are uncorrelated whereas the computer models demonstrate a 25–35% correlation of in-line motions and 5% correlation of transverse motions. The formula can be modified to allow for the empirically observed correlations, but it is concluded that there are still difficulties in analytical approaches to equation-of-state studies of the Earth's deep interior and that the computer modelling method of molecular dynamics has important advantages.     

Rapid visual screening of soft-story buildings from street view images using deep learning classification

Rapid and accurate identification of potential structural deficiencies is a crucial task in evaluating seismic vulnerability of large building inventories in a region. In the case of multi-story structures, abrupt vertical variations of story stiffness are known to significantly increase the likelihood of collapse during moderate or severe earthquakes. Identifying and retrofitting buildings with such irregularities—generally termed as soft-story buildings—is, therefore, vital in earthquake preparedness and loss mitigation efforts. Soft-story building identification through conventional means is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. In this study, an automated procedure was devised based on deep learning techniques for identifying soft-story buildings from street-view images at a regional scale. A database containing a large number of building images and a semi-automated image labeling approach that effectively annotates new database entries was developed for developing the deep learning model. Extensive computational experiments were carried out to examine the effectiveness of the proposed procedure, and to gain insights into automated soft-story building identification.

     

Mud and magnetism: records of late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental change recorded by magnetic measurements

The paper presents a personal summary of the role of magnetic measurements in lake sediment studies. Examples are used to illustrate the main variations in lake sediment magnetic properties and the processes controlling their variations. These are considered in terms of sediment sequences: (1) that are virtually devoid of magnetic minerals; (2) the magnetic properties of which are dominated by input of magnetic minerals from ‘primary’, unweathered catchment sources (3) with magnetic properties indicative of erosion of weathered material, mainly magnetically enhanced topsoil; (4) that have received minimal input of terrigenous ferrimagnetic minerals but are rich in biogenic magnetite (5) parts of which have experienced dissolution diagenesis (6) in which signals from erosion, biogenic magnetite and dissolution can all be detected and (7) that are dominated by the presence of authigenic greigite. Additional issues, including the importance of particle size variations as a control of magnetic properties, the under-representation of haematite and goethite in the magnetic record and the significance of atmospheric deposition are also considered. A concluding section briefly outlines the present status of environmental magnetism and its role in palaeoenvironmental research based on lake sediment studies.     

Stationarity of atmospheric waves and blocking over Europe—based on a reanalysis dataset and two climate scenarios

In this investigation, a circulation index was used which is capable of tracing blocked states of the hemispheric circulation which has a relevance for a mid-latitude window between 40° and 60°N and between 30°W and 30°E. Results with respect to the seasonality of blocking situations are presented. Additionally, it is shown to which degree the circulation conditions, as they are simulated by the ECHAM5-MPI/OM1 climate model, have a tendency to exhibit blocking. Finally, results are presented which indicate the developments in blocking if the index is applied to scenario runs of the model.