Stratigraphic modelling of platform architecture and carbonate production: a Messinian case study (Sorbas Basin,SE Spain)

The late Messinian mixed carbonate‐siliciclastic platforms of the Sorbas Basin, known as the Terminal Carbonate Complex, record significant changes in carbonate production and geometry. Their facies and stratigraphic architecture result from complex interactions between base‐level fluctuations, evaporite deformation/dissolution and detrital inputs. A 3D quantitative approach (with DIONISOS software) is used to explore the basin‐scale platform architecture and to quantify the carbonate production of the Terminal Carbonate Complex. The modelling strategy consists in integrating detailed 2D field‐based transects and modern carbonate system parameters (e.g. carbonate production rates, bathymetric and hydrodynamic ranges of production). This approach limits user impact and so provides more objective output results. Tests are carried out on carbonate production rates, subsidence and evaporite deformation/dissolution. Numerical modelling provides accurate predictions of geometries, facies distributions and depositional sequence thicknesses, validated by field data. Comparative statistical testing of the field transects and of the various model outputs are used to discern the relative contribution of the parameters tested to the evolution of basin filling. The 3D visualization and quantification of the main carbonate producers (ooids and microbialites) are discussed in terms of changes in base‐level and detrital supply. This study demonstrates that base‐level fluctuations have the greatest impact on the carbonate budget. Evaporite deformation/dissolution affects the type and amount of carbonate production, inducing a transition from an ooid‐ to microbialite‐dominated system and also has a major effect on stratigraphic architecture by inducing the migration of depocentres. The numerical modelling results obtained using modern carbonate system parameters could also be applied to subsurface ooid‐microbialite reservoirs, and the Terminal Carbonate Complex is a good analogue for such systems.     

In Situ Determination of Au and Cu in Natural Pyrite by Near‐Infrared Femtosecond Laser Ablation‐Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry: No Evidence for Matrix Effects

Gold and copper concentrations were determined in natural pyrite by near‐infrared femtosecond LA‐ICP‐QMS, using both sulfide reference materials (pyrrhotite Po‐726 and in‐house natural chalcopyrite Cpy‐RM) and NIST SRM 610 as external calibrators. Firstly, using NIST SRM 610 as the external calibrator, we calculated the Au concentration in Po‐726 and the Cu concentration in Cpy‐RM. The calculated concentration averages for Au and Cu were similar to the values published for Po‐726 and Cpy‐RM, respectively. Secondly, we calculated Au and Cu concentrations taking NIST SRM 610 as an unknown sample and using Po‐726 and Cpy‐RM as external calibrators. Again, the average values obtained closely reflected the preferred concentrations for NIST SRM 610. Finally, we calculated Au and Cu concentrations in natural pyrite using sulfide and silicate reference materials as external calibrators. In both cases, calculated concentrations were very similar, independent of the external calibrator used. The aforementioned data, plus the fact that we obtained very small differences in relative sensitivity values (percentage differences are between 5% and 17% for ⁵⁷Fe, ⁶³Cu and ¹⁹⁷Au) on analyses of silicate and sulfide RMs, indicate that there were no matrix effects related to the differences in material composition. Thus, it is possible to determine Au and Cu in natural sulfides using NIST silicate glasses as an external calibrator.     

Changes in heat wave characteristics over Extremadura (SW Spain)

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Heat wave (HW) events are becoming more frequent, and they have important consequences because of the negative effects they can have not only on the human...     

Determination of predevelopment denudation rates of an agricultural watershed (Cayaguás River, Puerto Rico) using in-situ-produced Be in river-borne quartz

Accurate estimates of watershed denudation absent anthropogenic effects are required to develop strategies for mitigating accelerated physical erosion resulting from human activities, to model global geochemical cycles, and to examine interactions among climate, weathering, and uplift. We present a simple approach to estimate predevelopment denudation rates using in-situ-produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in fluvial sediments. Denudation processes in an agricultural watershed (Cayaguás River Basin, Puerto Rico) and a matched undisturbed watershed (Icacos River Basin) were compared using ¹⁰Be concentrations in quartz for various size fractions of bed material. The coarse fractions in both watersheds bear the imprint of long subsurface residence times. Fine material from old shallow soils contributes little, however, to the present-day sediment output of the Cayaguás. This confirms the recent and presumably anthropogenic origin of the modern high denudation rate in the Cayaguás Basin and suggests that pre-agricultural erosional conditions were comparable to those of the present-day Icacos.     

Apport de l'imagerie satellitaire radar pour l'exploration géologique en zones arides

The potential of radar imagery in geological exploration was investigated at a study site in Mauritania (Akjoujt region). Compared with optical images, the results obtained show how radar imagery can help not only in detecting surface geological structures such as dykes and veins, but also mapping subsurface structures beneath a shallow layer of sand (palaeochannels). The mapping potential was found to be much better at long wavelengths than at short ones (L-band, compared with C- and X-band). As for optical images, their contribution is much more limited in the mapping of surface geological structures, and inappropriate for detecting subsurface structures. We conclude that spatial remote sensing enables the improvement of existing geological maps and the optimization of cartographic surveying. To cite this article: N. Baghdadi et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Can sediment supply variations create sequences? Insights from stratigraphic forward modelling

Classic sequence stratigraphy suggests depositional sequences can form due to changes in accommodation and due to changes in sediment supply. Accommodation‐dominated sequences are problematic to define rigorously, but are commonly interpreted from outcrop and subsurface data. In contrast, supply‐dominated sequences are much less commonly identified. We employ numerical stratigraphic forward modelling to compare stratal geometries forced by cyclic changes in relative sea level with stratal geometries forced by sediment discharge and water discharge changes. Our quantitative results suggest that both relative sea‐level oscillations and variations in sediment/water discharge ratio are able to form sequence‐bounding unconformities independently, confirming previous qualitative sequences definitions. In some of the experiments, the two types of sequence share several characteristics, such as an absence of coastal‐plain topset deposits and stratal offlap, something typically interpreted as the result of falling relative sea level. However, the stratal geometries differ when variations in amplitude and frequency of relative sea‐level change, sediment/water discharge ratio, transport diffusion coefficient and initial bathymetry are applied. We propose that the supply‐dominated sequences could be recognised in outcrop or in the subsurface if the observations of stratal offlap and the absence of coastal‐plain topset can be made without any strong evidence of relative sea‐level fall (e.g. descending shoreline trajectory). These quantitative results suggest that both supply‐dominated and accommodation‐dominated sequences are likely to occur in the ancient record, as a consequence of multiple, possibly complex, controls.     

Probabilistic impedance of foundation: Impact of the seismic design on uncertain soils

In the linear seismic design of buildings, the (deterministic) substructure method is a customary and efficient approach. However, the existence of spatial variability in the parameters of the mechanical model of the soil, as well as parametric errors, calls for the use of probabilistic approaches in order to provide a reliable design of the structure. The construction of probabilistic models of the soil impedance matrix provides a natural path to such approaches within the context of the substructure method. Two main techniques are described in this paper: a parametric one, typically using the stochastic finite element method, and a nonparametric one, which was introduced more recently. The latter is explored more specifically, and the possibilities it offers in terms of seismic design are presented. In particular, it is shown that it allows for the estimation of quantiles of the quantities of interest, rather than confidence intervals, which lead to highly conservative design. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating the mechanisms leading to the deglaciation of past continental northern hemisphere ice sheets with the CLIMBER–GREMLINS coupled model

A coupling procedure between a climate model of intermediate complexity (CLIMBER-2.3) and a 3-dimensional thermo-mechanical ice-sheet model (GREMLINS) has been elaborated. The resulting coupled model describes the evolution of atmosphere, ocean, biosphere, cryosphere and their mutual interactions. It is used to perform several simulations of the Last Deglaciation period to identify the physical mechanisms at the origin of the deglaciation process. Our baseline experiment, forced by insolation and atmospheric CO₂, produces almost complete deglaciation of past northern hemisphere continental ice sheets, although ice remains over the Cordilleran region at the end of the simulation and also in Alaska and Eastern Siberia. Results clearly demonstrate that, in this study, the melting of the North American ice sheet is critically dependent on the deglaciation of Fennoscandia through processes involving switches of the thermohaline circulation from a glacial mode to a modern one and associated warming of the northern hemisphere. A set of sensitivity experiments has been carried out to test the relative importance of both forcing factors and internal processes in the deglaciation mechanism. It appears that the deglaciation is primarily driven by insolation. However, the atmospheric CO₂ modulates the timing of the melting of the Fennoscandian ice sheet, and results relative to Laurentide illustrate the existence of threshold CO₂ values, that can be translated in terms of critical temperature, below which the deglaciation is impeded. Finally, we show that the beginning of the deglaciation process of the Laurentide ice sheet may be influenced by the time at which the shift of the thermohaline circulation from one mode to the other occurs.     

Dating carbonate rocks with in-situ produced cosmogenic Be: Why it often fails

Surface exposure dating of carbonate rocks using cosmogenic ¹⁰Be is problematic. We have performed step-wise leaching of calcite-rich samples in order to investigate the reasons for this. Results on different grain size fractions clearly indicate the source of atmospheric ¹⁰Be is clay. We demonstrate that partial-leaching procedures, which result in moderate pH levels will not release ¹⁰Be (in-situ produced or atmospheric) due to the instant re-absorption on grain surfaces. By contrast, under strongly acidic conditions, all absorbed ¹⁰Be is leached from aluminosilicates giving abnormally high ¹⁰Be concentrations and consequently exposure ages that are too old. Dating is only possible if samples do not contain any clay minerals or if they can be removed prior to carbonate dissolution.     

Holocene rockfalls in the southern Negev Desert,Israel and their relation to Dead Sea fault earthquakes

Rockfall ages in tectonically active regions provide information regarding frequency and magnitude of earthquakes. In the hyper-arid environment of the Dead Sea fault (DSF), southern Israel, rockfalls are most probably triggered by earthquakes. We dated rockfalls along the western margin of the DSF using terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCN). At each rockfall site, samples were collected from simultaneously exposed conjugate boulders and cliff surfaces. Such conjugate samples initially had identical pre-fall (“inherited”) TCN concentrations. After boulder detachment, these surfaces were dosed by different production rates due to differences in post-fall shielding and geometry. However, in our study area, pre-rockfall inheritance and post-rockfall production rates of TCN cannot be evaluated. Therefore, we developed a numerical approach and demonstrated a way to overcome the above-mentioned problems. This approach can be applied in other settings where rockfalls cannot be dated by simple exposure dating. Results suggest rockfall ages between 3.6 ± 0.8 and 4.7 ± 0.7 ka. OSL ages of sediment accumulated behind the boulders range between 0.6 ± 0.1 and 3.4 ± 1.4 ka and support the TCN results. Our ages agree with dated earthquakes determined in paleoseismic studies along the entire length of the DSF and support the observation of intensive earthquake activity around 4–5 ka.