Microdiamond on Åreskutan confirms regional UHP metamorphism in the Seve Nappe Complex of the Scandinavian Caledonides

Metamorphic diamond in crustal rocks provides important information on the deep subduction of continental crust. Here, we present a new occurrence of diamond within the Seve Nappe Complex (SNC) of the Scandinavian Caledonides, on Åreskutan in Jämtland County, Sweden. Microdiamond is found in situ as single and composite (diamond+carbonate) inclusions within garnet, in kyanite‐bearing paragneisses. The rocks preserve the primary peak pressure assemblage of Ca,Mg‐rich garnet+phengite+kyanite+rutile, with polycrystalline quartz surrounded by radial cracks indicating breakdown of coesite. Calculated P–T conditions for this stage are 830–840 °C and 4.1–4.2 GPa, in the diamond stability field. The ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) assemblage has been variably overprinted under granulite facies conditions of 850–860 °C and 1.0–1.1 GPa, leading to formation of Ca,Mg‐poor garnet+biotite+plagioclase+K‐feldspar+sillimanite+ilmenite+quartz. This overprint was the result of nearly isothermal decompression, which is corroborated by Ti‐in‐quartz thermometry. Chemical Th–U–Pb dating of monazite yields ages between 445 and 435 Ma, which are interpreted to record post‐UHP exhumation of the diamond‐bearing rocks. The new discovery of microdiamond on Åreskutan, together with other evidence of ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphism (UHPM) within gneisses, eclogites and peridotites elsewhere in the SNC, provide compelling arguments for regional (at least 200 km along strike of the unit) UHPM of substantial parts of this far‐travelled allochthon. The occurrence of UHPM in both rheologically weak (gneisses) and strong lithologies (eclogites, peridotites) speaks against the presence of large tectonic overpressure during metamorphism.     

Signatures of Restoration and Management Changes in the Water Quality of a Central California Estuary

Coastal managers and policy-makers are concerned with tracking improvements to water quality linked to management changes. Long-term water quality data acquired from two wetland areas in the upper reaches of the Elkhorn Slough estuary in central California were analyzed for signatures of land restoration or water control structure management. Post-restoration averaged NO₃, NH₃, and PO₄ concentrations were 50–70% less than before-restoration concentrations. Assessment of watershed-scale effects revealed that proximity of restoration to sampling locations had almost as strong an effect on water quality as the percentage of land restored relative to watershed size. Results also suggest that restoration of even 1% of an agriculturally intensive watershed such as that of the Elkhorn Slough may result in improvements to water quality. Finally, results indicate that tide gate function can dominate water quality in managed wetlands and must be carefully tracked and managed in the context of estuarine conservation targets.     

The distinction between postcranial bones of Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827 and Bison priscus Bojanus, 1827 from the British pleistocene and the taxonomic status of Bos and Bison

The study of British Pleistocene mammal faunas has been hampered by the difficulty of telling the difference between the postcranial elements of the often abundant remains of the large bovids Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827 and Bison priscus Bojanus, 1827. Here I present qualitative and morphometric criteria whereby Bos primigenius and Bison priscus radii, metacarpals, tibiae, astragali and metatarsals can be told apart using British Pleistocene material.     

Evidence for the protracted construction of slow-spread oceanic crust by small magmatic injections

Gabbroic cumulates drilled south of the Kane Transform Fault on the slow-spread Mid-Atlantic Ridge preserve up to three discrete magnetization components. Here we use absolute age constraints derived from the paleomagnetic data to develop a model for the magmatic construction of this section of the lower oceanic crust. By comparing the paleomagnetic data with mineral compositions, and based on thermal models of local reheating, we infer that magmas that began crystallizing in the upper mantle intruded into the lower oceanic crust and formed meter-scale sills. Some of these magmas were crystal-laden and the subsequent expulsion of interstitial liquid from them produced ‘cumulus’ sills. These small-scale magmatic injections took place over at least 210?000 years and at distances of ∼3 km from the ridge axis and may have formed much of the lower crust. This model explains many of the complexities described in this area and can be used to help understand the general formation of oceanic crust at slow-spread ridges.     

Late Archean basement in the Bangenhuken Complex of the Nordbreen Nappe, western Ny-Friesland, Svalbard

The rocks of western Ny-Friesland, northern Svalbard, are part of a tectonostratigraphy including four thrust sheets, each composed mainly of orthogneisses overlain by younger metasedimentary rocks. Previous geochronological studies have shown that the orthogneisses are dominated by ca. 1750 Mya granitoids. This study of a quartz-monzonite in one of the thrust sheets, the Nordbreen Nappe, yields a single-zircon U-Pb ion-microprobe age of 2709 Ø 28 My. This is the oldest rock unit so far reported in the Svalbard Caledonides. However, age-determinations on detrital zircons in the metasediments of western Ny-Friesland have shown that Late Archean rocks were prominent sources. The new ages presented here provide the first evidence of a local source for these sedimentary rocks.     

Calibration of magnetic granulometric trends in oceanic basalts

The validity of magnetic granulometric estimates relies heavily on the ability to distinguish ultrafine particles from coarser grains. For example, populations with dominantly superparamagnetic (SP) or multidomain (MD) grains both are characterized by low remanence and coercivity, and distinguishing these endmembers may provide valuable clues to the origin of magnetization in the intervening stable single domain (SD) size range. The natural grain size variations associated with variable cooling rates in submarine lavas provide a rare opportunity for examining progressive changes in average magnetic grain size, from SP–SD mixtures in submarine basaltic glass to SD–MD mixtures in flow interiors. Based on microanalysis and rock magnetic measurements on pillow basalt samples dredged from the flanks of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (ages <1 Ma to 70 Ma), a model of preferential dissolution with time of the finest-grained titanomagnetites has recently been suggested as the major process contributing to long-term temporal changes in remanent intensity of mid-ocean ridge basalts. We evaluated the local and long-term temporal trends in effective magnetic grain size predicted by this model using hysteresis data from a large number of submarine basalt samples which span a range of ages from 0 to 122 Ma. Specimens were systematically taken along transects perpendicular to the chilled margin of each sample. The large number of data (750 loops) and the inferred progressive change in grain size approaching the chilled margin allow recognition of mixing trends between MD and SD grains and between SD and SP grains on a Day-plot. These trends in hysteresis parameters are crucial to resolving the inherent, but frequently overlooked, ambiguity in inferring grain size from hysteresis parameters. We illustrate that two additional rock magnetic tests (warming of a low-temperature isothermal remanence and hysteresis loop shapes) often used to address these ambiguities are inconclusive, requiring some independent knowledge of whether SP or MD grains are likely to be present. Even with a considerably larger data set the substantial intrasample variability in oceanic basalts precludes recognition of any systematic trend in magnetic grain size with age.     

From the Early Paleozoic Platforms of Baltica and Laurentia to the Caledonide Orogen of Scandinavia and Greenland

The Caledonide Orogen in the Nordic countries is exposed in Norway, western Sweden, westernmost Finland, on Svalbard and in northeast Greenland. In the mountains of western Scandinavia, the structure is dominated by E-vergent thrusts with allochthons derived from the Baltoscandian platform and margin, from outboard oceanic （lapetus） terranes and with the highest thrust sheets having Laurentian affinities. The other side of this bivergent orogen is well exposed in northeastern Greenland, where W-vergent thrust sheets emplace Laurentian continental margin assemblages onto the platform. Svalbard＇s Caledonides are disrupted by late Caledonian faults, but have close affinity with the Laurentian margin in Northeast Greenland. Only Svalbard＇s Southwestern terrane is foreign to this margin, showing affinity, to the Pearya terrane of northern Ellesmere Island in arctic Canada. Between the margins of western Scandinavia and eastern Greenland, the wide continental shelves, now covered by late Paleozoic and younger successions, are inferred to be underlain by the Caledonide hinterland, probably incorporating substantial Grenville-age basement. In northernmost Norway, the NE-trending Caledonian thrust front truncates the NW-trending Neoproterozoic Timanide orogen of northwest Russia. Much of the central and eastern parts of the Barents Shelf are thought to be underlain by Caledonian-deformed Timanide basement.
Caledonian orogeny in Norden resulted from the closure of the Iapetus Ocean and Scandian collision of continent Baltica with Laurentia. Partial subduction of the Baltoscandian margin beneath Laurentia in the midlate Silurian was followed by rapid exhumation of the highly metamorphosed hinterland in the early Devonian, and deposition of Old Red Sandstones in intramontane basins. Late Scandian collapse of the orogen occurred on major extensional detachments, with defor mation persisting into the late Devonian.     

Water‐level dynamics in natural and artificial pools in blanket peatlands

Perennial pools are common natural features of peatlands, and their hydrological functioning and turnover may be important for carbon fluxes, aquatic ecology, and downstream water quality. Peatland restoration methods such as ditch blocking result in many new pools. However, little is known about the hydrological function of either pool type. We monitored six natural and six artificial pools on a Scottish blanket peatland. Pool water levels were more variable in all seasons in artificial pools having greater water level increases and faster recession responses to storms than natural pools. Pools overflowed by a median of 9 and 54 times pool volume per year for natural and artificial pools, respectively, but this varied widely because some large pools had small upslope catchments and vice versa. Mean peat water‐table depths were similar between natural and artificial pool sites but much more variable over time at the artificial pool site, possibly due to a lower bulk specific yield across this site. Pool levels and pool‐level fluctuations were not the same as those of local water tables in the adjacent peat. Pool‐level time series were much smoother, with more damped rainfall or recession responses than those for peat water tables. There were strong hydraulic gradients between the peat and pools, with absolute water tables often being 20–30 cm higher or lower than water levels in pools only 1–4 m away. However, as peat hydraulic conductivity was very low (median of 1.5 × 10^?5 and 1.4 × 10^?6 cm s^?1 at 30 and 50 cm depths at the natural pool site), there was little deep subsurface flow interaction. We conclude that (a) for peat restoration projects, a larger total pool surface area is likely to result in smaller flood peaks downstream, at least during summer months, because peatland bulk specific yield will be greater; and (b) surface and near‐surface connectivity during storm events and topographic context, rather than pool size alone, must be taken into account in future peatland pool and stream chemistry studies.     

Upscaling unsaturated hydraulic parameters for flow through heterogeneous anisotropic sediments

We compare two methods for determining the upscaled water characteristics and saturation-dependent anisotropy in unsaturated hydraulic conductivity from a field-scale injection test. In both approaches an effective medium approximation is used to reduce a porous medium of M textures to an equivalent homogenous medium. The first approach is a phenomenological approach based on homogenization and assumes that moisture-based Richards’ equation can be treated like the convective–dispersive equation (CDE). The gravity term, dK_z(θ)/d(θ), analogous to the vertical convective velocity in the CDE, is determined from the temporal evolution of the plume centroid along the vertical coordinate allowing calculation of an upscaled K_z(θ). As with the dispersion tensor in the CDE, the rate of change of the second spatial moment in 3D space is used to calculate the water diffusivity tensor, D(θ), from which an upscaled K(θ) is calculated. The second approach uses the combined parameter scale inverse technique (CPSIT). Parameter scaling is used first to reduce the number of parameters to be estimated by a factor M. Upscaled parameters are then optimized by inverse modeling to produce an upscaled K(θ) characterized by a pore tortuosity–connectivity tensor, L. Parameters for individual textures are finally determined from the optimized parameters by inverse scaling using scale factors determined a priori. Both methods produced upscaled K(θ) that showed evidence of saturation dependent anisotropy. Flow predictions with the STOMP simulator, parameterized with upscaled parameters, were compared with field observations. Predictions based on the homogenization method were able to capture the mean plume behavior but could not reproduce the asymmetry caused by heterogeneity and lateral spreading. The CPSIT method captured the effects of heterogeneity and anisotropy and reduced the mean squared residual by nearly 90% compared to local-scale and upscaled parameters from the homogenization method. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated for the US Department of Energy by Battelle under Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830.