Long-term evolution of sand waves in the Marsdiep inlet. II: Relation to hydrodynamics

A discussion is presented about the mechanisms that govern the spatial and seasonal variability in sand-wave height and migration speed in the 4 km wide Marsdiep tidal inlet, the Netherlands. Since 1998, current velocities and water depths have been recorded with an ADCP that is mounted under the ferry ‘Schulpengat’. In this paper, the current measurements were used to explain the sand-wave observations presented in Buijsman and Ridderinkhof [this issue. Long-term evolution of sand waves in the Marsdiep inlet. I: high-resolution observations. Continental Shelf Research, doi:10.1016/j.csr.2007.10.011]. Across nearly the entire inlet, the sand waves migrate in the flood direction. In the flood-dominated southern part of the inlet, the ‘measured’ (i.e. based on sand-wave shape and migration speed) and predicted bedload transport agree in direction, magnitude, and trends, whereas in the ebb-dominated northern part the predicted bedload and suspended load transport is opposite to the sand-wave migration. In the southern part, 55% of the bedload transport is due to tidal asymmetries and 45% due to residual currents. In addition to the well-known tidal asymmetries, asymmetries that arise from the interaction of _M2${\mathrm{M}}_2$ and its overtides with _S2${\mathrm{S}}_2$ and its compound tides are also important. It is hypothesised that in the northern part of the inlet the advection of suspended sand and lag effects govern the sand-wave migration. The relative importance of suspended load transport also explains why the sand waves have smaller lee-slope angles, are smaller, more rounded, and more three-dimensional in the northern half of the inlet. The sand waves in this part of the inlet feature the largest seasonal variability in height and migration speed. This seasonal variability may be attributed to the tides or a seasonal fluctuation in fall velocity. In both cases sediment transport is enhanced in winter, increasing sand-wave migration and decreasing sand-wave height. The influence of storms and estuarine circulation on the sand-wave variability is negligible.     

Modeling bio-geomorphological influences for offshore sandwaves

The coastal environment shows a wide range of bed patterns, for which sandwaves and sandbanks are among the most common. Less known in this context is the high benthic diversity in the coastal environment, which gives rise to the question to what extend the benthos interacts with the shape of the seabed. This paper reviews field and flume experiments on bio-geomorphological influences between benthos and sediment and tests the hypothesis that both the occurrence and the dimensions of sandwaves are dependent on the benthic diversity in the North Sea. Mathematical inclusions to account for biological activity in idealized models reveal that biota is able to influence the wavelength of sandwaves significantly, compared to the default case. More importantly, the models indicate that biota is able to induce bed patterns under conditions when the physical parameters suggest a stable flat bed and vice versa. Present model explorations indicate that future research should focus on the parameterization of subtidal biological activity on sediment dynamics and thereby on seabed patterns. Such knowledge will enable process-based modeling of the spatial and temporal variation in biological activity on seabed morphodynamics and validate the proposed modeling approach with field measurements.     

Macrocrystal phlogopite Rb–Sr dates for the Ekati property kimberlites, Slave Province, Canada: evidence for multiple intrusive episodes in the Paleocene and Eocene

New Rb–Sr age determinations using macrocrystal phlogopite are presented for 27 kimberlites from the Ekati property of the Lac de Gras region, Slave Province, Canada. These new data show that kimberlite magmatism at Ekati ranges in age from at least Late Paleocene (61 Ma) to Middle Eocene time (45 Ma). Older, perovskite-bearing kimberlites from Ekati extend this age range to Late Cretaceous time (74 Ma). Within this age range, emplacement episodes at 48, 51–53, 55–56 and 59–61 Ma can be recognized. Middle Eocene kimberlite magmatism of the previously dated Mark kimberlite (47.5 Ma) is shown to include four other pipes from the east-central Ekati property. A single kimberlite (Aaron) may be younger than the 47.5 Ma Mark kimberlite. The economically important Panda kimberlite is precisely dated in this study to be 53.3±0.6 Ma using the phlogopite isochron method, and up to six additional kimberlites from the central Ekati property have Early Eocene ages indistinguishable from that of Panda, including the Koala and Koala North occurrences. Late Paleocene 55–56 Ma kimberlite magmatism, represented by the Diavik kimberlite pipes adjacent to the southeastern Ekati property, is shown to extend onto the southeastern Ekati property and includes three, and possibly four, kimberlites. A precise eight-point phlogopite isochron for the Cobra South kimberlite yields an emplacement age of 59.7±0.4 Ma; eight other kimberlites from across the Ekati property have similar Late Paleocene Rb–Sr model ages. The addition of 27 new emplacement ages for kimberlites from the Ekati property confirms that kimberlite magmatism from the central Slave Province is geologically young, despite ages ranging back to Cambrian time from elsewhere in the Slave Province. With the available geochronologic database, Lac de Gras kimberlites with the highest diamond potential are currently restricted to the 51–53 and 55–56 Ma periods of kimberlite magmatism.     

Trace element distribution in the soils above deeply weathered pegmatites, Virginia, U.S.A.: implications for exploration

Chemical partitioning data are of fundamental interest to exploration geochemists. This paper is one of the few studies which has investigated the relative proportions of the rare elements in various soil extracts. The dispersion of trace elements from weathering pegmatites in Powhatan Country, Virginia, was found to be restricted to the immediate vicinity of the pegmatites. A sequential extraction procedure was used to measure the distribution of Be, La, Nb, Sn, U, Li, and Ni,among the following fractions of the B soil horizons: exchangeable, Fe and Mn oxyhydroxide, residual, and aqua regia digestion. The elements Sn, Be, Li, and U were found to be associated with soils over the complex Herbb No. 2 pegmatite, whereas La and Ni were generally associated with the background soils.A geochemical exploration model was developed using stepwise discriminant function analysis to determine the combination of elements and soil extracts that best differentiates between complex pegmatitic, simple pegmatitic, and background soils. Log-transformed aqua regia extract concentrations of Sn, La, U, and Li were the most effective variables when used to separate complex pegmatitic from simple pegmatitic soils.     

Deformation and recrystallisation mechanisms in naturally deformed cordierite

Cordierite — (Mg,Fe)₂Al₄Si₅O₁₈ — occurs as porphyroclasts within metapelitic and metavolcanic rocks from the Kemiö-Orijärvi belt, SW Finland. After crystallisation the cordierites have been deformed at temperatures between 550–825° C and pressures of 3–5 kbar. Optical microscopy reveals the following deformation-induced microstructures: a bimodal size distribution between host, 0.3 to 4.0 mm, and recrystallised (new) grains, 0.1 to 0.5 mm; the intracrystalline defect-structures of host grains yield undulatory extinction, subgrains and some twinning. Recrystallised grains are optically strain free. Grain and subgrain boundaries are generally straight and parallel to crystallographic low-index planes. Orientation distribution diagrams for host and recrystallised grains yield similar fabric diagrams, i.e. [010] perpendicular to foliation -S-, [001] and [100] parallel to S and [001] parallel to lineation -L-. The fabric diagrams indicate that [001] (010) is the dominant slip system. Transmission electron microscopy reveals straight free dislocations, glide and climb loops, minor {130} and {110} microtwins, isolated nodal points and dislocation walls. Contrast analyses yield Burgers vector b = [001] being dominant and b = [100] subordinate. Climb loops consist of 〈c〉-dislocations that are dissociated in (001) planes, glide loops are defined by [100] [010] and [001] (100). The cordierite microstructures have been interpreted to be generated by dislocation creep. The dominant recrystallisation mechanism is thought to be subgrain rotation subsequently followed by minor grain or twin-band boundary migration.     

Monitoring meiobenthos using cm-, m- and km-scales in the Southern Bight of the North Sea

Meiobenthos at the mouth of the Grevelingen and Oosterschelde Estuaries in the Southern Bight of the North Sea was monitored using meiobenthic abundance and nematode community structure. Hierarchical sampling included 54 subsamples nested within 18 cores within six stations within two transects. The spatial patterns of the meiofaunal populations and communities are presented in cm-scale (among subsamples), m-scale (among cores), km-scale (among stations) and 10 km-scale (between transects). The variance components analysis of meiofaunal abundances showed that km-scale and 10 km-scale represented 63–90% of total variance while m-scale and cm-scale provided only 10–37%. Different communities were found among stations rather than among cores or subsamples by detrended correspondence analysis ordination and clustering analysis. The main assemblage of meiofauna occurred at the km-scale. Nematode diversity was more powerful than meiofaunal abundance in detecting spatial variation at all scales. However, at least two replicates are required for monitoring when sampling using a 10 cm² subsampling core.