A comparison of mineral magnetic, geochemical and mineralogical techniques for compositional studies of glacial diamictons

Data from heavy mineral analysis, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and X-ray diffractrometry (XRD) are compared with those obtained from mineral magnetic analysis for a range of glacial diamicton samples taken from the Quaternary sequence in the Isle of Man. These data show that the mineral magnetic approach offers a useful means of characterizing glacial sediments for purposes of lithostratigraphic correlation and provenance indication and that the magnetic data are of a comparable quality to those obtained from standard applications of the more traditional techniques. The heavy mineral and XRD data indicate that little post-depositional chemical alteration of the detrital composition of the sediments has taken place. The mineral magnetic, heavy mineral and XRF analysis suggests both similar lithostratigraphic relationships between the various diamicton units and consistent indications of their likely provenance. These are consistent with published, field-based, stratigraphic relationships of the same sediments and ice-flow directions in the Irish Sea Basin during the Devensian.     

Mineral Equilibria in the Searles Lake Evaporites, California

The Searles Lake evaporites (late Quaternary) consist of salineand mud layers permeated by brines. Two mineral pairs (gaylussite-pirssonite,mirabilite-thenardite) are used as indicators of relative aH₂othroughout the stratigraphic column. Variations are attributedmostly to changes in brine salinity and partly to temperature. These aH₂o-sensitive minerals locally coexist with trona, nahcolite,burkeite, northupite, tychite, hanksite, and aphthitalite, whichare sensitive to both aH₂o and a_co. Such assemblages permitconstruction of schematic isothermal aH₂o-a_co, diagrams. Fieldboundary sequences are derived from both theoretical considerationsand observed assemblages; their slopes are determined by thestoichiometry of possible reactions. Predicted assemblages invariablyagree with observed assemblages. By means of these diagrams, present-day lateral and stratigraphicvariations in relative aH₂o and aco₂ in the deposit are reconstructed.They show that aH₂o and a_co2 vary independently. Many of thepresent activities reflect depositional conditions; some indicatepost-depositional events.     

Seasonal Forecasts of the Summer 2016 Yangtze River Basin Rainfall

The Yangtze River has been subject to heavy flooding throughout history,and in recent times severe floods such as those in 1998 have resulted in heavy loss of life and livelihoods.Dams along the river help to manage flood waters,and are important sources of electricity for the region.Being able to forecast high-impact events at long lead times therefore has enormous potential benefit.Recent improvements in seasonal forecasting mean that dynamical climate models can start to be used directly for operational services.The teleconnection from El Ni ?no to Yangtze River basin rainfall meant that the strong El Ni ?no in winter 2015/16 provided a valuable opportunity to test the application of a dynamical forecast system.This paper therefore presents a case study of a real-time seasonal forecast for the Yangtze River basin,building on previous work demonstrating the retrospective skill of such a forecast.A simple forecasting methodology is presented,in which the forecast probabilities are derived from the historical relationship between hindcast and observations.Its performance for2016 is discussed.The heavy rainfall in the May–June–July period was correctly forecast well in advance.August saw anomalously low rainfall,and the forecasts for the June–July–August period correctly showed closer to average levels.The forecasts contributed to the confidence of decision-makers across the Yangtze River basin.Trials of climate services such as this help to promote appropriate use of seasonal forecasts,and highlight areas for future improvements.     

The Origin and Significance of Garnet Phenocrysts and Garnet-Bearing Xenoliths in Miocene Calc-alkaline Volcanics from Northland, New Zealand

Xenoliths, considered to be of igneous origin and consistingof hornblendegarnetplagioclase clinopyroxene, occur in associationwith high-pressure phenocrysts in early Miocene high-silicaandesites and dacites, Northland, New Zealand. Microstructuresof these xenoliths range from coarse, even-grained sub-ophitictypes to others with coarse glomerocrysts set in a finer-grainedmesostasis. The xenoliths are commonly flow-banded and are arguedto represent direct crystallization products and crystal aggregationsfrom the calc-alkaline host or related magmas at depth. Manygarnets within these high-pressure aggregates and also discretegarnet phenocrysts are rimmed by medium—coarse-grained,interlocking hornblendeplagioclase, representing partial adjustmentto an assemblage stable at shallower levels. The garnets aretypically pyrope—almandine with 17–28 mol.% grossularand show normal, reverse and oscillatory zoning; the associatedamphibole is pargasite trending to hornblende in phenocrystrims and reaction rims. Metamorphic xenoliths with plagioclase-hornblende-quartzassemblages are also found in the rocks and are characterizedby fine-grained granoblastic mosaic microstructures with well-developedfoliation defined by preferred orientation of elongate grainsand a mineral layering. These metamorphic xenoliths are interpretedas fragments of lower-crustal country rocks accidentally incorporatedinto rising andesitic magma. Application of established experimental high-pressure phasediagrams for andesites indicates crystallization of these assemblagesat depths corresponding to 10–20-kb pressure, and appropriategeothermometers indicates the following temperatures for equilibrationof assemblages at a nominal pressure of 12 kb: garnet-augite980C; garnet-augite-hornblende 920–1020 C. Geobarometryon a single garnet—orthopyroxene-bearing xenolith indicatesa pressure of 10–12 kb for a likely temperature rangeof 950–1000C. Thus the xenoliths point to the generationof host andesite-dacite magmas at suberustal depths of 35–45km, from fractional crystallization of more mafic mantlederivedmagmas, and demonstrate that relatively silicic calc-alkalinemagmas may evolve in the mantle. The rarity of evidence forsuch a process may be linked with the obduction-related tectonicevents operative in Northland just before the magmatic episode,and to the unusually high water content in the magma.     

The methodological basis for fine‐resolution,multi‐proxy reconstructions of ombrotrophic peat bog surface wetness

Amesbury, M. J., Barber, K. E. & Hughes, P. D. M. 2010: The methodological basis for fine‐resolution, multi‐proxy reconstructions of ombrotrophic peat bog surface wetness. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00152.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. The need for Holocene peat‐based palaeoclimatic records of increased temporal resolution has been widely identified in recent research. The often rapid growth rates of ombrotrophic bogs, when combined with fine‐resolution (i.e. millimetre‐scale) sampling, provide an as yet largely unexploited potential to derive sub‐decadal palaeoclimatic data from this proxy‐archive. However, multi‐proxy, fine‐resolution analyses require changes to standard methodologies, and the application of sampling techniques that are new to peat‐based palaeoclimate research. A peat sampler was custom‐built to allow precise and replicable millimetre‐scale subsampling. Subsequent methodological testing revealed that, irrespective of sample thickness (i.e. resolution), halving the standard sample volume used for plant macrofossil (from 4 cm³ to 2 cm³) and testate amoebae (from 2 cm³ to 1 cm³) analyses and the sample weight used for peat humification analysis (from 0.2 g to 0.1 g dried peat) did not affect the interpretation of the results. A contiguous 1‐mm sampling resolution for plant macrofossil analysis was also tested, but it was found that contiguous 5‐mm samples provided a more reliable background record to fine‐resolution testate amoebae and peat humification analyses. Based on these findings, a standardized and systematic methodological approach was developed, using the custom‐built peat slicer to take millimetre‐scale samples that provide enough sample material for both testate amoebae and peat humification analyses to be performed at 1‐mm resolution. This approach will facilitate the testing of the palaeoclimatic reliability of multi‐proxy, fine‐resolution peat‐based records.     

Last Glacial Maximum equilibrium-line altitude trends and precipitation patterns in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, southern Colorado, USA

Precipitation patterns during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Rocky Mountains varied due to the influence of the continental ice sheets and pluvial lakes. However, no constraints have been placed on potential changes of southeasterly Gulf of Mexico-derived moisture that today contributes considerable precipitation to the easternmost ranges of the southern and middle Rocky Mountains. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado are ideally situated to assess the relative importance of westerly and southeasterly-derived moisture during the LGM. Based on reconstructions of 30 palaeoglaciers in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, we find that LGM equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) on the east side of the range were systematically 100–200 m lower than ELAs on the west side. The observed ELA pattern is strikingly similar to modern precipitation patterns in the study area, suggesting that southeasterly-derived precipitation had a significant influence on the mass balances of LGM glaciers.