Systematic sequence-scale controls on carbonate cementation in a siliciclastic sedimentary basin: Examples from Upper Cretaceous shallow marine deposits of Utah and Coloradao,USA

Whilst the relationship between stratigraphic development and carbonate cementation within siliciclastic succession has been documented through a number case studies, these studies have been generally restricted to observations upon individual sequences and/or limited sub-surface data. In this paper, long-term (5 million years), large-scale (>200 km) stratigraphic controls on carbonate cementation patterns are documented from the Upper Cretaceous Panther Tongue Member, Blackhawk Formation and Castlegate Sandstone exposed in the Book Cliffs in Utah and Colorado, USA. Together, these comprise eight progradational wedges of sandstones, which interfinger with the Mancos Shale, deposited within the Western Interior Seaway foreland basin. Petrographic analyses of ferroan dolomite cement bodies within these sandstone wedges show that the ferroan dolomite cements are all early, relative to burial diagenesis within the host sandstones. Stable isotope analyses indicates that a significant meteoric component was present in precipitating fluids and this is consistent with the observation that cements, are always present down-dip of sequence boundaries and/or leached whitecaps beneath coals. In addition, the lateral distribution of cement bodies increases consistently up-succession from less than 5 km in extent in the older sequences, to 30 km in extent in the youngest sequences. These changes in distribution are in response to the increased progradation and increased and more aerially extensive sequence-boundary development in younger sequences. The implications of these data are that whilst localized spatial patterns of diagenesis, and in particular carbonate cementation, are predictable and controlled by the nature and presence of individual stratal surfaces, systematic diagenetic alteration patterns are also present at the sedimentary basin scale and controlled by the nature of larger-scale stratigraphic development and basin evolution. This evolution may be driven by eustatic shifts, or through tectonic or climatic driven base-level shifts. These observations allow an improved insight into the basin-scale processes that control the macroscopic diagenetic properties of sedimentary successions and sub-surface hydrocarbon reservoirs.     

Estimation of infragravity waves at intermediate water depth

The accuracy of nearshore infragravity wave height model predictions has been investigated using a combination of the spectral short wave evolution model SWAN and a linear 1D SurfBeat model (IDSB). Data recorded by a wave rider located approximately 3.5 km from the coast at 18 m water depth have been used to construct the short wave frequency-directional spectra that are subsequently translated to approximately 8 m water depth with the third generation short wave model SWAN. Next the SWAN-computed frequency-directional spectra are used as input for IDSB to compute the infragravity response in the 0.01 Hz–0.05 Hz frequency range, generated by the transformation of the grouped short waves through the surf zone including bound long waves, leaky waves and edge waves at this depth. Comparison of the computed and measured infragravity waves in 8 m water depth shows an average skill of approximately 80%. Using data from a directional buoy located approximately 70 km offshore as input for the SWAN model results in an average infragravity prediction skill of 47%. This difference in skill is in a large part related to the under prediction of the short wave directional spreading by SWAN. Accounting for the spreading mismatch increases the skill to 70%. Directional analyses of the infragravity waves shows that outgoing infragravity wave heights at 8 m depth are generally over predicted during storm conditions suggesting that dissipation mechanisms in addition to bottom friction such as non-linear energy transfer and long wave breaking may be important. Provided that the infragravity wave reflection at the beach is close to unity and tidal water level modulations are modest, a relatively small computational effort allows for the generation of long-term infragravity data sets at intermediate water depths. These data can subsequently be analyzed to establish infragravity wave height design criteria for engineering facilities exposed to the open ocean, such as nearshore tanker offloading terminals at coastal locations.     

Effect of wave-induced mixing on Antarctic sea ice in a high-resolution ocean model

Ocean Dynamics - In this study, we investigate how sea ice extent and thickness are affected by additional turbulent mixing from unbroken surface waves. This ‘surface wave mixing’ (SWM)...     

Unusual sources of fossil micrometeorites deduced from relict chromite in the small size fraction in ~467 Ma old limestone

Extraterrestrial chrome spinel and chromite extracted from the sedimentary rock record are relicts from coarse micrometeorites and rarely meteorites. They are studied to reconstruct the paleoflux of meteorites to the Earth and the collisional history of the asteroid belt. Minor element concentrations of Ti and V, and oxygen isotopic compositions of these relict minerals were used to classify the meteorite type they stem from, and thus to determine the relative meteorite group abundances through time. While coarse sediment-dispersed extraterrestrial chrome-spinel (SEC) grains from ordinary chondrites dominate through the studied time windows in the Phanerozoic, there are exceptions: We have shown that ~467 Ma ago, 1 Ma before the breakup of the L chondrite parent body (LCPB), more than half of the largest (>63 μm diameter) grains were achondritic and originated from differentiated asteroids in contrast to ordinary chondrites which dominated the meteorite flux throughout most of the past 500 Ma. Here, we present a new data set of oxygen isotopic compositions and elemental compositions of 136 grains of a smaller size fraction (32–63 μm) in ~467 Ma old pre-LCPB limestone from the Lynna River section in western Russia, that was previously studied by elemental analysis. Our study constitutes the most comprehensive oxygen isotopic data set of sediment-dispersed extraterrestrial chrome spinel to date. We also introduce a Raman spectroscopy-based method to identify SEC grains and distinguish them from terrestrial chrome spinel with ~97% reliability. We calibrated the Raman method with the established approach using titanium and vanadium concentrations and oxygen isotopic compositions. We find that ordinary chondrites are approximately three times more abundant in the 32–63 μm fraction than achondrites. While abundances of achondrites compared to ordinary chondrites are lower in the 32–63 μm size fraction than in the >63 μm one, achondrites are approximately three times more abundant in the 32–62 μm fraction than they are in the present flux. We find that the sources of SEC grains vary for different grain sizes, mainly as a result of parent body thermal metamorphism. We conclude that the meteorite flux composition ~467 Ma ago ~1 Ma before the breakup of the LCPB was fundamentally different from today and from other time windows studied in the Phanerozoic, but that in contrast to the large size fraction ordinary chondrites dominated the flux in the small size fraction. The high abundance of ordinary chondrites in the studied samples is consistent with the findings based on coarse extraterrestrial chrome-spinel from other time windows.     

Compound and hybrid clinothems of the last lowstand Mid-Adriatic Deep: Processes,depositional environments,controls and implications for stratigraphic analysis of prograding systems

Clinoforms with a range of scales are essential elements of prograding continental margins. Different types of clinoforms develop during margin growth, depending on combined changes in relative sea level, sediment supply and oceanographic processes. In studies of continental margin stratigraphy, trajectories of clinoform ‘rollover’ points are often used as proxies for relative sea-level variation and as predictors of the character of deposits beyond the shelf-break. The analysis of clinoform dynamics and rollover trajectory often suffers from the low resolution of geophysical data, the small scale of outcrops with respect to the dimensions of clinoform packages and low chronostratigraphic resolution. Here, through high-resolution seismic reflection data and sediment cores, we show how compound clinoforms were the most common architectural style of margin progradation of the late Pleistocene lowstand in the Adriatic Sea. During compound clinoform development, the shoreline was located landward of the shelf-break. It comprised a wave-dominated delta to the west and a barrier and back-barrier depositional system in the central and eastern area. Storm-enhanced hyperpycnal flows were responsible for the deposition of a sandy lobe in the river mouth, whereas a heterolithic succession formed elsewhere on the shelf. The storm-enhanced hyperpycnal flows built an apron of sand on the slope that interrupted an otherwise homogeneous progradational mudbelt. Locally, the late lowstand compound clinoforms have a flat to falling shelf-break trajectory. However, the main phase of shelf-break bypass and basin deposition coincides with a younger steeply rising shelf-break trajectory. We interpret divergence from standard models, linking shelf-break trajectory to deep-sea sand deposition, as resulting from a great efficiency of oceanographic processes in reworking sediment in the shelf, and from a high sediment supply. The slope foresets had a large progradational attitude during the late lowstand sea-level rise, showing that oceanographic processes can inhibit coastal systems to reach the shelf-edge. In general, our study suggests that where the shoreline does not coincide with the shelf-break, trajectory analysis can lead to inaccurate reconstruction of the depositional history of a margin.     

Resilience and finances on Aotearoa New Zealand farms: Evidence from a random survey on the sources and uses of debt

Debt and income are keystones to financial resilience on New Zealand farms. This article utilises a survey on finance to assess farm financial health using a new model of resilience. It shows the majority of farms are financially strong. Further borrowing and development are possible. With increasing variability resulting from the longer term trade liberalisation as well as global warming impacts, the high equity will provide future resilience. On the other hand, profit levels are not high relative to the investment, but this has been the case for decades and has not caused problems due to farmer and farm family resilience.     

Regional study on potential CO2 geosequestration in the Collie Basin and the Southern Perth Basin of Western Australia

Coal-fired power stations in Collie, Western Australia emit 10 million tonnes of CO₂ per year. This study assesses the potential opportunities of geological storage of CO₂ both within the Collie Basin and the onshore part of the adjacent Southern Perth Basin of Western Australia within 50 km of Collie town site through a desktop evaluation of existing data. The aquifers and coal formations within both basins have been evaluated for their suitability for storage based on geological, geographical and environmental criteria related to storage capacity, injectivity, proximity to sources of CO₂, location of other natural resources and containment security. The study has concluded that there is limited scope for large-scale storage of CO₂ within the Collie Basin. In addition the potential for storage within coals of either basin is not a viable solution. This assessment is based on published criteria for CO₂ storage in sedimentary basins and coal-bearing formations.     

Distribution of diffuse flow megafauna in two sites on the Eastern Lau Spreading Center, Tonga

Hydrothermal vent environments are characterized by large gradients of toxic chemicals and high temperatures, which play a significant role in defining species’ distributions. We used high-resolution imagery and spatially explicit in-situ physico-chemical measurements analyzed within a Geographic Information System (GIS) in order to characterize the spatial relations among different groups of megafauna, temperature, and chemistry within two discrete vent communities (40 and 50 m²) on the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC). Chemical (sulfide and O₂ concentrations) and temperature data were obtained from approximately 75 different locations within each community using in-situ instruments. All data were integrated into a GIS, which served as a visualization tool and enabled the data to be analyzed in a spatial context. Our results confirm the importance of abiotic variables in defining the distributions of some fauna and elucidate several biological associations that are consistent between the two communities. The provannid snail, Alviniconcha spp., appears to actively avoid temperatures above 32–46 °C and/or sulfide concentrations exceeding approximately 260 μM. Slightly higher average sulfide concentrations and temperatures were measured among aggregations of Ifremeria nautilei compared to aggregations of the mussel Bathymodiolus brevior; however, the presence of mixed aggregations of the two species indicates an overlap in requirements. The brachyuran crab, Austinograea spp., was consistently observed directly on symbiont-containing species, particularly Alviniconcha spp. The solitary snail, Eosipho desbruyeresi, was rarely observed on biological substrata, but was often (60% of its population at the most active site) within 5 cm of symbiont-containing fauna, indicating a tolerance and preference for proximity to areas of high productivity. Densities and coverage of species differed substantially between the two communities despite high species overlap. Symbiont-containing species covered much larger areas at the more hydrothermally active site, ABE1, while shrimp and anemones occurred in relatively higher densities within the less-active site, TM1. This is the first study to thoroughly characterize realized distributions of megafauna at vent sites along the ELSC.