Present day serpentinization in New Caledonia,Oman and Yugoslavia

Geochemical evidence for modern low-temperature serpentinization has been found in three new localities. Apparently the low-temperature reactions are a common mode of formation of the lizardite-chrysotile and brucite assemblage. Possibly the ¹⁸O content of serpentine formed at low temperatures is in part inherited from the pyroxene and olivine.     

The changing role of hydrogeology in semi-arid southern and eastern Africa

Much of southern and eastern Africa is semi-arid and heavily groundwater dependent. Borehole drilling commenced over a hundred years ago with magnetic and electrical resistivity surveys for borehole siting being introduced from 1936. Formalised training of hydrogeologists led in the 1970s to an almost standard approach to hydrogeological investigation and a period of stability followed, during which some major investigations were carried out. A period of decentralisation and fragmentation has since taken place in many parts of southern and eastern Africa, and groundwater monitoring and management are inadequate in many countries. All but six of the 14 SADC (Southern African Development Community) member states reportedly have an adequate monitoring network in place. However, groundwater demand is increasing and hydrogeologists need to promote the use of appropriate methodologies as an essential part of tackling the severe issues now facing the water sector in the region.     

Investigating the scale of structural controls on chlorinated hydrocarbon distributions in the fractured-porous unsaturated zone of a sandstone aquifer in the UK

Contaminant migration behaviour in the unsaturated zone of a fractured porous aquifer is discussed in the context of a study site in Cheshire, UK. The site is situated on gently dipping sandstones, adjacent to a linear lagoon historically used to dispose of industrial wastes containing chlorinated solvents. Two cores of more than 100 m length were recovered and measurements of chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs), inorganic chemistry, lithology, fracturing and aquifer properties were made. The results show that selecting an appropriate vertical sampling density is crucial both to providing an understanding of contaminant pathways and distinguishing whether CHCs are present in the aqueous or non-aqueous phase. The spacing of such sampling should be on a similar scale to the heterogeneity that controls water and contaminant movement. For some sections of the Permo-Triassic aquifer, significant changes in lithology and permeability occur over vertical distances of less than 1 m and samples need to be collected at this interval, otherwise considerable resolution is lost, potentially leading to erroneous interpretation of data. At this site, although CHC concentrations were high, the consistent ratio of the two main components of the plume (tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene) provided evidence of movement in the aqueous phase rather than in dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL).     

Stirring geochemistry in mantle convection models with stiff plates and slabs

Numerical models of mantle convection are presented that readily yield midocean ridge basalt (MORB) and oceanic island basalt (OIB) ages equaling or exceeding the apparent ∼1.8-Ga lead isotopic ages of trace-element heterogeneities in the mantle. These models feature high-viscosity surface plates and subducting lithosphere, and higher viscosities in the lower mantle. The formation and subduction of oceanic crust are simulated by means of tracers that represent a basaltic component. The models are run at the full mantle Rayleigh number and take account of faster mantle overturning and deeper melting in the past. More than 97% of the mantle is processed in these models. Including the expected excess density of former oceanic crust readily accounts for the depletion of MORB source relative to OIB sources. A novel finding is of gravitational settling of dense tracers within the low-viscosity upper mantle, as well as at the base of the mantle. The models suggest as well that the seismological observation of a change in tomographic character in the deep mantle might be explained without the need to postulate a separate layer in the deep mantle. These results expand the range of models with the potential to reconcile geochemical and geophysical observations of the mantle.     

Proglacial Sediment—Landform Associations of a Polythermal Glacier: Storglaciären, Northern Sweden

Mapping and laboratory analysis of the sediment—landform associations in the proglacial area of polythermal Storglaciären, Tarfala, northern Sweden, reveal six distinct lithofacies. Sandy gravel, silty gravel, massive sand and silty sand are interpreted as glaciofluvial in origin. A variable, pervasively deformed to massive clast‐rich sandy diamicton is interpreted as the product of an actively deforming subglacial till layer. Massive block gravels, comprising two distinctive moraine ridges, reflect supraglacial sedimentation and ice‐marginal and subglacial reworking of heterogeneous proglacial sediments during the Little Ice Age and an earlier more extensive advance. Visual estimation of the relative abundance of these lithofacies suggests that the sandy gravel lithofacies is of the most volumetric importance, followed by the diamicton and block gravels. Sedimentological analysis suggests that the role of a deforming basal till layer has been the dominant factor controlling glacier flow throughout the Little Ice Age, punctuated by shorter (warmer and wetter climatic) periods where high water pressures may have played a more important role. These results contribute to the database that facilitates discrimination of past glacier thermal regimes and dynamics in areas that are no longer glacierized, as well as older glaciations in the geological record.     

Water and sediment outbursts from advanced Franz Josef Glacier,New Zealand

The Franz Josef Glacier, Westland, New Zealand, has a history of catastrophic sediment‐laden outburst ?oods associated with extreme rainfall events when the glacier toe is advanced over its own sediments. Consideration of these events and inspection of recent sediment deposits suggest that there are three distinct modes of outburst. The ?rst is associated with fans fed by over?ow along the glacier margin. As the glacier has advanced across its own fore?eld gravels, it is inferred that the primary drainage conduit has developed a reach of negative slope. In high ?ows massive boulders can block the conduit, trapping lesser clasts. The resulting backup of water causes over?ows through marginal moulins, producing the fan type of deposit. The second type of outburst deposits massive imbricated boulders at a greater or lesser distance from the glacier portal. In this case, pressure buildup drives the blockage out of the portal where the boulders deposit. Smaller materials are generally carried away. The third type consists of very shallow ?ows, and produces massive gravel deposits of uncertain provenance. In this condition, the excess pressure in the conduit results in slight uplift of the glacier and widespread discharge of water and sediment below the glacier snout; gravels and smaller sediments are laid down in a massive deposit across the fore?eld. The massive, boulder‐veneered deposit from the December 1995 outburst is interpreted in the light of the above mechanisms as a hyperconcentrated ?ow deposit from hydraulic jacking, overlain by boulders emplaced by a subsequent conduit outburst. A possible association of outbursts with the present advanced position of the glacier is suggested. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Architecture of coastal and alluvial deposits in an extensional basin: the Carboniferous Joggins Formation of eastern Canada

Abstract The Joggins Formation was deposited in the Cumberland Basin, which experienced rapid mid‐Carboniferous subsidence on bounding faults. A 600 m measured section of coastal and alluvial plain strata comprises cycles tens to hundreds of metres thick. The cycles commence with coal and fossiliferous limestone/siltstone intervals, interpreted as widespread flooding events. These intervals are overlain by coarsening‐upward successions capped by planar‐based sandstone mounds, up to 100 m in width that represent the progradation of small, river‐generated delta lobes into a standing body of open water developed during transgression. The overlying strata contain sand‐rich heterolithic packages, 1–8 m thick, that are associated with channel bodies 2–3 m thick and 10–50 m wide. Drifted plant debris, Calamites groves and erect lycopsid trees are preserved within these predominantly green‐grey heterolithic sediments, which were deposited on a coastal wetland or deltaic plain traversed by channel systems. The cycles conclude with red siltstones, containing calcareous nodules, that are interbedded with thin sandstones and associated with both single‐storey channel bodies (1–1·5 m thick and 2–3 m wide) and larger, multistorey channels (3–6 m thick) with incised margins. Numerous channel bodies at the same level suggest that multiple‐channel, anastomosed river systems were developed on a well‐drained floodplain. Many minor flooding surfaces divide the strata into parasequences with dominantly progradational and aggradational stacking patterns. Multistorey channel bodies are relatively thin, fine grained and modestly incised, and palaeosols are immature and cumulative. The abundance and prominence of flooding surfaces suggests that base‐level rise was enhanced, whereas the lack of evidence for abrupt basinward stepping of facies belts, coupled with the absence of strong fluvial incision and mature palaeosols, suggests that base‐level fall was suppressed. These architectural features are considered to reflect a tectonic architectural signature, in accordance with the high‐subsidence basinal setting. Evidence for restricted marine influence and variation in floral assemblages suggests modulation by eustatic and climatic effects, although their relative importance is uncertain.