Origin and diagenesis of lacustrine algal bioherms at the margin of the Ries crater, Upper Miocene, southern Germany

The marginal carbonate facies of the Miocene Ries meteorite crater lake in southern Germany contain bioherms up to 7 m high and 15 m across built by the green alga Cladophorites. The algae were externally encrusted during life by micrite, probably precipitated in response to photosynthetic uptake of CO₂, which produced tufts of fine (100 μm diameter), calcareous tubes. Coalescence of tufts, together with incorporation of peloidal and skeletal sand, created nodules and cones of algal tufa which in turn formed larger masses some of which are in the form of compound cones up to 2 m high. The bioherms are constructed by beds and groups of these cones and masses, and are surrounded by poorly cemented peloid, ostracod and gastropod sands. Five depositional and diagenetic stages of development can be distinguished: (1) growth and calcification (probably calcitic) of Cladophorites in shallow fresh- or slightly brackish water; (2) emergence due to a temporary fall in lake level and veneering of the algal tufa and adjacent sediments by laminated sinter; (3) resubmergence and deposition of peloidal and skeletal sands; (4) burial and partial phreatic dolomitization, together with dissolution of aragonite and penecontemporaneous deposition of thin isopachous rims of dolomite rhombs; (5) local vadose cementation by rhombs, spar and spikes of low-magnesian calcite. Stages 1–3 probably occurred several times. Most of the biohermal and surrounding sediments were produced by biological processes in the lake; subaerial sinter deposition and meteoric cementation have contributed relatively minor amounts of material and the majority of the sediments retain porosities of 10–30%.     

Surge marks: are they water-escape structures?

In his recent paper on surge mark formation and morphology, Bull (1978) has provided considerable new and interesting information on these peculiar features. Of particular note is his observation that the laminae within surge marks are continuous and not dissected as would be expected if the surge marks were erosional rills: the previously proposed mechanism of formation (High & Picard, 1968; Picard & High, 1973). Consequently, it becomes necessary to formulate an alternative explanation for surge mark origin, and Bull (1978, p. 885) offers the suggestion that: ‘Surge marks may be the result of selective depositional/erosional processes together with external deformation pressures.’     

An Experimental Study of Nepheline-Kalsilite Exsolution

The nepheline-kalsilite exsolution reaction was studied isothermallybetween 400 and 700°C. Under nonaqueous conditions the mechanisminvolves nucleation of kalsilite and growth by diffusion ofthe alkalis. As predicted by simple nucleation theory, the nucleationrate and hence the over-all exsolution rate are strongly dependenton the supersaturation of the nepheline. A decrease in temperatureat constant composition increases the supersaturation and therebythe nucleation rate. This increased nucleation rate is opposedby the decrease in the growth rate due to slower volume diffusion.At a supersaturation of more than 8–10 mole per cent thenumber of nuclei is large and the over-all exsolution rate isdetermined primarily by the growth rate. The activation energyfor growth is 28 kcal/mole. An increase of two kilobars in thehydrostatic pressure has little effect on the kinetics of thereaction. Under nonhydrostatic conditions the exsolution rateincreases significantly because the nucleation rate is faster. Under hydrothermal conditions the ‘exsolution’ rateis approximately two orders of magnitude faster due to a modificationin the mechanism. Partial dissolution of the original solidsolution in distilled water creates a condition of nonequilibriumin which the fluid is sodium-rich. Rapid alkali exchange eliminatesthis condition but produces the equilibrium compositions ofthe solids because kalsilite nucleates and grows in contactwith the fluid. The experimental evidence for this mechanismincludes X-ray diffraction data showing a gradual change inthe composition of the initial supersaturated solid, essentiallyidentical activation energies for growth under aqueous and nonaqueousconditions, and a lower percentage of oxygen isotope exchangethan ‘exsolution’ in the same experiment.     

Lithified carbonate sediment and zeolitic tuff in basalts, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Basaltic boulders dredged from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge contain lithified coccolith-foraminiferal ooze in fractures and small pockets. Textural and isotopic studies of this sediment provide no evidence for high temperature metamorphism. The lithified carbonate sediment occurs together with palagonitized basaltic glass and zeolitic tuff, and appears to have been squeezed into cracks and other voids within the congealed margins of partly-cooled basalt pillows which intruded soft carbonate ooze. Thermal metamorphism probably was precluded by rapid heat dissipation in convecting pore waters and by the thermal stability of calcareous microplankton. Low temperature alteration of basaltic glass appears to have provided the chemical milieu for precipitation of calcite cement as well as zeolites in the sediment.     

Stability Relations of the Pyroxenes and Olivine in Certain High Grade Metamorphic Rocks

The stability relations of mineral assemblages consisting ofvarious combinations of Capyroxene, orthopyroxene, olivine,quartz, dolomite, calcite, and graphite are treated by analyticalmeans with emphasis on reactions of the following type: MgSiO₃CaCO₃SiO₂CaMgSi₂O₆CO₂ (1) 3MgSiO₃CaCO₃ Mg₂SiO₄CaMgSi₂O₆CO₂ (2) and the associated reactions involving ferrous iron. In particular,reaction (1) is discussed in detail in terms of uncertaintiesinherent in the thermochemical data and the limits placed onits equilibrium constant by the geological conditions of theoccurrence of the observed assemblages. It is shown from theequation of equilibrium of (1) that the composition of orthopyroxeneis a linear function of the carbon dioxide fugacity and thatthe latter is lowered by the presence of the FeSiO₃ component.The latter conclusion is compatible with the rarity of the associationcalcite-orthopyroxcne and its apparent confinement to iron-richrocks. An analysis of the same assemblage involved in reaction (1)indicates that when graphite coexists with the iron-rich pyroxene,the fugacity of oxygen falls near the center of the magnetitefield for a wide range of CO₂ fugacities and temperatures. It is shown that reaction (2) is also displaced strongly tothe right under most metamorphic conditions, which is compatiblewith fairly common occurrence of the association of Capyroxeneand olivine. Finally, a critique is presented on the possibility of the useof the pyroxene-bearing assemblages as indicators of metamorphicgrade and it is concluded that this is not rigorously possiblesince the systems almost invariably possess too many degreesof freedom.     

A REVIEW OF GRAIN-SIZE PARAMETERS

This paper comprises a review of the many graphical and mathematical techniques that have been proposed for the statistical summary of grain-size data. Satellitic problems, such as laboratory techniques, choice of size scales, and interpretation, are only considered briefly.     

Grain scale simulations of loose sedimentary beds: the example of grain-bed impacts in aeolian saltation

Sediment transport by wind is one of many processes of interest to the geomorphologist in which grain to grain contacts play an important role. In order to illustrate the modelling of collections of frictional, inelastic sedimentary grains with the particle dynamics method (PDM), we use the grain impact process in aeolian saltation as a specific example. In PDM, all the forces on each particle are evaluated at a sequence of small time-steps, and the Newtonian equations of motion are integrated forward in time. Interparticle forces at grain contacts are treated as springs with prescribed stiffness (normal force) and by a Coulomb friction law (tangential force); particle inelasticity is represented by spring damping. The granular splash resulting from saltation impacts is assessed for sensitivity to the choice of grain properties, and the integration time-step. We find that for the range of impact speeds and impactor masses relevant to aeolian settings, grain splashes are relatively insensitive to grain stiffness, grain inelasticity and grain friction, and that the pattern of ejection from the bed is largely controlled by bed microtopography. A large set of impact realizations involving a variety of impact points on a small set of target beds is used to collect the appropriate statistics for describing the stochastic splash process. The splash function representing these statistics is then available for use in calculations over longer time-scales, such as the evolution of the saltation curtain. The details given here will enable the interested reader to adapt PDM modelling to other types of clastic sedimentary systems.