Gravels of the River Thames as a guide to Pleistocene catchment changes

Variability of composition and of pebble shape in river gravels are discussed. Catchment changes, progressive down-valley changes and less systematic cross-valley effects are recognized as sources of variability. Intercomponent ratios and pebble shape are analysed in the Pleistocene gravels of the Thames and its tributaries between High Wycombe and Hertford in England, and evidence of catchment change is identified. Glaciation on one or more occasions in the upper catchment of the Thames in the pre-Anglian Pleistocene is suggested to explain the high frequencies (>50 per cent) of far-travelled material in pre-Anglian gravels. The pattern of drainage development in the Vale of St. Albans at the time of the Anglian glaciation is also discussed     

Fluid Transfer in High-grade Metamorphic Terrains Intruded by Anorogenic Granites: The Thor Range, Antarctica

A composite intrusive igneous complex in the central mountainrange of Queen Maud Land (Thor Range), Antarctica, displayscharacteristic features of anorogenic granites. A suite of massiveintrusives and various sets of dykes and satellite intrusionsare ferroan, alkalic to alkali–calcic, and weakly peraluminous.An early set of plutons consists of charnockitic alkali-granites;a later group of plutons comprises fayalite Qtz-syenites. Coarsemesoperthite is the dominant mineral in all rocks, quartz isabundant and plagioclase is a minor mineral. Olivine (fayalite)is the characteristic mafic mineral, but subcalcic augite andoccasionally pigeonite or orthopyroxene are present. In mostsamples, amphibole is the dominant mafic mineral and its compositionis close to end-member hastingsite. It contains high concentrationsof F and Cl. Some samples contain igneous fluorite. Thermobarometrysuggests a temperature of 900 ± 25°C and a pressureof 0·4 ± 0·1 GPa for the crystallizationconditions of the pyroxene–olivine assemblages. The solidustemperature of 800–850°C for both suites of plutonicrocks is typical of water-deficient granitic melts. The estimatedlow water activity of 0·3–0·5 at solidusconditions is consistent with the high halogen content of thebulk-rocks and their constituent minerals. In the absence ofan aqueous fluid, the halogens remained in the minerals at thesolidus. Oxygen fugacity stayed below QFM in all igneous rocksabove solidus. This is typical of melts derived from partialmelting of mafic source rocks. The igneous rocks were locallyaffected by at least three distinct episodes of hydration. Asthe melt approached solidus conditions, fayalite and pyroxenewere locally transformed into hastingsite as a result of increasingfugacity of volatile components. Fayalite-free and fayalite-bearingigneous rocks are arranged in banded structures. Subsolidushydration locally modified the igneous rocks and transformedpyroxene- and fayalite-bearing granites into biotite-granitesand hornblende-granites in which all evidence of former high-Thistory was erased. This local hydration of igneous rocks occurredin response to uptake of H₂O that had been given off by gneissicxenoliths as a result of progressing, continuous, dehydrationreactions. The reactions in the gneiss xenoliths were drivenby contact metamorphism. This exchange of H₂O between igneousand metamorphic rocks occurred in a fluid-absent regime at temperaturesof about 750°C. Late reaction veins formed by hydraulicfracturing of the plutonic rocks and indicate the presence ofa low-density fluid phase at amphibolite facies conditions. KEY WORDS: anorogenic granite; fayalite; hastingsite; fluid recycling; Antarctica     

Evolution of Low-Al Orthopyroxene in the Horoman Peridotite, Japan: an Unusual Indicator of Metasomatizing Fluids

Unusually alumina-poor orthopyroxene is found in a spinel peridotitefrom the Horoman Peridotite Complex, Japan. Al₂O₃, Cr₂O₃ andCaO contents in the low-Al orthopyroxene (named Low-Al OPX hereafter)are <0·25 wt %, <0·04 wt % and <0·3wt %, respectively, and are distinctively lower than those inorthopyroxene porphyroclasts. The Low-Al OPX occurs in two modes,both at the margin of olivine. The first mode of occurrenceis as the rim of a large orthopyroxene porphyroclast in contactwith olivine. This type of Low-Al OPX occurs only locally (15µm x 45 µm), and the orthopyroxene rim in contactwith olivine more commonly has normal Al₂O₃ contents (>2wt %). In the second mode of occurrence, the Low-Al OPX occursas a thin film, 5 µm x 50 µm in dimension, at agrain boundary between olivine and clinopyroxene. Trace elementcompositions of porphyroclast clinopyroxene in the sample indicatethat the sample having the Low-Al OPX underwent metasomatismalthough there are no hydrous minerals around the Low-Al OPX.Petrographic observations and trace element compositions ofclinopyroxene combined with an inferred P–T history ofthe Horoman peridotite suggest that the Low-Al OPX was formedthrough a very local reaction between peridotite and invasivefluids, probably formed by dehydration of a subducted slab,in a late stage of the history of the Horoman peridotite. Crystallizationof orthopyroxene, representing addition of silica to mantlelherzolite via a CO₂ + H₂O-bearing fluid phase, is a mechanismfor metasomatic alteration of mantle wedge peridotite. KEY WORDS: Horoman Peridotite Complex; low-Al orthopyroxene; metasomatism; mantle wedge     

Quaternary glaciations of the Rongbuk Valley,Tibet

Randomisation tests on boulder weathering data distinguish moraines of four different ages in the Rongbuk Valley, all deposited by valley glaciers flowing northward into Tibet from the Himalaya. Lichenometry utilising subgenus Rhizocarpon distinguishes two groups of moraines, those <100 yr old and those older than several thousand years. The degree of soil development has a similar, limited utility in relative-age dating these moraines. The radiocarbon ages of calcium carbonate coatings in the lower horizons of moraine soils provide minimum-limiting ages of 1900 yr BP for the penultimate advance of the Rongbuk glacier (Samdopo moraine) and 9500 yr BP for the Rongbuk moraine, the moraine suggested by previous workers to represent the last glacial maximum. Equilibrium-line depression associated with the Rongbuk moraine probably was slight, <200 m. The small magnitude of this depression relative to glaciers in other mountain ranges could relate to a weakening of the monsoon in full glacial times, recent tectonic uplift, and/or to the insensitivity of these high-altitude glaciers to lowering temperatures in the rain shadow of Mount Everest.     

Ideal shocks in 2‐layer flow Part II: Under a passive layer

In this second part of the study, ideal shock theory in two‐layer stratified flow is extended to include a third passive layer (i.e., a two and a half layer system). With the presence of a passive layer, two linear wave modes and "viscous tail modes" exist, complicating the solubility conditions and uniqueness proofs for two layer shocks. It is found however, that shocks can be unambiguously classified as external or internal based on the states of criticality that they connect. The steepening condition, while still necessary, provides a less restrictive constraint than it did with a rigid lid. Thus, we have to rely more on solutions to the full viscous shock equations to establish shock existence. The detailed structure, momentum exchange, and Bernoulli loss in a viscous shock are examined using an analytical weak shock solution and a set of numerical solutions for shocks with finite amplitudes. A shock regime diagram ( F ₁ by F ₂) is constructed based on the numerical integration of the full viscous shock equations. For strong external jumps, a cusp region (i.e., in the sense of catastrophe theory) is identified on the regime diagram. For pre‐shock states within the cusp, three end states are possible and two of these are realizable. The cusp has several physical implications. It indicates that an equal distribution of dissipation between the two layers in shocks is mathematically possible but physically inaccessible. It also allows hysteresis in time varying flows, and promotes the occurrence of double shocks (i.e., closely spaced shocks of different character). The results are compared with classical shock solutions and a set of time dependent numerical experiments.     

The National Science Foundation National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis

Abstract

The National Science Foundation will soon establish a National Center devoted to geographical research and education based on geographical information systems (GIS). The Center will be located at a university chosen on the basis of competitive proposals that will be evaluated primarily on the quality of their research agendas. The winning institution will be expected to involve government agencies and private firms in Center operations and programmes, and it will be expected to serve the national GIS community. The Center arose from a suggestion made by a member of the GIS research community. A large-scale database initiative and a Foundation commitment to Science and Technology Centers provided an institutional environment hospitable to the Center. There are similarities and differences in the approach taken toward GIS research, policy and applications in the United Kingdom (UK) and in the United States (US). Those similarities and differences offer promising topics for collaborative research on GIS itself and on GIS as an information technology affecting the discipline of geography. Cross-national UK-US research would be a productive step toward the globalization of GIS and GIS research.     

Teaching the principles of GIS: lessons from the GISTutor project

Abstract

With the rapid growth in the use of geographical information systems (GIS) has come an acute shortage of skills. Although traditional techniques of education and training based on courses at various levels are being widely exploited, there is special potential in GIS for the use of demonstrators and tutors. Such computer aided learning (CAL) tools offer an effective way of putting across the graphical concepts which are vital to GIS as well as offering an attractive form of self-paced study. This paper discusses the contribution of CAL tools to GIS education and offers a short history of the techniques. A case study of the development of the Geographical Information Systems Tutor (GISTutor) is also used to illustrate the educational and technical issues behind the creation and use of such a tool.