∼3,850 Ma tonalites in the Nuuk region,Greenland: geochemistry and their reworking within an Eoarchaean gneiss complex

The Eoarchaean (>3,600 Ma) Itsaq Gneiss Complex of southern West Greenland is dominated by polyphase orthogneisses with a complex Archaean tectonothermal history. Some of the orthogneisses have c. 3,850 Ma zircons, and they vary from rare single phase metatonalites to more common complexly banded migmatites. This is due to heterogeneous strain, in situ anatexis and granitic veining superimposed during younger tectonothermal events. In the single-phase tonalites with c. 3,850 Ma zircon, oscillatory-zoned prismatic zircon is all 3,850 Ma old, but shows patchy ancient loss of radiogenic Pb. SHRIMP spot analyses and laser ablation ICP-MS depth profiling show that thin (usually < 10 μm) younger (3,660–3,590 Ma and Neoarchaean) shells of lower Th/U metamorphic zircon are present on these 3,850 Ma zircons. Several samples with this simple zircon population occur on islands near Akilia. In contrast, migmatites usually contain more complex zircon populations, with often more than one generation of igneous zircon present. Additional zircon dating of banded gneisses across the Complex shows that samples with c. 3,850 Ma igneous zircon are not just a phenomenon restricted to Akilia and adjacent islands. For example, migmatites from Itilleq (c. 65 km from Akilia) contain variable amounts of oscillatory-zoned 3,850 Ma and 3,650 Ma zircon, interpreted, respectively, as the rock age and the time of crustal melting under Eoarchaean metamorphism. With only 110–140 ppm Zr in the tonalites and likely magmatic temperatures of >850°C, zircon solubility–melt composition relationships show that they were only one-third saturated in zircon. Any zircon entrained in the precursor magmas would thus have been highly soluble. Combined with the cathodoluminesence imaging, this demonstrates that the c. 3,850 Ma oscillatory zoned zircon crystallised out of the melt and hence gives a magmatic age. Thus the rare well-preserved tonalites and palaeosome in migmatites testify that c. 3,850 Ma quartzo–feldspathic rocks are a widespread (but probably minor) component in the Itsaq Gneiss Complex. C. 3,850 Ma zircon with negative Eu anomalies (showing growth in felsic systems) also occurs as detrital grains in rare c. 3,800 Ma metaquartzites and as inherited grains in some 3,660 Ma granites (sensu stricto). These demonstrate that still more c. 3,850 Ma rocks were present, but were recycled into Eoarchaean sediments and crustally derived granites. The major and trace element characteristics (e.g. LREE enrichment, HREE depletion, low MgO) of the best-preserved c. 3,850 Ma rocks are typical of Archaean TTG suites, and thus argue for crust formation processes involving important contributions from melting of hydrated mafic crust to the earliest Archaean. Five c. 3,850 Ma tonalites were selected as the best preserved on the basis of field criteria and zircon petrology. Four of these samples have overlapping initial ɛ_Nd (3,850 Ma) values from +2.9 to +3.6± 0.5, with the fourth having a slightly lower value of +0.6. These data provide additional evidence for a markedly LREE-depleted early terrestrial mantle reservoir. The role of c. 3,850 Ma crust should be considered in interpreting isotope signatures of the younger (3,800–3,600 Ma) rocks of the Itsaq Gneiss Complex. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Distorted Froude‐scaled flume analysis of large woody debris

This paper presents the results of a movable‐boundary, distorted, Froude‐scaled hydraulic model based on Abiaca Creek, a sand‐bedded channel in northern Mississippi. The model was used to examine the geomorphic and hydraulic impact of simplified large woody debris (LWD) elements. The theory of physical scale models is discussed and the method used to construct the LWD test channel is developed. The channel model had bed and banks moulded from 0·8 mm sand, and flow conditions were just below the threshold of motion so that any sediment transport and channel adjustment were the result of the debris element. Dimensions and positions of LWD elements were determined using a debris jam classification model. Elements were attached to a dynamometer to measure element drag forces, and channel adjustment was determined through detailed topographic surveys. The fluid drag force on the elements decreased asymptotically over time as the channel boundary eroded around the elements due to locally increased boundary shear stress. Total time for geomorphic adjustment computed for the prototype channel at the Q₂ discharge (discharge occurring once every two years on average) was as short as 45 hours. The size, depth and position of scour holes, bank erosion and bars created by flow acceleration past the elements were found to be related to element length and position within the channel cross‐section. Morphologies created by each debris element in the model channel were comparable with similar jams observed in the prototype channel. Published in 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High-resolution paleoecological analysis of recent disturbance in a southern Chilean Nothofagus forest

A 1600 year paleoecological record of environmental change is developed from a small lake in the Nothofagus forest of southern Chile (45.5°S, 72°W). High resolution fossil pollen, charcoal, sedimentological, and chrysophycean stomatocyst analyses are used to investigate the impacts of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on terrestrial and lacustrine environments. Chronological control is based on a combination of ²¹⁰Pb and ¹⁴C dating. Temporal resolution during the past 150–200 yr is ca. 8 yr/sample. The macroscopic charcoal record correlates very closely with historical and dendroecological records of 20th century anthropogenic burning in this region. The chrysophyte stratigraphy indicates that this burning had immediate impacts on the lake itself, while the pollen record provides evidence for a succession of vegetation changes lagging slightly behind the disturbance. These palynological changes are very similar to the pollen signal of European disturbance in northeastern North America. Pre-European shifts in chrysophyte assemblages may be due to the influence of earthquake activity on the lake, though there is no corroborative evidence in the pollen or charcoal records. This study demonstrates that high resolution paleoecological methods can be used to help bridge the temporal gap between traditional ecological and paleoecological studies of environmental change in the temperate forests of southern South America.     

Significance of lherzolite at the Etang de Lherz,central Pyrenees,southern France

Geologic relationships in the central Pyrenees of southern France demonstrate that lherzolite has been emplaced, as a plastic solid, into middle or upper Cretaceous calcareous rocks; that it has been eroded and clastic peridotite debris deposited in rocks of approximately the same age as those it intruded; and that it has also been juxtaposed against Cretaceous limestone or marble along or within the North Pyrenean fault zone. There are at least three types of late Cretaceous lherzolite breccias known from this region.Metamorphism of the country rock and penetrative deformation of the lherzolite and marble took place during shearing. Shearing was accompanied by an important period of motion (perhaps 85–100 m.y. ago) along the North Pyrenean fault and an associated thermal event which involved temperatures of 400 ± 100°C. Cretaceous metamorphism along the North Pyrenean fault zone was not due to forcible primary hot intrusion of lherzolite.     

The early diagenesis of aliphatic hydrocarbons and organic matter in sedimentary particulates from Dabob Bay,Washington

Aliphatic hydrocarbon compositions were quantitatively characterized in plankton, sediment trap-collected particulate materials and sediments from Dabob Bay using high resolution glass capillary gas chromatography. The average net accumulation of individual hydrocarbons measured in a 1-yr series of sediment traps was compared with the net accumulation of corresponding compounds measured in three depth intervals of ²¹⁰Pb-dated bottom sediments. Systematic and rapid decreases in the net accumulation of individual hydrocarbons were observed from the sediment traps to the sediments. Most pronounced decreases were measured for planktonically derived hydrocarbon constituents (e.g. pristane and two unsaturated compounds) which are rapidly remineralized at or near the sediment-water interface. Consequently, the amount of each compound measured in deposited sediments is not necessarily a quantitative indication of its initial flux to the sediments. The n-alkanes (C_25,27,29,31). characteristic of terrestrial plant waxes, are the predominant hydrocarbons measured by 4–6 cm depth in these sediments and show reasonably constant net accumulation below this interval.Significant diagenetic alteration of the bulk organic matter contained in the average sediment trap particulate material is also noted through comparison with bottom sediments on the basis of organic C/N and δ¹³C measurements. Organic matter elementally similar to marine plankton is preferentially remineralized upon deposition of the sedimentary particulates. The residual organic matter remaining and buried in the bottom sediments closely resembles terrestrial organic matter.     

Sediment failure and sedimentary framework of the wilmington geotechnical corridor,U.S. atlantic continental margin

Seaward of New Jersey and the Baltimore Canyon Trough, a 7500 km² corridor across the continental margin was studied in detail using geotechnical and geophysical techniques. The objective of the study was to identify the sedimentary pattern and bottom processes which have occurred and are active on the continental margin. Delineation of a mid-Pliocene unconformity, present throughout most of the corridor, permits an evaluation of the Quaternary sedimentation pattern and its variability. Sediment failure characterized by large slide blocks and thin layer slide deposits was found on the continental slope and rise within the Quaternary sediments. Spencer and Wilmington Submarine Canyons have been active in channeling large volumes of sediment to the lower slope and rise. An increase in sediment thickness near Wilmington Canyon indicates the importance and activity of the Delaware Bay drainage system during the Pleistocene. Although both Spencer and Wilmington are as old as late Tertiary the Wilmington Valley on the lower slope and rise is a recent topographic feature. Based on geophysical data the numerous valleys that dissect the continental slope and rise appear to be active periodically in the seaward transport of sediment to the deep sea.     

Probable Neolithic footprints preserved in inter-tidal peat at Kenfig, South Wales (UK)

Holocene footprints have been reported from several locations around the UK coast preserved within inter-tidal sediments. These sediments are normally fine-grained silts, sands and clays. Here we report potential human footprints preserved in the lower of two inter-tidal peat units exposed on the foreshore at Kenfig in South Wales. The lower peat layer pre-dates 3810 ± 40 BP and its maximum age is constrained by two dates, one of 4930 ± 50 BP and another of 5110 ± 50 BP. The prints may have formed at any point within this time interval. Both peat units formed in a salt marsh, or fen environment, as indicated by the analysis of both diatoms and pollen and have been tentatively assigned to the middle Wentlooge Formation within the Holocene lithostratigraphy established for the Severn Estuary Holocene sequence. The footprints were digitised using an optical laser scanner and are compared to other Holocene human footprints exposed on the Sefton Coast in North West England. In comparison the Kenfig prints have poor anatomical form which may be the result of both the substrate and post-depositional modification. The paper demonstrates the value of using optical laser scanning in the data capture and analysis of transitory archaeological and geological trace evidence.