Tectonic evolution of the southern margin of Laurasia in the Black Sea region

The Black Sea region comprises Gondwana-derived continental blocks and oceanic subduction complexes accreted to Laurasia. The core of Laurasia is made up of an Archaean–Palaeoproterozoic shield, whereas the Gondwana-derived blocks are characterized by a Neoproterozoic basement. In the early Palaeozoic, a Pontide terrane collided and amalgamated to the core of Laurasia, as part of the Avalonia–Laurasia collision. From the Silurian to Carboniferous, the southern margin of Laurasia was a passive margin. In the late Carboniferous, a magmatic arc, represented by part of the Pontides and the Caucasus, collided with this passive margin with the Carboniferous eclogites marking the zone of collision. This Variscan orogeny was followed by uplift and erosion during the Permian and subsequently by Early Triassic rifting. Northward subduction under Laurussia during the Late Triassic resulted in the accretion of an oceanic plateau, whose remnants are preserved in the Pontides and include Upper Triassic eclogites. The Cimmeride orogeny ended in the Early Jurassic, and in the Middle Jurassic the subduction jumped south of the accreted complexes, and a magmatic arc was established along the southern margin of Laurasia. There is little evidence for subduction during the latest Jurassic–Early Cretaceous in the eastern part of the Black Sea region, which was an area of carbonate sedimentation. In contrast, in the Balkans there was continental collision during this period. Subduction erosion in the Early Cretaceous removed a large crustal slice south of the Jurassic magmatic arc. Subduction in the second half of the Early Cretaceous is evidenced by eclogites and blueschists in the Central Pontides and by a now buried magmatic arc. A continuous extensional arc was established only in the Late Cretaceous, coeval with the opening of the Black Sea as a back-arc basin.     

Primary magmas at Oldoinyo Lengai: The role of olivine melilitites

The paper describes olivine melilitites at Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania, and from tuff cones from the Tanzanian rift valley in the vicinity of Oldoinyo Lengai. Oldoinyo Lengai is the only active carbonatite volcano and is distinguished by its alkali-rich natrocarbonatites. Lengai is also unique for its extreme peralkaline silicate lavas related directly to the natrocarbonatites. Primitive olivine melilitites are, according to their Mg# and Ni, Cr contents, the only candidates in the Lengai area for primary melt compositions. Incompatible trace elements, including REE, constrain the melting process in their sub-lithospheric sources to very low degrees of partial melting in the garnet stability field. The strong peralkaline trend at Oldoinyo Lengai is already recognisable in these primary or near-primary melts. More evolved olivine melilitites, with Mg# < 60 allow the fractionation line in its major and trace element expressions to be followed. Nevertheless, a large compositional gap separates the olivine melilitites and olivine-poorer melilitites from the phonolites and nephelinites that form the bulk of the Lengai cone. These silicate lavas show a high degree of peralkalinity and are highly evolved with very low Mg, Ni and Cr. Prominent examples of the recent evolution are the combeite–wollastonite nephelinites that are unique for Lengai. In their Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope relationships the olivine melilitites define a distinct group with the most depleted Sr and Nd ratios and the most radiogenic Pb isotopes. They are closest to a supposed HIMU end member of the Lengai evolution, which is characterised by an extreme spread in isotopic ratios, explained as a mixing line between HIMU and EM1-like mantle components.     

An Investigation of the Reliability of HF Acid Mixtures in the Bomb Digestion of Silicate Rocks for the Determination of Trace Elements by ICP‐MS

The influence of the mixtures HF‐HNO₃ and HF‐NH₄F‐HNO₃ in bomb digestion for trace element determination from different rock types was studied using ICP‐MS. It is shown that the HF concentration, not the ratio of reagents in the decomposing mixture, controls the digestion process of a rock. Data for Zr in the granite G‐2 as a function of HF concentration gave the same results as reaction mixtures of various compositions. A complete digestion in 50‐mg sample bombs was achieved by 1.0 ml of HF alone, or with a mixture of other acids at a HF concentration of at least 35% m/m at 196 °C over 18 h. The results of the analysis of basalts BCR‐1, BIR‐1, mica schist SDC‐1, shale SBC‐1, granites G‐2, SG‐1A, garnet‐biotite plagiogneiss GBPg‐1, rhyolite RGM‐1, granodiorite GSP‐1, trachyandesite MTA‐1 and rhyolite MRh‐1 are given and compared against available data. The reproducibility of the element determinations by ICP‐MS and XRF as an independent non‐destructive analysis for a quality check in the range of concentrations typical for routine rock samples is given.     

Evidence of multiple thermokarst lake generations from an 11 800‐year‐old permafrost core on the northern Seward Peninsula,Alaska

Permafrost degradation influences the morphology, biogeochemical cycling and hydrology of Arctic landscapes over a range of time scales. To reconstruct temporal patterns of early to late Holocene permafrost and thermokarst dynamics, site‐specific palaeo‐records are needed. Here we present a multi‐proxy study of a 350‐cm‐long permafrost core from a drained lake basin on the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska, revealing Lateglacial to Holocene thermokarst lake dynamics in a central location of Beringia. Use of radiocarbon dating, micropalaeontology (ostracods and testaceans), sedimentology (grain‐size analyses, magnetic susceptibility, tephra analyses), geochemistry (total nitrogen and carbon, total organic carbon, δ¹³C_org) and stable water isotopes (δ¹⁸O, δD, d excess) of ground ice allowed the reconstruction of several distinct thermokarst lake phases. These include a pre‐lacustrine environment at the base of the core characterized by the Devil Mountain Maar tephra (22 800±280 cal. a BP, Unit A), which has vertically subsided in places due to subsequent development of a deep thermokarst lake that initiated around 11 800 cal. a BP (Unit B). At about 9000 cal. a BP this lake transitioned from a stable depositional environment to a very dynamic lake system (Unit C) characterized by fluctuating lake levels, potentially intermediate wetland development, and expansion and erosion of shore deposits. Complete drainage of this lake occurred at 1060 cal. a BP, including post‐drainage sediment freezing from the top down to 154 cm and gradual accumulation of terrestrial peat (Unit D), as well as uniform upward talik refreezing. This core‐based reconstruction of multiple thermokarst lake generations since 11 800 cal. a BP improves our understanding of the temporal scales of thermokarst lake development from initiation to drainage, demonstrates complex landscape evolution in the ice‐rich permafrost regions of Central Beringia during the Lateglacial and Holocene, and enhances our understanding of biogeochemical cycles in thermokarst‐affected regions of the Arctic.     

Discs and haloes in pre-main-sequence stars

We study the infrared (IR) emission from flared discs with and without additional optically thin haloes. Flux calculations of a flared disc in vacuum can be considered a special case of the more general family of models in which the disc is imbedded in an optically thin halo. In the absence of such a halo, flux measurements can never rule out its existence because the disc flaring surface defines a mathematically equivalent halo that produces the exact same flux at all IR wavelengths. When a flared disc with height H at its outer radius R is imbedded in a halo whose optical depth at visual wavelengths is  τ_halo  , the system IR flux is dominated by the halo whenever  τ_halo > (1/4) H / R   . Even when its optical depth is much smaller, the halo can still have a significant effect on the disc temperature profile. Imaging is the only way to rule out the existence of a potential halo, and we identify a decisive test that extracts a signature unique to flared discs from imaging observations.     

Identification of sinkhole development mechanism based on a combined geophysical study in Nahal Hever South area (Dead Sea coast of Israel)

Seismic refraction, magnetic resonance sounding (MRS), and the transient electromagnetic (TEM) method were applied to investigate the geological and hydrogeological conditions in the Nahal Hever South sinkhole development area at the Dead Sea (DS) coast of Israel. Microgravity and MRS results reliably reveal large karst cavity in the central part of investigated area. The map of the seismic velocity shows that sinkholes in Nahal Hever can be divided into two major groups: sinkholes close to the salt edge and sinkholes over compact salt formations between a few tens to a hundred meters from the major cavern. The present study shows that the formation of sinkholes of the first group is caused by soil collapsing into the cavern. In the area occupied by sinkholes of the second group, karst was not detected either by MRS or by seismic diffraction methods. TEM results reveal shallow clay layer saturated with DS brine underlain sinkholes of this group. It allows suggestion that the water drainage and intensive water circulation during rain events wash out fine rock particles from the unsaturated zone into the pre-existing cavern, initiating the formation of sinkholes of the second group. Karst development takes place at a very low bulk resistivity (<1 Ω m) of the DS aquifer, attesting to the fact that pores are filled with a highly saline solution. Refilling of the karstic cavities with collapsing and flushed soil slows down sinkhole development in the area. The sinkhole formation cycle at the site is estimated at 10 years. Sinkhole development throughout the studied area is triggered by a drop in the level of the DS, which reduces the head of the confined aquifer and the strength of the overlain sediments.