Fossil brines preserved in the St-Lawrence Lowlands, Québec, Canada as revealed by their chemistry and noble gas isotopes

Brines in Cambrian sandstones and Ordovician dolostones of the St-Lawrence Lowlands at Bécancour, Québec, Canada were sampled for analysis of all stable noble gases in order to trace their origin and migration path, in addition to quantifying their residence time. Major ion chemistry indicates that the brines are of Na-Ca-Cl type, possibly derived from halite dissolution. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and Ca excess indicate prolonged interactions with silicate rocks of the Proterozoic Grenville basement or the Cambrian Potsdam sandstone. The brines constrain a 2-3% contribution of mantle ³He and large amounts of nucleogenic ²¹Ne^∗ and ³⁸Ar^∗ and radiogenic ⁴He and ⁴⁰Ar^∗. ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar^∗ and ²¹Ne^∗/⁴⁰Ar^∗ ratios, corrected for mass fractionation during incomplete brine degassing, are identical to their production ratios in rocks. The source of salinity (halite dissolution), plus the occurrence of large amounts of ⁴⁰Ar^∗ in brines constrain the residence time of Bécancour brines as being older than the Cretaceous. Evaporites in the St-Lawrence Lowlands likely existed only during Devonian-Silurian time. Brines might result from infiltration of Devonian water leaching halite, penetrating into or below the deeper Cambrian-Ordovician aquifers. During the Devonian, the basin reached temperatures higher than 250 °C, allowing for thermal maturation of local gas-prone source rocks (Utica shales) and possibly facilitating the release of radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar^∗ into the brines. The last thermal event that could have facilitated the liberation of ⁴⁰Ar^∗ into fluids and contributed to mantle ³He is the Cretaceous Monteregian Hills magmatic episode. For residence times younger than the Cretaceous, it is difficult to find an appropriate source of salinity and of nucleogenic/radiogenic gases to the Bécancour brines.     

Tectonometamorphic evolution of the Atbashi high‐P units (Kyrgyz CAOB,Tien Shan): Implications for the closure of the Turkestan Ocean and continental subduction–exhumation of the South Kazakh continental margin

The South Tien Shan (STS) belt results from the last collision event in the western Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Understanding its formation is of prime importance in the general framework of the CAOB. The Atbashi Range preserves high‐P (HP) rocks along the STS suture, but still, its global metamorphic evolution remains poorly constrained. Several HP units have been identified: (a) a HP tectonic mélange including boudins of mafic eclogites in a sedimentary matrix, (b) a large (>100 km long) high‐P metasedimentary unit (HPMU) and (c) a lower blueschist facies accretionary prism. Raman Spectroscopy on carbonaceous material combined with phengite and chlorite multiequilibria and isochemical phase diagram modelling indicates that the HPMU recorded homogeneous P–T conditions of 23–25 kbar and 560–570°C along the whole unit. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating on phengite from the HPMU ranges between 328 and 319 Ma at regional scale. These ages are interpreted as (re‐) crystallization ages of phengite during T_max conditions at a pressure range of 20–25 kbar. Thermobarometry on samples from the HP tectonic mélange provides similar metamorphic peak conditions. Thermobarometry on the blueschist to lower greenschist facies accretionary prism indicates that it underwent P–T conditions of 5–6 kbar and 290–340°C, highlighting a 17–20 kbar pressure gap between the HPMU‐tectonic mélange units and the accretionary prism. Comparison with available geochronological data suggests a very short time span between the prograde path (340 Ma), HP metamorphic peak (330 Ma), the T_max (328–319 Ma) and the final exhumation of the HPMU (303–295 Ma). Extrusion of the HPMU, accommodated by a basal thrust and an upper detachment, was driven by buoyant forces from 70–75 km up to 60 km depth, which directly followed continental subduction and detachment of the HPMU. At crustal depths, extrusion was controlled by collisional tectonics up to shallow levels. Lithological homogeneity of the HPMU and its continental‐derived character from the North Tien Shan suggest this unit corresponds to the hyper‐extended continental margin of the Kazakh continent, subducted southward below the north continental active margin of the Tarim craton. Integration of the available geological data allows us to propose a general geodynamic scenario for Tien Shan during the Carboniferous with a combination of (a) N‐dipping subduction below the Kazakh margin of Middle Tien Shan until 390–340 Ma and (b) S‐dipping subduction of remaining Turkestan marginal basins between 340 and 320 Ma.     

Perception of landslides risk and responsibility: a case study in eastern Styria, Austria

This paper presents a case study about the perception of landslide risk. Following a major set of landslides in the eastern part of Austria in June 2009, we surveyed local experts, residents who had suffered losses from the landslides, and others living in the affected communities. Overall, the risk perception was significantly higher among those who had been personally affected by a landslide, had knowledge of the geology in the study region, had been affected by another natural hazard, or spent a lot of time outdoors and in touch with nature. Non-experts viewed natural factors as the main causes for the occurrence of landslides, while experts viewed anthropogenic factors as more important. Likewise, non-experts placed a greater emphasis on hard measures (such as retaining walls) to reduce the risk, whereas the experts tended to focus on better information and land-use planning. In terms of responsibility for mitigative actions, a majority of inhabitants believed that public authorities should undertake most of the costs, whereby those who had personal experience with landslides were more likely to favor the government paying for it.     

Non-monotonic Responses of Phytoplankton Biomass Accumulation to Hydrologic Variability: A Comparison of Two Coastal Plain North Carolina Estuaries

Freshwater inputs often play a more direct role in estuarine phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a) accumulation than nitrogen (N) inputs, since discharge simultaneously controls both phytoplankton residence time and N loading. Understanding this link is critical, given potential changes in climate and human activities that may affect discharge and watershed N supply. Chlorophyll a (chla) relationships with hydrologic variability were examined in 3-year time series from two neighboring, shallow (<5?m), microtidal estuaries (New and Neuse River estuaries, NC, USA) influenced by the same climatic conditions and events. Under conditions ranging from drought to floods, N concentration and salinity showed direct positive and negative responses, respectively, to discharge for both estuaries. The response of chla to discharge was more complex, but was elucidated through conversion of discharge to freshwater flushing time, an estimate of transport time scale. Non-linear fits of chla to flushing time revealed non-monotonic, unimodal relationships that reflected the changing balance between intrinsic growth and losses through time and along the axis of each estuary. Maximum biomass occurred at approximately 10-day flushing times for both systems. Residual analysis of the fitted data revealed positive relationships between chla and temperature, suggesting enhanced growth rates at higher temperatures. N loading and system-wide, volume-weighted chla were positively correlated, and biomass yields per N load were greater than other marine systems. When combined with information on loss processes, these results on the hydrologic control of phytoplankton biomass will help formulate mechanistic models necessary to predict ecosystem responses to future climate and anthropogenic changes.     

A clinoenstatite-bearing cumulate Olivine Pyroxenite from Howqua,Victoria

The Howqua Olivine Pyroxenite of eastern Victoria, Australia, intrudes a metamorphosed sequence of Cambrian high-Mg lavas. It crystallized an unusual mineral assemblage: Cr-rich magnesiochromite, olivine (Fo₉₄), and protoenstatite (now inverted to polysynthetically-twinned clinoenstatite). Residual liquid crystallized strongly-zoned interstitial pyroxenes followed by pargasite. Pargasite, often showing quench habit, crystallized in interstitial glass which is now altered to serpentine.The extremely refractory nature of the cumulus phases indicates a very high temperature of crystallization for liquidus olivine and chromite from a high-MgO, low-Al₂O₃ parent liquid similar in some respects to Archaean peridotitic komatiites. The suggested origin by hydrous melting of depleted mantle peridotite, plus other compositional and mineralogical similarities (especially the olivine-liquid reaction producing protoenstatite) indicate that the parent magma of the Howqua Olivine Pyroxenite had many features in common with the high-SiO₂, high-MgO clinoenstatite-bearing boninitic lavas of the Western Pacific. It is interpreted as a more extreme melt with affinities to boninite and it demonstrates that ultramafic magmas existed in the Cambrian.     

Chemistry of alkali extraction of brown coals—I. Kinetics, characterisation and implications to coalification

Three Australian brown coals have been separated into humin and humic acid fractions and studied by high resolution solid state ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and Fourier transform IR spectroscopy. The aromatic rings of the humic acids are highly substituted showing that extensive cross linking must have occurred during formation from wood lignin and tannin. However, the humins contain more aliphatic carbon and hydrogen than the corresponding humic acids. This shows that little cross linking has occurred with other components of the brown coal such as resins, waxes cutin and algal detritus, and cross linking has not rendered the aromatics alkali insoluble. The kinetics of extraction are complex and not simple first order. This is reflected in the chemical composition of the humic acid which is extraction temperature dependent. We also observed that there is a conversion of aromatic carbon to aliphatic carbon and gas during extraction, probably by alkaline oxidation, resulting in ring opening. A range of suitable model compounds have been studied to confirm this finding. Such a mechanism may account for the modification of lignin in oxidising environments such as those occurring in the initial stages of coalification (lignite or brown coal formation) and in soils.     

Buried trees,water table fluctuations,and 3000 years of changing climate in west-central Oklahoma

A sequence of radiocarbon-dated buried trees, buried soils, a carbonate zone, and a molluscan fauna from Carnegie Canyon indicate that between 3200 and 2600 yr B.P. the climate of west-central Oklahoma was drier than today. A high water table accompanied a period of moister climate 2000 to 1000 yr B.P. The water table dropped after 1000 yr B.P. due to a change toward dry conditions.     

Fossil carotenoids and paleolimnology of meromictic Mahoney Lake,British Columbia,Canada

Vertical distribution of fossil carotenoids in a sediment core from meromictic Mahoney Lake was studied. Besides okenone and demethylated okenone, lutein and zeaxanthin and-carotene isomers were identified. No carotenoids typical for purple nonsulfur or green sulfur bacteria were detected. The ratio of zeaxanthin to lutein (above 1:1 in all samples) indicates a dominance of cyanobacteria over green algae in the phytoplankton assemblages of the past. Okenone, which is found exclusively in Chromatiaceae, was the dominating carotenoid in all sediment zones.The oldest sediment layers containing okenone were deposited 11 000 years ago. Between 9000 and 7000 and since 3000 years b.p., Chromatiaceae reached a considerable biomass in the lake. Vertical changes in okenone concentration were not related to changes of paleotemperatures. In contrast, okenone concentrations decreased during periods of volcanic ash input. During most of the lake history, however, mean okenone concentrations were positively correlated with sedimentation rates. This indicates that vertical changes of okenone concentration in the sediment reflect past changes of purple sulfur bacterial biomass in the lake.According to these results, the past limnology of Mahoney Lake resembled that of the present with a sulfide-containing monimolimnion and a well-developed population of okenone-bearing purple sulfur bacteria.     

Episodic granite accumulation and extraction from the mid‐crust

The processes of long‐range granitic magma transfer from mid‐ and lower crustal anatectic zones to upper crustal pluton emplacement sites remain controversial in the literature. This is partly because feeder networks that could have accommodated this large‐scale magma transport remain elusive in the field. Existing granite ascent models are based largely on numerical and theoretical studies that seek to demonstrate the viability of fracture‐controlled magma transport through dykes or self‐propagating hydrofractures. In most cases, the models present very little supporting field evidence, such as sufficiently voluminous near‐ or within‐source magma accumulations, to support their basic premises. We document large (deca‐ to hectometre‐scale), steeply dipping and largely homogeneous granite lenses in suprasolidus (~5 kbar, ~750 °C) mid‐crustal rocks in the Damara Belt in Namibia. The lenses are surrounded by and connected to shallowly dipping networks of stromatic leucogranites in the well‐layered gneisses of the deeply incised Husab Gorge. The outcrops define a four‐stage process from (i) the initial formation and growth of large, subvertical magma‐filled lenses as extension fractures developed at high angles to the subhorizontal regional extension in relatively competent wall‐rock layers. This stage is followed by (ii) the simultaneous lateral inflation and (iii) subcritical vertical growth of the lenses to a critical length that (iv) promotes fracture destabilization, buoyancy‐driven upward fracture mobilization and, consequently, vertical magma transport. These field observations are compared with existing numerical models and are used to constrain, by referring to the dimensions of the largest preserved inflated leucogranite lens, an estimate of the minimum fracture length (~100 m) and volume (~2.4 × 10⁵ m³) required to initiate buoyancy‐driven brittle fracture propagation in this particular mid‐crustal section. The critical values and field relationships compare favourably with theoretical models of magma ascent along vertical self‐propagating hydrofractures which close at their tails during propagation. This process leaves behind subtle wake‐like structures and thin leucogranite trails that mark the path of magma ascent. Reutilization of such conduits by repeated inflation and drainage is consistent with the episodic accumulation and removal of magma from the mid‐crust and is reflected in the sheeted nature of many upper crustal granitoid plutons.