Fold development in the Jura

The term “folding” encompasses a wide range of processes, most of which are poorly understood. Jura folds, though comparatively simple, have developed by a superposition of different types of instabilities both in space and time. They are never periodic and sinusoidal and are more realistically approximated by kink bands with rounded hinges. Thrusting and kinking instabilities had closely similar thresholds, with kinks usually following and deforming thrusts. An analysis of embryonic folds shows that instabilities in the sedimentary cover were initiated primarily at inherited flaws of the basal décollement layer. They thence spread upward, often following stratigraphically higher incompetent layers in secondary décollement and there nucleating secondary instabilities before reaching the surface (disharmonic folding). Embryonic folds thus are usually narrow, emanating from secondary décollement layers that are connected with the basal décollement zone by thrusts nucleated at inherited obstacles. These are eventually overcome, permitting basal décollement to coalesce with kinking instabilities that grow downward from nuclei in higher décollement intervals. In this way folds centered in the basal décollement layer, and consequently of normal width, may be superposed on the narrow embryonic folds. The sequence and importance of the different elements may vary from place to place to result in a vast catalog of fold shapes.     

The northern limits of glacial lake Algonquin in upper Michigan

A number of ancient shorelines formed by late-Pleistocene proglacial lakes have been found in eastern upper Michigan. These shorelines delimit several water planes, the uppermost of which is correlated with the Main Lake Algonquin stage. This correlation is based on the continuity of the highest water plane with Main Algonquin shorelines in Wisconsin and Ontario, the strength of the shoreline features, its altitudinal relationship with lower water planes, and a reinterpretation of radiocarbon dates from the Sault Ste. Maria area. The isobases of this water plane have a bearing of S75°E. At the time of the maximum extent of Lake Algonquin, ca. 10,600 yr B.P., its northern, ice-limited border lay along the Munising moraine, the northernmost of the two main morainic systems of eastern upper Michigan. This interpretation lends support to the idea of a period of slow deglaciation from ca. 11,000 to 10,000 yr B.P. An ice lobe occupied the central Lake Superior basin until early Holocene time. Radiocarbon dates on wood found beneath till or outwash at several sites indicate a minor ice readvance from the central Lake Superior basin ca. 10,000 yr B.P. If true, this would have prevented the development of the post-Duluth series of glacial lakes in the western Lake Superior basin until ca. 9900 yr B.P., well after the end of the main Lake Algonquin stage.     

The major‐ and trace‐element whole‐rock fingerprints of Egyptian basalts and the provenance of Egyptian artefacts

Discrimination diagrams have been developed that source Egyptian basaltic artefacts using whole‐rock major element geochemistry. These include K₂O versus SiO₂, TiO₂ and P₂O₅ against MgO/Fe₂O₃^t (total Fe as Fe₂O₃), and a discriminant analysis diagram using SiO₂, Fe₂O₃^t, CaO, and MnO. A complementary set of diagrams uses easily obtained trace element data (Nb/Y versus Zr/Nb; Zr [ppm] versus Rb/Sr; TiO₂ [wt % volatile free] versus V; and Cr [ppm] versus Zr/Y) to determine the bedrock sources. These diagrams have been applied to seven First Dynasty basalt vessels (Abydos), two Fourth Dynasty basalt paving stones (Khufu's funerary temple, Giza), and two Fifth Dynasty paving stones (Sahure's complex, Abu Sir). They show that the bedrock source for all the artefacts was the Haddadin flow in northern Egypt. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis applied to the whole‐rock data (major elements and trace elements together) and previously published mineral fingerprinting studies confirm these results. Comparing mineral versus whole‐rock fingerprinting techniques, a major advantage of the former is the small sample size required (0.001 g compared to ≥ 0.1 g). Analytical costs are similar for both methods assuming that a comparison (bedrock) database can be assembled from the literature. For most archaeological problems, a whole‐rock bedrock database is more likely to exist than a mineral database, and whole‐rock analyses on artefacts will generally be easier to obtain than mineral analyses. Whole‐rock fingerprinting may be more sensitive than mineral‐based fingerprinting. Thus, if sample quantity is not an issue, whole‐rock analysis may have a slight cost, convenience, and technical advantage over mineral‐based methods. Our results also emphasize that the Egyptians cherished their Haddadin basalt flow and used it extensively and exclusively for manufacturing basalt vessels and paving stones for at least 600 years (∼3150 B.C. to 2500 B.C., approximate ages of the vessels and Abu Sir paving stones, respectively). © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Significance of Europium anomalies in silicate melts and crystal-melt equilibria: a re-evaluation

Although europium speciation in silicate melts partly reflects prevailing oxygen fugacities, melt composition and structure play the major role in determining Eu²⁺/ Eu³⁺ ratios and europium partitioning into mineral phases. Experimental evidence by different investigators on the magnitude of the compositional effect on Eu²⁺/Eu³⁺ provides consistent results only if account is taken of the oxygen buffer system employed in the experiments. The medium-dependent reduction of europium can be understood in terms of the preferential stabilization of Eu²⁺ by a strong aluminosilicate complex in the melt phase, and to a much lesser degree by metasilicate complexes. The stability of these complexes increases as the field strength of the associated cation species decreases. Hence Eu²⁺-aluminosilicate complexes are preferentially stabilized relative to trivalent lanthanides in melts of appropriate composition and their presence minimizes the enthalpy of the melt. The influence of these complexes is particularly pronounced in melts with a high feldspathic component and a strongly polymerized structure. Their petrogenetic influence is best documented through the behaviour of europium relative to the other lanthanides during anhydrous anatexis in high-grade metamorphic terrains and in the anomalous europium partition coefficients of phenocryst phases which formed during the crystallization of highly silicic magmas.     

全球变化下地表反照率研究进展

地表反照率表征地球表面对太阳辐射的反射能力,决定着地表与大气之间辐射能量的分配过程,是影响地球气候系统的关键变量。在全球变化日益突出的今天,地表反照率与全球变化的相互影响机制已经成为地球科学研究领域的热点问题之一。地表反照率的细微变化,会影响到地气系统的能量收支平衡,进而引起区域以至全球气候变化。详细介绍地表反照率影响...     

Pravčice Rock Arch (Bohemian Switzerland National Park, Czech Republic) deterioration due to natural and anthropogenic weathering

The dominant factors affecting the development of weathering forms on the Prav?ice Rock Arch (PRA) (Bohemian Switzerland National Park, Czech Republic) are discussed, based on the in situ monitoring of weathering forms, as well as on laboratory studies of materials taken from this site. The in situ monitoring shows the progressive development of distinct weathering forms (delamination of case-hardened rock surfaces, cyclic efflorescence, and granular disintegration of exposed weakly cemented rock mass) in specific portions of the PRA, whose location is controlled by lithology, jointing/local hydrodynamics, and exposure to climatic factors. From the analysis of efflorescence, the dominance of sulphates is evident; particularly of gypsum and alums. However, the synergistic effects of the several salt species (that also include minor nitrates and chlorides) upon the mechanical disintegration of sandstone can be expected.     

The lower boundary of the Adelaide system and older basement relationships in south Australia∗

The stratigraphical problem of defining the lower boundary of the Adelaide System is discussed in relation to the geology of several critical areas in the Adelaide Geosyncline and adjacent shelf‐platform.

The Precambrian stratigraphical succession and geological history is outlined with the aid of Rb/Sr age‐determinations made by Dr W. Compston of the Australian National University.

It is concluded that the lower boundary of the Adelaide System is related to the collapse of older basement positive areas on which a regional erosional surface had developed. This surface is defined by the Callanna Beds, the oldest deposits of Willouran age. Willouran sedimentation began some time between 1,340 m.y. and 1,490 m.y. ago. Erosion of the basement rocks probably occupied a major early part of this time interval.     

Application of the photoacoustic method for characterization of natural galena (PbS)

Electron transport properties of single crystal and polycrystalline natural mineral galena (PbS) samples from the Trep?a mine, Yugoslavia, were determined using the photoacoustic frequency transmission technique. Their thermal diffusivity (D _T≈0.16 × 10^?5 m² s^?1), the coefficient of diffusion (D between 0.15×10^?2 0.16×10^?2 m² s^?1) and lifetime of the excess carrier (τ≈35 μs and the front and rear recombination velocity (s _g≈65.5 m s^?1 and s _b≈66.4 m s^?1, respectively), were calculated by comparing the experimental results and the theoretical photoacoustic amplitude and phase signals. The lattice parameter obtained by X-ray work was a?=5.936?Å. The free carrier concentration of these single-crystal samples was measured using the Hall method (N?=?3×10¹⁸ cm^?3). Measurements of the optical reflectivity of the same samples, as a function of wavelength, in the infrared and far infrared ranges, were performed. In the far infrared range a free electron plasma frequency was observed and numerically analyzed, using the least-squares fitting procedure. The values of optical parameters were calculated and the value of the free carrier concentration obtained by the Hall method was confirmed.     

Composition and formation conditions of pay zones in the lower Cretaceous Nizhnyaya Kheta and Yakovlevo formations within the Vankor oil-and-gas field (in the Northeast of West Siberia)

Sedimentologic analysis of cores from wells sunk in the Vankor petroleum field allowed refinement of the accumulation conditions producing the sandy strata of the Nizhnyaya Kheta River (Nizhnekhetsky) Formation accumulated in the coastal marine zone and of the Yakovlevo (Yakovlevsky) Formation accumulated under alluvial-deltaic conditions. Petrographic examination of the sandstones added information on the sources, transport, and accumulation conditions of the terrigenous material in the northeastern marginal part of the West Siberian sedimentation basin.