A macroscale analysis of coastal steepening around the coast of England and Wales

Coastal steepening potentially presents an array of management issues in the form of financial implications of sea defence degradation, increased risk posed to the hinterland as wave attenuation is reduced, 'coastal squeeze' and statutory requirements in the light of the Habitats Directive. The extent to which coastal steepening has occurred throughout England and Wales has been investigated through use of a GIS and dataset based on historical Ordnance Survey map information. Data were collected along 1084 selected profile lines, positioned so as to be geomorphologically representative of the coast. Features recorded from each map year included the positions of mean high water (MHW) and mean low water (MLW), the relative movements of which infer changing intertidal gradients. The results presented in this paper are on a subject and scale not previously published. It is revealed that 61% of the coastline studied has experienced a tendency towards steepening. Of the remainder, 33% has flattened, and 6% has experienced no rotational movement. This tendency towards steepening has been the dominant movement on each of the west, south, and east coasts.     

Monumental space and the uncanny

This paper takes up the attempt to theorize the relation between the subjectivity of the political actor and the ideological aura of the monumental site. It does this with reference to the spatial history of Strijdom Square in Pretoria, South Africa, a cultural precinct and monumental space which was the site of a series of brutal racist killings committed by the Square’s unrelated namesake, militant right-winger Barend Strydom. This troubling intersection of subjectivity, space and ideology represents something of an explanatory limit for spatio-discursive approaches, certainly in as much as they are ill-equipped to conceptualize the powerfully affective, bodily and fantasmatic qualities of monumental spaces. In contrast to such approaches I offer a psychoanalytically informed account which grapples with the individualized and imaginative identities of space, with space as itself a form of subjectivity. I do this so as understand the ideological aura of monuments as importantly linked to the ‘intersubjectivity’ of subject and personified space. I then turn to Freud’s notion of the uncanny as a theory able to explain a series of disturbing affects of monuments, such as those of ‘embodied absence’ and ‘disembodied presence’. These and similar affects of ‘ontological dissonance’ (such as unexplained instances of doubling or repetition) may function in an ideological manner, both so as to impose a ‘supernaturalism of power’, and to effect an uncanny form of interpellation.     

Influence of tectonic structures on the Hope Slide, British Columbia, Canada

The Hope Slide, which occurred on January 9, 1965, involved an estimated 47-Mm³ of meta-volcanics and intrusive rocks. Previous workers reported the presence of tectonic structures (faults and shear zones) along the failure surface at the Hope Slide. These tectonic features were investigated in detail to assess their effects on rock-mass quality and the related implications for slope stability. This paper integrates basic field and laboratory concepts from structural and engineering geology. Subdividing the failure area into structural domains allowed distinct discontinuity sets to be associated with specific tectonic structures. The Geological Strength Index (GSI) was used to estimate the rock-mass damage related to the tectonic structures. Low GSI values were seen to outline tectonic damage zones. Point-load tests were used to characterise the compressive strength of rocks adjacent to the tectonic structures. Strength anisotropy, tentatively attributed to damage caused by a large shear zone, was observed in greenstone samples. Seepage zones along the failure surface were observed preferentially along shallow discontinuities that dipped downslope and in rock masses of good quality (GSI > 40). An alternative morphology of the slope failure is proposed by distinguishing between the extent of the surficial damage due to the rock-slope failure and the zone of failed material (depletion zone). For the first time, a kinematic mechanism for the Hope Slide is proposed, based on a preliminary 3-dimensional block model. A pre-1965 DEM was produced from estimates of material lost and gained as reported by previous workers. The pre-1965 DEM revealed that the tectonic structures recognised during fieldwork bounded the material that failed in the 1965 event.     

Martian Topography: Scaling, Craters, and High-Order Statistics

The high-order structure functions of Mars topography reveal three specific ranges of scales: (1) scaling range at small scales where the structure functions exhibit scaling behavior; (2) transition range where the structure functions continue to grow but do not reveal scaling; and (3) saturation range at large scales where the structure functions saturate. The scaling and saturation ranges are explored in detail in respect to scaling and intermittency. Analysis of the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data and computer simulations suggest that there are two potential contributors to the small-scale scaling: (i) scale-invariant surface formation; and (ii) effects of discrete morphological forms such as craters. The crater effect also provides an explanation for the large-scale intermittency revealed using the normalized structure functions within the saturation range, which cannot be explained by the ‘scale-invariant’ concept. Overall, the obtained results suggest that the “crater” contribution to the structure function behavior often dominates over the effect of the scale-invariant surface formation.     

9: Processes of tectonism, magmatism and mineralization: Lessons from Europe

Metallogenic provinces in Europe range in age from the Archaean to the Neogene. Deposit types include porphyry copper and epithermal Cu–Au, volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VMS), orogenic gold, Fe-oxide–Cu–Au, anorthosite Fe–Ti-oxide and sediment-hosted base-metal deposits. Most of them formed during short-lived magmatic events in a wide range of tectonic settings; many can be related to specific tectonic processes such as subduction, hinge retreat, accretion of island arcs, continental collision, lithosphere delamination or slab tear. In contrast, most sediment-hosted deposits in Europe evolved in extensional, continental settings over significant periods of time. In Europe, as elsewhere, ore formation is an integral part of the geodynamic evolution of the Earth's crust and mantle. Many tectonic settings create conditions conducive to the generation of water-rich magma, but the generation of ore deposits appears to be restricted to locations and short periods of change in temperature and stress, imposed by transitory plate motions. Crustal influence is evident in the strong structural controls on the location and morphology of many ore deposits in Europe. Crustal-scale fault–fracture systems, many involving strike-slip elements, have provided the fabric for major plumbing systems. Rapid uplift, as in metamorphic core complexes, and hydraulic fracturing can generate or focus magmatic–hydrothermal fluid flow that may be active for time spans significantly less than a million years. Once a hydrologically stable flow is established, ore formation is strongly dependent on the steep temperature and pressure gradients experienced by the fluid, particularly within the upper crust. In Europe, significant fracture porosity deep in the crystalline basement (1%) is not only important for magmatic–hydrothermal systems, but allows brines to circulate down through sedimentary basins and then episodically upward, expelled seismically to produce sediment-hosted base-metal deposits and Kupferschiefer copper deposits. Emerging research, stimulated by GEODE, can improve the predicting power of numerical simulations of ore-forming processes and help discover the presence of orebodies beneath barren overburden.     

Geology and Metal Contents of the Ruttan volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit, northern Manitoba, Canada

The Paleoproterozoic Ruttan Cu–Zn volcanogenic massive-sulfide (VMS) deposit is a large, relatively low grade, bimodal-siliciclastic type deposit in the Rusty Lake volcanic belt of northern Manitoba. The deposit contained over 82.8 million tonnes of massive sulfide, of which 55.7 million tonnes were mined from 1973 to 2002. The deposit consists of a series of moderately to steeply dipping, south-facing lenses that extend along strike at the surface for 1.1 km and to a depth of 1.0 km. These lenses occur within a steeply dipping, bimodal volcanic, volcaniclastic and siliciclastic sequence. In the immediate mine area, transitional calc-alkalic to high-silica (tholeiitic), felsic, and intermediate volcanic/volcaniclastic rocks of the Mine Sequence are host to, and intercalated with, the massive-sulfide lenses. Transitional tholeiitic to calc-alkalic basalt and andesite are present in the footwall sequence, approximately 500 m down-section from the ore horizon. The overlying rocks are predominantly fine-grained volcaniclastics and siliciclastics, but include polyfragmental agglomerate that contains mafic bombs and scoriaceous felsic fragments. Syn-depositional felsic and mafic dikes, sills, and apophyses are ubiquitous throughout the Mine Sequence, including the ore lenses, indicating continued, near-vent magmatism, and volcanism during ore formation. Fabrics in altered hostrocks have consistent, down-plunge stretching lineations to the SSE that suggest the deposit has been elongated by a factor of ~1.2–1.5; otherwise, the deposit is remarkably undeformed. Syn- and post-depositional faults in the mine area have relatively minor displacements up to tens of meters. Proximal (within 200 m) footwall rocks exhibit moderate to strong chloritization, characterized by the upper greenschist to lower amphibolite facies assemblages that include cordierite–almandine–andalusite–sillimanite–biotite ± staurolite ± anthophyllite ± talc, and local silicification. The proximal hanging wall rocks are characterized by sericite ± gahnite alteration, which is restricted to within approximately 75 m of the uppermost lenses. Additional gangue minerals are anhydrite and carbonate minerals (siderite, dolomite, ankerite, and calcite), as well as chlorite, sericite, biotite, talc, and quartz. Carbonate (excluding siderite), potassium feldspar, silicification and epidotization are common distal alteration zones in the footwall to the Mine Sequence several kilometers to the northeast. There are three principal groups of massive sulfide lenses; the East lenses, the West lenses, and the Western Anomaly lenses to the far west. In general, Cu is relatively enriched at the stratigraphic base and in the center of the deposit, whereas Zn is enriched upsection and at the outer margins. Some of the Zn-rich ore exhibits primary mineralogical layering. Parts of the West and Western Anomaly lenses show two layers with Cu-rich bases and Zn-rich tops. The massive sulfide is typically 10–40-m thick; one area along the margin of the main lenses is over 130-m thick and may represent deposition adjacent to a syn-depositional fault. The main sulfide phases are pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena, with tetrahedrite as the most abundant trace phase. Gahnite is ubiquitous in the chlorite-rich assemblages adjacent to the ore lenses. The average base, precious and trace metal contents estimated from Cu and Zn concentrates, and from millhead grades and recoveries. Metals easily transported as chloride and bisulfide complexes in hydrothermal fluids including: Pb, Ag, In, Cu, Cd, Au, and Zn are enriched by 1.5–2.5 orders of magnitude in comparison to the bulk continental crust. Other elements such as Sn, Mo, and As are at near-crustal concentrations, whereas Mn, Ga, and Co are significantly depleted in comparison to the crust. Calculated metal concentrations in the average hydrothermal fluid based on the average metal contents are comparable to, or higher than those measured at sediment covered ridge hydrothermal systems, which precipitate much of their metal budget in the subsurface. Average rare earth element contents for the sulfide are light rare earth element enriched (La_N/Yb_N=22) and range from 0.45 to 0.02x chondritic values, with a moderate negative Eu anomaly (Eu*=0.51). Metal and trace element contents in the Ruttan exhalite horizon, and in proximal (within 1–2 km) exhalites along strike from the 0.6 million tonne Dar-2 Cu–Zn deposit 12 km south of Ruttan, have positive Eu anomalies, whereas negative Eu anomalies are present at distance. The positive Eu anomalies reflect high temperature paleoseafloor hydrothermal venting and precipitation of Eu²⁺-enriched clays and possibly carbonates, and indicate proximity to base-metal deposits. Silver and lead are also enriched in the exhalites near the deposits, whereas Mn is enriched at ~1–3 km along strike, but not consistently. Editorial handling: B. Gemmel An erratum to this article is available at .     

Stratigraphy of Pleistocene glaciations in the St Elias Mountains,southwest Yukon,Canada

At least five Middle to Late Pleistocene advances of the northern Cordilleran Ice Sheet are preserved at Silver Creek, on the northeastern edge of the St Elias Mountains in southwest Yukon, Canada. Silver Creek is located 100 km up‐ice of the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 McConnell glacial limit of the St Elias lobe. This site contains ~3 km of nearly continuous lateral exposure of glacial and non‐glacial sediments, including multiple tills separated by thick gravel, loess and tilted lake beds. Infrared‐stimulated luminescence (IRSL) and AMS radiocarbon dating constrain the glacial deposits to MIS 2, 4, either MIS 6 or mid‐MIS 7, and two older Middle Pleistocene advances. This chronology and the tilt of the lake beds suggest Pleistocene uplift rates of up to 1.9 mm a^?1 along the Denali Fault since MIS 7. The non‐glacial sediment consists of sand, gravel, loess and organic beds from MIS 7, MIS 3 and the early Holocene. The MIS 3 deposits date to between 30–36 ¹⁴C ka BP, making Silver Creek one of the few well‐constrained MIS 3‐aged sites in Yukon. This confirms that ice receded close to modern limits in MIS 3. Pollen and macrofossil analyses show that a meadow‐tundra to steppe‐tundra mosaic with abundant herbs and forbs and few shrubs or trees, dominated the environment at this time. The stratigraphy at Silver Creek provides a palaeoclimatic record since at least MIS 8 and comprises the oldest direct record of Pleistocene glaciation in southwest Yukon.     

The spectacular fossils of the ‘water margin’: the Cambrian biota of Chengjiang,Yunnan, China

Shi Nai'an's fourteenth century Chinese epic ‘Water Margin’ tells of the release of 36 heavenly spirits and 72 baleful stars from their captivity beneath a tablet of stone at Mount Longhu in Jiangxi Province. They are reincarnated as the 108 heroes of the Liangshan marsh in Shandong Province, who rise against an unjust world. The virtuous exploits of the ‘108’ were brought to life through the cathode‐ray screens of 1970s television sets, as the TV series The Water Margin introduced heroes like Lin Chong battling his evil nemesis Gao Qiu. Far to the west of Jiangxi Province and several hundred years after the Water Margin during the summer of 1984, a young scientist from Nanjing was working amongst the hills and lakes of southern Yunnan Province. He too overturned a stone slab, releasing from their half‐billion year captivity a cornucopia of new Chinese legends. His name was Xianguang Hou and he had made one of the most momentous fossil discoveries in history, uncovering the exceptionally preserved marine fossils of the Chengjiang biota from the ancient water margin of Cambrian seas.