Petrogenesis of a Stromatic Migmatite (Nelaug, Southern Norway)

The stromatic migmatites of Nelaug (Tvedestrand area, SouthernNorway) are investigated in detail. They show well developedlayers of leucosomes, mesosomes and melanosomes. It is establishedthat the mesosomes and leucosomes of these migmatites are differentfrom each other texturally, mineralogically, and chemically.Also combinations of leucosome plus adjacent melanosome portionsare chemically different from those of the mesosomes. Theseobservations do not agree with the findings of Mehnert (1971)and do not fit into his genetic model. The mesosome layers and the leucosome + melanosome combinationsare taken to represent the chemical compositions of the countryrock, a metagraywacke with relicts of primary rhythmic layering(Touret, 1965). The mineralogical composition of the layersvaries from granitic to tonalitic. Relict textures indicatethat the leucosome portions were initially occupied by layersof granitic composition relatively rich in K-feldspar, whereasthe mesosomes are the representatives of those metagraywackelayers which were relatively rich in plagioclase. An almostisochemical transformation of a paragneiss into the investigatedstromatic migmatite is established. Melting experiments performed at PH₂O= 5 Kb yielded solidustemperatures of 640±7 °C for all layers. The Composition of plagioclases present in the different layersis explained by isochemical partial melting and in situ crystallization.The chemical, mineralogical, and textural findings support themodel of almost isochemical transformation already establishedfor the Arvika migmatites (Johannes & Gupta, 1982).     

Halite cementation and carbonate diagenesis of intra-salt reservoirs from the Late Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian Ara Group (South Oman Salt Basin)

Late Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian carbonates of the Ara Group form important intra‐salt ‘stringer’ reservoirs in the South Oman Salt Basin. Differential loading of thick continental clastics above the six carbonate to evaporite cycles of the Ara Group led to the formation of salt diapirs, encasing a predominantly self‐charging hydrocarbon system within partly highly overpressured carbonate bodies (‘stringers’). These carbonates underwent a complex diagenetic evolution, with one stage of halite cementation in a shallow (early) and another in a deep (late) burial environment. Early and late halite cements are defined by their microstructural relationship with solid bitumen. The early phase of halite cementation is post‐dated by solid reservoir bitumen. This phase is most pervasive towards the top of carbonate stringers, where it plugs nearly all available porosity in facies with initially favourable poroperm characteristics. Bromine geochemistry revealed significantly higher bromine contents (up to 280 p.p.m.) in the early halite compared with the late halite (173 p.p.m.). The distribution patterns and the (high) bromine contents of early halite are consistent with precipitation caused by seepage reflux of highly saturated brines during deposition of the overlying rock salt interval. Later in burial history, relatively small quantities of early halite were dissolved locally and re‐precipitated as indicated by inclusions of streaky solid bitumen within the late halite cements. Late halite cement also seals fractures which show evidence for repeated reopening. Initially, these fractures formed during a period of hydrothermal activity and were later reopened by a crack‐seal mechanism caused by high fluid overpressures. Porosity plugging by early halite cements affects the poroperm characteristics of the Ara carbonates much more than the volumetrically less important late halite cement. The formation mechanisms and distribution patterns of halite cementation processes in the South Oman Salt Basin can be generalized to other petroliferous evaporite basins.     

Moraine ridges formed from subglacial frozen-on sediment slabs and their differentiation from push moraines

Throughout the 1980s the annual cycle of ice-front activity along the stationary north margin of the ice-cap Myrdalsjökull, southern Iceland, produced a complex ridge, 4 m high, composed of imbricately stacked slabs of frozen, clast-paved lodgement till dipping up-glacier. Further observations in 1994 revealed that glaciofluvial processes and associated deposits may be involved in the final stage of ridge production depending on local climate and meltwater drainage pattern. It is concluded that at the margin of Myrdalsjökull the progressive stacking of subglacial frozen-on sediment slabs to form a moraine ridge is a fundamentally similar mechanism to that involved in the incremental double-layer model reported from Styggesdalsbreen, southern Norway. This study has also identified internal characteristics which are of potential use for distinguishing between moraine ridges formed by this mechanism and push moraines formed by proglacial thrusting.     

Rates of Holocene isostatic uplift and relative sea-level lowering of the Baltic in SW Finland based on studies of isolation contacts

Southwestern Finland was covered by the Weichselian ice sheet and experienced rapid glacio-isostatic rebound after early Holocene deglaciation. The present mean overall apparent uplift rate is of the order of 4-5 mm/yr, but immediately after deglaciation the rate of crustal rebound was several times higher. Concurrently with land uplift, relative sea level in the Baltic basin during the past more than 8000 years was also strongly affected by the eustatic changes in sea level. There is ample evidence from earlier studies that during the early Litorina Sea stage on the southeastern coast of Finland around 7000 yr BP (7800 cal. yr BP), the rise in sea level exceeded the rate of land uplift, resulting in a short-lived transgression. Because of a higher rate of uplift, the transgression was even more short-lived or of negligible magnitude in the southwestern part of coastal Finland, but even in this latter case a slowing down in the rate of regression can still be detected. We used evidence from isolation basins to obtain a set of 71 ¹⁴C dates, and over 30 new sea-level index points. The age-elevation data, obtained from lakes in two different areas and located between c. 64 m and 1.5 m above present sea level, display a high degree of internal consistency. This suggests that the dates are reliable, even though most of them were based on bulk sediment samples. The two relative sea-level curves confirm the established model of relatively gradually decreasing rates of relative sea-level lowering since c. 6100 yr BP (7000 cal. yr BP) and clearly indicate that the more northerly of the two study areas experienced the higher rate of glacio-isostatic recovery. In the southerly study area, changes in diatom assemblages and lithostratigraphy suggest that during the early Litorina Sea stage (8300-7600 cal. yr BP) eustatic sea-level rise exceeded land uplift for hundreds of years. Evidence for this transgression was discovered in a lake with a basin threshold at an elevation of 41 m above sea level, which is markedly higher than any previously known site with evidence for the Litorina transgression in Finland. We also discuss evidence for subsequent short-term fluctuations superimposed on the main trends of relative sea-level changes.     

What controls partial melting in migmatites?

Abstract The layers of six stromatic migmatites from Northern, Western, and Central Europe display small but systematic chemical and mineralogical differences. At least five of these migmatites do not show any signs of largescale metamorphic differentiation, metasomatism, or segregation of melts. It is concluded, therefore, that the compositional layering observed in most of the investigated migmatites is due to compositional differences inherited from the parent rocks. Almost isochemical partial melting seems to be the most probable process transforming layered paragneisses, metavolcanics, or schists into migmatites.
The formation of neosomes is believed to be caused by higher amounts of partial melts formed due to higher amounts of water moving into these layers. The neosomes have less biotite and more K-feldspar, if K-feldspar is present at all, than the adjacent mesosomes. These differences are small but systematic and seem to control the access of different amounts of water to the various rock portions. Petrographical observations, chemical data, and theoretical considerations indicate a close relationship between rock composition, rock deformation, transport of water, partial melting, and formation of layered migmatites.     

LINEAR MODELLING OF GLACIER LENGTH FLUCTUATIONS

In this contribution a linear first‐order differential equation is used to model glacier length fluctuations. This equation has two parameters describing the physical characteristics of a glacier: the climate sensitivity, expressing how the equilibrium glacier length depends on the climatic state, and the response time, indicating how fast a glacier approaches a new equilibrium state after a stepwise change in the climatic forcing. A prerequisite for the application of a linear model to a particular glacier is that length fluctuations over the period of interest are significantly smaller than the average length. The linear model is used to define and illustrate some concepts relevant to the study of glacier fluctuations. It is shown that glaciers are never in equilibrium with climate, and that a constant time lag between forcing and response cannot be expected. Next the linear glacier model is applied to real glaciers, showing how information on response times and a reconstruction of the climatic forcing can be extracted from length records. In the first application, two adjacent glaciers in the Oetztal Alps (Austria) are considered: Hintereisferner and Kesselwandferner. By optimizing the response times with a control method, reconstructed equilibrium‐line histories for these glaciers are almost identical. The corresponding response times are 31 years for Hintereisferner, and only 2.1 years for Kesselwandferner. In the second application, four glacier length records from the Oberengadin (Switzerland) are used to reconstruct equilibrium‐line histories. These appear to be mutually consistent, and the mean rise of the equilibrium line over the period 1894–2007 appears to be 1.4 m yr^?1. An equilibrium‐line history derived from data of a nearby climate station yields about the same trend over this period, but shows significant differences on the decadal time scale.     

The Soom Shale: a unique Ordovician fossil horizon in South Africa

The recent discovery of fossils with preserved soft tissues in the Cedarberg Mountains of the Cape Province has opened a new window on Ordovician life.     

Lodgement till and flow till: a discussion

A comment by J. Kriiger on I. Marcussen's paper 'Distinguishing between lodgement till and flow till in Weichselian deposits' (Boreas 4 , pp. 113–123) is followed by a reply from I. Marcussen.