Relict magnesian calcite oolite and subsidence of the Amazon shelf

Oolitic sediments occur over large portions of the outer continental shelf off northernmost Brazil and southern French Guiana. Carbon-14 dates, stable isotope values and analogies with similar deposits from other areas in the world indicate that the ooids were formed in shallow water (possibly protected hypersaline environments) during low stands of sea level. In contrast to both modern ooids and other relict ooids, however, the Amazon shelf ooids are composed entirely of magnesian calcite (12 mol % MgCO₃) and possess radial crystal microstructures. A comparison of water depths and ages of the Amazon ooids with the generally accepted eustatic sea level curve indicates that the Amazon shelf subsided more than 100 m 16-21 thousand years ago. Prior to and subsequent to the subsidence, however, the outer shelf remained relatively stable.     

Fluid Flow During Contact Metamorphism of Ophicarbonate Rocks in the Bergell Aureole, Val Malenco, Italian Alps

Contact-mctamorphic assemblages in ophicarbonate from the Bergellaureole correspond either to model isobaric invariant T-XCO₂points [Atg-Cal-Di-Tr-Fo (6 samples) and Atg-Cal-Tr-Fo-Dol (2)]or to isobaric univariant T-XCO₂, curves [Tr-Cal-Di-Atg (18),Tr-Dol-Atg-Cal (1), Atg-Cal-Fo-Di (1), and Atg-Cal-Tr-Fo (1)].Calcite-dolomite thermometry and mineral-fluid equilibria inthe invariant assemblages record T=440–540C at P=3•5kbar. Equilibrium metamorphic fluids were very H₂O rich withX CO₂,=0•001–0•027. In the invariant assemblagesTr + Fo were produced by prograde decarbonation-dehydrationreactions. In contrast, measured modes and reaction texturesin samples with univariant assemblages indicate thai Tr wasproduced by carbonation reactions. The apparent paradox of simultaneousdecarbonation reactions in the model isobaric invariant assemblagesand carbonation reactions in univariant assemblages is resolvedby local mineral-fluid equilibrium and fluid flow through ophicarbohatesin the direction of decreasing temperature as the aureole heated.Time-integrated flux (q) was computed from measured reactionprogress in 28 samples for models of both horizontal and verticaldown-temperature flow. Results are similar, with q decreasingrapidly from (0•2–5•1) 10⁵ cm³ fluid/cm² rock1•3–1•7 km from the intrusion to 0–0•610⁵cm³/cm² at 1•8–4•0 km. The decrease in q ismore consistent with vertical than horizontal flow. Variationsin time-integrated flux of more than an order of magnitude arerecorded by samples from the same outcrop. The absence of carbonatein adjacent metaperidotite indicates that flow was confinedto the ophicarbonate. Channelized, spatially heterogeneous,vertical flow can be explained by the brecciation and strongvertical foliation of the ophicarbonate relative to surroundingmassive metaperidotite. Generation of metamorphicfluids by decarbonation-dehydrationreactions within the ophicarbonates explains larger averageflux 1–2 km from the intrusion compared with more distalpoints. KEY WORDS: Bergell; contact metamorphism; fluid flow; ophicarbonate ^*Telephone: (410) 516-8121. Fax: (410) 516-7933     

The Signature of Amphibole in Mafic Alkaline Lavas, a Study in the Northern Canadian Cordillera

Despite evidence for its involvement, the importance of amphibolein controlling the compositions of mafic alkaline magmas remainsunder-appreciated. Relatively small variations in large ionlithophile elements (LILE) with respect to other incompatibleelements, such as light rare-earth elements (LREE) or Th, requirethat amphibole was an important residual phase during the productionof Late Tertiary to Recent olivine nephelinite (Ol-NEPH) magmasbeneath the northern Canadian Cordillera. The erupted maficmagma types define a continuous array from Ol-NEPH to hypersthene-normativeolivine basalt (Hy-NORM AOB). The overall compositional arrayhas a sense of curvature which is counter to binary mixing,but can be modeled by two distinct linear melting trends: onefrom Ol-NEPH to basanite (BASAN) compositions, during whichamphibole controlled the composition of the melt, and the ratiosof LILE/LREE change significantly, but the ratios of high fieldstrength elements (HFSE) remain relatively constant; the otherfrom BASAN to Hy-NORM AOB corresponding to the melting of alherzolite assemblage, following the exhaustion of amphibole,across which the ratios of LILE/LREE remain relatively constant,but the ratios of HFSE change significantly. Other intraplate alkaline suites, such as those of the HawaiianIslands, show similar evidence for the involvement of residualamphibole in the genesis of Ol-NEPH to BASAN magmas. The meltingof any amphibole-bearing mantle assemblage is likely to be atwo-step process, regardless of whether the amphibole is segregatedas veins or distributed interstitially. In a water-undersaturatedenvironment, the first stage of melting is controlled by thebreakdown of amphibole, which produces silica-saturated liquidsbelow 12 kbar and silica-undersaturated liquids at greater depths,with little contribution from other mineral phases. In the secondstage, following the exhaustion of amphibole, the major elementcompositions of subsequent melts change rapidly to equilibratewith a lherzolite mineralogy, but the incompatible trace-elementcharacteristics of the former amphibole persist. KEY WORDS: amphibole; mafic alkaline magmas; northern Canadian Cordillera; trace elements ^*Corresponding author     

An experimental study of flow, bedload transport and bed topography under conditions of erosion and deposition and comparison with theoretical models

The nature of flow, sediment transport and bed texture and topography was studied in a laboratory flume using a mixed size-density sediment under equilibrium and non-equilibrium (aggradational, degradational) conditions and compared with theoretical models. During each experiment, water depth, bed and water surface elevation, flow velocity, bed shear stress, bedload transport and bed state were continuously monitored. Equilibrium, uniform flow was established with a discharge of about 0.05 m³ s^?1, a flow depth of about 0.01 m, a flow velocity of about 0.81–0.88 m s^?1, a spatially averaged bed shear stress of about 1.7–2.2 Pa and a sediment transport rate of about 0.005–0.013 kg m^?1 s^?1 (i.e. close to the threshold of sediment transport). Such equilibrium flow conditions were established prior to and at the end of each aggradation or degradation experiment. Pebble clusters, bedload sheets and low-lying bars were ubiquitous in the experiments. Heavy minerals were relatively immobile and occurred locally in high concentrations on the bed surface as lag deposits. Aggradation was induced by (1) increasing the downstream flow depth (flume tilting) and (2) sediment overloading. Tilt-induced aggradation resulted in rapid deposition in the downstream half of the flume of a cross-stratified deposit with downstream dipping pebbles (pseudo-imbricated). and caused a slight decrease in the equilibrium mean water surface slope and total bedload transport rate. These differences between pre- and post-aggradation equilibrium flow conditions are due to a decrease in the local grain roughness of the bed. Sediment overloading produced a downstream fining and thinning wedge of sediment with upstream dipping pebbles (imbricated), whereas the equilibrium flow and sediment transport conditions remained relatively unchanged. Degradation was induced by (1) decreasing the downstream flow depth (flume tilting) and (2) cutting off the sediment feed. Tilt-induced degradation produced rapid downstream erosion and upstream deposition due to flow convergence with little change to the equilibrium flow and sediment transport conditions. The cessation of sediment feed produced degradation and armour development, a reduction in the mean water surface slope and flow velocity, an increase in flow depth, and an exponential decrease in bedload transport rate as erosion proceeded. A bedload transport model predicted total and fractional transport rates extremely well when the coarse-grained (or bedform trough) areas of the bed are used to define the sediment available to be transported. A sediment routing model, MIDAS, also reproduced the equilibrium and non-equilibrium flow conditions, total and fractional bedload transport rates and changes in bed topography and texture very well.     

Current continental palaeoclimatic research in the Nordic region (100 years since Gunnar Andersson 1909) – Introduction

Seppä, H., Birks, H. J. B., Bjune, A. E. & Nesje, A. 2010: Current continental palaeoclimatic research in the Nordic region (100 years since Gunnar Andersson 1909) – Introduction. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 649‐654. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00170.x. ISSN 0300‐9483.     

Composition and genesis of glacial hummocks, western Wisconsin, USA

Glacial hummocks associated with the Superior Lobe in western Wisconsin are stagnant-ice features composed of melt-out till, meltwater-stream sediment, and flow till. The greater proportion of melt-out till in these hummocks than in hummocks described elsewhere suggests that a model of extensive, supraglacial reworking of supraglacially released debris does not apply to the western Wisconsin hummocks. Interpretation of melt-out till in hummock exposures is based on its strong fabric oriented parallel to regional ice-flow direction. Other features of this melt-out till include poorly developed stratification (color banding and discontinuous thin sandy lenses), and minor faulting, both of which support a melt-out origin. We suggest that as stagnant, debris-rich ice began to melt, supraglacially released debris was deposited as flow till and meltwater-stream sediment (with some debris-flow sediment and lake sediment), but as the thickness of supraglacial debris increased, debris melting out at depth was stabilized, allowing features characteristic of melt-out till to be retained. Because the supraglacial debris was sandy and the stagnant ice was likely at the pressure-melting point, the supraglacial debris was well drained and did not readily fail and flow. Debris volume in the glacier generally was greater at the glacier margin, but lateral and longitudinal variations within this zone were caused by thrusting, freezing-on, or ice-margin fluctuations, which in turn resulted in variations in hummock relief. Ice-walled-lake plains are commonly associated with the hummocks and developed where debris volume was small.     

Late Quaternary contourites and glaciomarine sedimentation in the Fram Strait

Two sites in the eastern Fram Strait, the Vestnesa Ridge and the Yermak Plateau, have been surveyed and sampled providing a depositional record over the last glacial‐interglacial cycle. The Fram Strait is the only deep‐water connection from the Arctic Ocean to the North Atlantic and contains a marine sediment record of both high latitude thermohaline flow and ice sheet interaction. On the Vestnesa Ridge, the western Svalbard margin, a sediment drift was identified in 1226 m of water. Gravity and multicores from the crest of the drift recovered turbidites and contourites. ¹⁴C dating indicates an age range of 8287 to 26 900 years BP (Early Holocene to Late Weichselian). The Yermak Plateau is characterized by slope sediments in 961 m of water. Gravity and multicores recovered contourites and hemipelagites. ¹⁴C ages were between 8615 and 46 437 years BP (Early Holocene to mid‐Weichselian). Downcore dinoflagellate cyst analyses from both sites provide a record of changing surface water conditions since the mid‐Weichselian, suggesting variable sea ice extent, productivity and polynyas present even during the Last Glacial Maximum. Four layers of ice‐rafted debris were also identified and correlated within the cores. These events occurred ca at 9, 24 to 25, 26 to 27 and 43 ka, asynchronous with Heinrich layers in the wider north‐east Atlantic and here interpreted as reflecting instability in the Svalbard/Barents Ice sheet and the northward advection of warm Atlantic water during the Late Weichselian. The activity of the ancestral West Spitsbergen Current is interpreted using mean sortable silt records from the cores. On the Vestnesa Ridge drift the modern mass accumulation rate, calculated using excess ²¹⁰Pb, is 0·076 g cm^?2 year^?1. On the Yermak Plateau slope the modern mass accumulation rate is 0·053 g cm^?2 year^?1.     

Intriguing climatic shifts in a 90 kyr old lake record from northern Russia

A 22 m long sediment core from Lake Yamozero on the Timan Ridge in northern Russia has provided evidence of intriguing climatic shifts during the last glacial cycle. An overall shallowing of the lake is reflected in the lower part of the cores, where pollen indicates a transition from glacial steppe vegetation to interstadial shrub-tundra. These beds are capped by a well-defined layer of compact clay deposited in relatively deep water, where pollen shows surrounding spruce forests and warmer-than-present summer temperatures. The most conservative interpretation is that this unit represents the last interglacial period. However, a series of Optical Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dates suggests that it corresponds with the Early Weichselian Odderade interstadial (MIS 5a). This would imply that the Odderade interstadial was just as warm as a normal interglacial in this continental part of northern Europe. If correct, then pollen analysis, as a correlation tool, is less straightforward and the definition of an interglacial is more complex than previously thought. We discuss the validity and possible systematic errors of the OSL dates on which this age model is based, but conclude they really indicate a MIS 5a age for the warm period. Above the clay is an unconformity, most likely reflecting a period of subaerial exposure implying dry conditions. Deposition of silt under fluctuating cold climates in the Middle Weichselian continued until a second gap in the record at c . 40 kyr BP. The lake basin started to fill up again around 18 kyr BP.