Regional variations in cleavage and fold development in North Wales

The arcuate pattern of the main Caledonian cleavage and associated fold axial plane traces in North Wales is due partly to NW-SE compression with tectonic transport to the southeast against the concealed crop of the Tan y grisiau Microgranite. Low-angle cleavage close to the microgranite is shown to be a local variant of the regional cleavage formed during the main deformation and not an earlier phase as previously supposed. Transcurrent movements along several major fault systems are also related to compression around the microgranite and the Harlech Dome block.     

Zur geodynamischen Entwicklung des Iran,ein Beispiel intrakratonischer struktureller Vorgänge

Zusammenfassung Die einzelnen tektonischen Einheiten des Iran werden in ihrer faziellen und strukturellen Entwicklungsgeschichte dargestellt. Fazies und Paläogeographie sprechen dafür, daß vom Infrakambrium bis in die Trias der gesamte Raum zwischen dem Persischen Golf und dem Elburs-Gebirge eine einheitliche Entwicklung genommen hat. Eine zusammenhängende Plattformsedimentation in Schelffazies kennzeichnet dieses Gebiet während des gesamten Zeitraums. Es ist ein Teil Gondwanas. Paläomagnetische Befunde stützen diese Aussage. Ozeanische Kruste und damit Hinweise auf die Tethys als eine strukturelle Einheit fehlen während dieser Zeit in diesem Gebiet. Lediglich als Faunenprovinz in Flachmeerfazies ist sie wirksam. Das offene Meer lag vom Infrakambrium bis zur oberen Trias im Norden. In der Trias tritt mit einer Heraushebung, die mit tiefgreifender Lateritisierung verbunden ist, und einer anschließenden Transgression ein grundlegender Wechsel des geodynamischen Regimes ein. Von jetzt an erfolgen die Ingressionen in den Iran von Süden. Eine engräumige fazielle Differenzierung setzt ein. Kontinental beeinflußte Sedimente im Jura zeigen, daß im Iran ein Hochgebiet entstanden ist. Gleichzeitig tretenwahrscheinlich in Anlehnung an langlebige Geosuturen — Ophiolith-Radiolarit-Zonen auf, die als das Ergebnis intrakratonischer Zerbrechung gedeutet werden. Die Ingressionen gehen wahrscheinlich von Tiefseerinnen aus, in denen auch die Ophiolithe konzentriert sind. Der Aufstieg des ophiolithischen Materials an die Oberfläche erfolgte entlang von Linien, an denen sich flach geneigte Unterschiebungen von Kruste unter Kruste ereigneten. Dabei kam es zu erheblichen Krustenverkürzungen. Möglicherweise fällt der Umbruch des tektonischen Regimes in der Obertrias mit der Plattenkollision Arabia-Iran/ Eurasia zusammen. Die Grenze zwischen Arabia-Iran und Eurasia liegt aber nicht im Gebiet des Persischen Golfes und der Zagros-Ketten, sondern muß nördlich des Elburs-Gebirges gesucht werden.

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The individual tectonic units of Iran are represented with respect to the history of the development of their facies and structure. Facies and paleogeography indicate that the entire area between the Persian Gulf and the Elburz Mountains had a uniform development until the Triassic. During the whole period a coherent platform sedimentation remained characteristic of this area, which is part of Gondwana. Paleomagnetic data support this statement. Oceanic crust and thus any indications of the Tethys as a structural unit are absent in this area for that period of time. Its existence is only demonstrated in faunal provinces in shallow-marine facies. From the Infra-Cambrian to the Late Triassic the northern part of the area was open sea. During the Triassic, uplifting processes combined with deep lateritization and subsequent transgression initiated a basic change in the geodynamic regime. From this time on the ingressions into Iran proceeded from the south. At this time differentiation of facies began within small areas. Continental influences in the Jurassic sediments show that an elevated area was formed in Iran. At the same time ophiolite-radiolarite zones occurred, probably along long-lived geosutures. These zones are interpreted to be the result of processes breaking up the craton. Probably, the ingressions started from deep-sea furrows where ophiolite concentrations are found. The ascension of the ophiolitic material to the surface occurred along lines where gently dipping subduction of crust under crust took place. During this process it came to considerable crustal shortening. It is possible that the change in the tectonic regime during the Late Triassic coincided with the collision of the Arabia-Iran and Eurasia plates. The boundary between the Arabia-Iran and Eurasia plates is, however, not to be found in the area of the Persian Gulf and the Zagros mountain ranges, but is assumed to be north of the Elburz Mountains.

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Résumé Chacune des unités tectoniques de l'Iran font l'objet d'un exposé concernant leur développement du point de vue de leur facies et de leur structure. Le facies et la paléogéographie indiquent que, de l'Infracambrien au Trias, tout le territoire compris entre le Golf persique et la chaîne de l'Elbours a eu un développement unitaire. Une sedimentation de plateforme cohérente, à facies de shell, caractérise cette région pendant toute cette période. C'est une partie du Gondwana. Des données paléomagnétiques appuient cette affirmation. Toute croûte océanique et, de ce fait toute indice d'une Téthys en temps qu'unité structurale, sont absent dans cette région à ce moment. Une mer ouverte s'y étend au nord de l'Infracambrien jusqu'au Trias supérieur. Au Trias, un soulèvement, auquel est liée une forte latéritisation, et la trangression qui lui est liée, entraînent un changement radical du régime géodynamique. A partir de ce moment, des ingressions se produisent en Iran à partir du sud introduisant des différences de facies. Des sédiments montrant une influence continentale montrent qu'au Jurassique un fort soulèvement s'est produit en Iran. En même temps, vraisemblablement suivant une géosuture depuis longtemps active, apparurent des zones ophiolothiques à radiolarites, qui indiquent une rupture intracratonique. Les ingressions émanent vraisemblablement d'un sillon océanique profond dans lequel sont également concentrées les ophiolithes. La montée du matériau ophiolithique à la surface s'en suivit le long de lignes suivant lesquelles se sont produits dessous-charriages intracrustaux, d'où sont résultés de notables racourcissements de la crôute. Il est possible que cette rupture du régime tectonique coïncide, au Trias supérieur, avec la collision des plaques de l'Arabie Iran et de l'Ewrasie. La limite entre l'Arabie-Iran et l'Eurasie ne se trouve donc pas dans la région du Golfe persique et des chaînes du Zagros, mais doit être recherchée au nord de la Chaîne de l'Elbours.

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Geochemistry and petrogenesis of late proterozoic volcanic rocks from north-western Africa

The Upper Proterozoic volcanism of northwestern Africa is characterized by the predominance of calc-alkaline rocks. Volcanics with tholeiitic affinities and alkali basalts are rare. The geochemistry and the relative proportions of calc-alkaline rocktypes in the Silet zone (Algeria) and the Ouarzazate formation (Morocco) are similar to those of recent island arc suites where basalts are most abundant while in the Tassendjanet and Gara Akofo zones (Algeria) they resemble contintal margin volcanic suites with a predominance of andesites. The volcanic rocks have undergone low-grade metamorphism which strongly affected alkali and alkali-earth elements and also to a smaller degree, the less mobile elements such as REE, Zr, Hf, Nb, and P. The geochemistry of the calc-alkaline rocks point to a complex origin involving low-pressure fractional crystallization, crustal contamination and derivation from a source already enriched in LILE.     

Criteria for the instability of upper-stage plane beds

Calculations of the critical dimensionless bed stresses that obtain when upper-stage plane beds should revert to ripple and dune bed forms are presented. Strong support is given to the Bagnold ‘universal’ plane-bed instability criterion and to a modified criterion suggested by Allen over a wide range of solids grain size. A reinterpretation of the mechanism of plane bed instability is based upon the extent to which significant grain concentrations in plane bed flows increase apparent fluid viscosity and decrease turbulence production over potential bed defects, thereby preventing ripple or dune propagation and growth.     

Distance least squares modelling of the cubic sodalite structure and of the thermal expansion of Na8(Al6Si6O24)I2

The Distance Least Squares (DLS) structure modelling technique is used to determine the room-temperature structures of the sodalites Li₈(Al₆Si₆O₂₄)Cl₂, Na₈(Al₆Si₆O₂₄)Cl₂, K₈(Al₆Si₆O₂₄)Cl₂, Na₈(Al₆Si₆O₂₄)Br₂, and Na₈(Al₆Si₆O₂₄)I₂. The technique is also used to calculate the thermal expansion behaviour of Na₈(Al₆Si₆O₂₄)I₂ assuming that the discontinuity in its thermal expansion curve occurred either when the ideal fully-expanded state was achieved (case 1) or when the x-coordinate of the sodium atom became 0.25 (case 2). The results are given as plots of bond lengths and bond angles as a function of temperature. Case 2 was preferred and analysis of the results implied that the driving force for the untwisting of the partially-collapsed sodalite framework was in the framework bonds with the cavity ion bonds resisting the untwisting. Best estimates indicate that the expansion of the Na-O and Na-I bonds are 9% and 27.4% respectively, between room temperature and 810° C, and there is an apparent shortening of the framework bond distances of about 1.5%.     

Pollution records from sediments of three lakes in New York State

Sediment core segments from Sylvan Lake, Lake Champlain and Lake Canadarago were dated radiometrically with ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs. Their respective sedimentation rates were determined to be 0.11, 0.14 and 0.52 g cm^?2 yr^?1. For the two lakes of lower sedimentation the variations of selected elemental abundances as function of depth were analyzed. Two groupings were found: Al, K, Ti, Rb and Zr were correlated among themselves but reflected different variations in the input of terrigenous erosion material to the lakes. The Cu, Zn and Pb correlated among themselves showed similar depth dependence with increasing concentrations toward the top which can be attributed to cultural pollution. Recent ‘excess’ fluxes to the sediments above the natural contribution by clastic material were derived for the location of the cores, which for Cu, Zn and Pb amounted to 3.8, 24 and 16 μg cm^?2 yr^?1 respectively for Sylvan Lake and 4.9, 20 and 16 μg cm^?2 yr^?1 for Lake Champlain. The corresponding ²¹⁰Pb flux was 3.3 and 2.3 dpm cm^?2 yr^?1, respectively for the two lakes.Approximate residence times in the water column were obtained for trace metals at the Lake Champlain location. Short residence times estimated for Pb (< 0.15 yr) and Cu (< 0.4 yr) indicate fast removal, whereas those for Zn (1.0 ± 0.3 yr) and Cr (2.0 ± 0.5 yr) appeared to be dominated by the water residence time.     

The carbon isotope biogeochemistry of the individual hydrocarbons in bat guano and the ecology of the insectivorous bats in the region of Carlsbad,New Mexico

The structures and ¹³C contents of individual alkanes extracted from bat guano found in the Carlsbad region of New Mexico can be related to both the photosynthetic pathways of the local plants and the feeding habits of the insects that support the bats.Carbon isotopic analyses show that equivalent numbers of C₃ and C₄ native plant species occupy the Pecos River Valley, a very significant feeding area for the Carlsbad bats. During the seasons when bats frequent the area, the agricultural crops consist principally of alfalfa and cotton, both C₃ plants.The molecular composition of the bat guano hydrocarbons is fully consistent with an insect origin. Two isotopically distinct groups of insect branched alkanes were discerned. These two groups of alkanes derived from two chemotaxonomically distinct populations of insects possessing distinctly different feeding habits. It is possible that one population grazes predominantly on crops whereas the other population prefers native vegetation. This and other isotopic evidence suggests that crop pests constitute a major percentage of the bats' diet.Because the guano sample was less than 40 years old, this material reflects the present day plant community in the Pecos River Valley. Future studies of more ancient guano deposits should reveal a measurable influence of both natural and man-induced vegetative changes with time upon the ¹³C content of the bat guano hydrocarbons.