Weathering of meteorites from Oman: Correlation of chemical and mineralogical weathering proxies with 14C terrestrial ages and the influence of soil chemistry

Abstract— Fifty‐four fragments of ordinary chondrites from 50 finds representing all searched areas in central Oman and all weathering stages were selected to compare the physical, chemical, and mineralogical effect of terrestrial weathering with ¹⁴C terrestrial ages. ¹⁴C ages range from 2.0 to >49 kyr with a median value of 17.9 kyr. The peak of the age range, which is between 10–20 kyr, falls in an arid climate period. A comparison of the chemical composition of Omani chondrites with literature data for unweathered H and L chondrites demonstrates a strong enrichment in Sr and Ba, and depletion in S during weathering. Water contents in H chondrites increase with terrestrial age, whereas L chondrites show a rapid initial increase followed by nearly constant water content. Correlating Sr, Ba, and H₂O with age indicates two absorption trends: i) an initial alteration within the first 20 kyr dominated by H₂O uptake, mainly reflecting Fe‐Ni metal alteration, and ii) a second Ba‐and Sr‐dominated stage correlated with slower and less systematic weathering of troilite that starts after H₂O reaches ?2 wt%. Sulfur released from troilite partly combines with Ba and Sr to form sulfate minerals. Other parameters correlated with ¹⁴C age are degree of weathering, color of powdered meteorites, and the Ni/Fe ratio. Chemical analyses of 145 soils show a high degree of homogeneity over the entire interior Oman Desert, indicating large‐scale mixing by wind. Soil samples collected from beneath meteorite finds typically are enriched in Ni and Co, confirming mobilization from the meteorites. High Cr and Ni concentrations in reference soil samples, which decrease from NE to SW, are due to detrital material from ultramafic rocks of the Oman Mountains.     

The Gash Breccias of the Pembroke Peninsula,SW Wales

The thickest development of Carboniferous Limestone in Great Britain (about 1200 m) is in the Pembroke Peninsula of SW Wales. In various places, the regularity of the normally well‐stratified limestone is broken by zones of disturbance, which are spectacularly displayed in magnificent near‐vertical cliff sections. The zones generally occupy the whole of the 50 m‐high cliffs and are up to 300 m wide. The chief component of these zones is a chaotic, clast‐supported breccia, composed of angular limestone fragments welded together with varying degrees of firmness by sparry calcite veining or a normally sparse, red‐pink sandy or silty matrix. The breccias are very easy to distinguish and form a striking contrast to the grey cliff scenery hereabouts ( Figs 1, 2 ), yet they have not been discussed much—until now.

Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Location map, showing localities mentioned in the text, the outcrop of the Carboniferous Limestone, the chief synclinal axes and the distribution envelope of the Gash Breccias (after Thomas 1971 ). 1. Flimston Bay; 2. Bullslaughter Bay (west); 3. Bullslaughter bay (east); 4. Trevallen; 5. Box Bay; 6. Draught; 7. Whitesheet Rock; 8. Lydstep Point; 9. St Margaret's Point; 10. Den Point; 11. Valleyfield Top; 12. Pembroke Castle.     

塔河油田奥陶系油藏地层水赋存分布

根据地层水赋存状态,在塔里木盆地塔河油田奥陶系油藏地层水中区分出3种不同的类型:洞穴底部油气驱替残留水、洞穴周缘小缝洞系统驱替残留水和储层下部层间水,并分析了不同类型水体的化学—动力学特征。塔河油田奥陶系油藏储层非均质性强,油水分布规律十分复杂。背景储层缝洞发育程度不同,油气驱替程度不同,储集空间大小不同,其相应的油水分布规律、油藏开发动态及含水动态都不尽相同。本文总结了这些不同点并探讨了其油气勘探意义。     

Submarine reworking of exhumed subcontinental mantle rocks: field evidence from the Lherz peridotites,French Pyrenees

In the Pyrenees, the lherzolites nowhere occur as continuous units. Rather, they always outcrop as restricted bodies, never more than 3 km wide, scattered across Mesozoic sedimentary units along the North Pyrenean Fault. We report the results of a detailed analysis of the geological setting of the Lherz massif (central Pyrenees), the type‐locality of lherzolites and one of the most studied occurrences of mantle rocks worldwide. The Lherz body is only 1.5 km long and belongs to a series of ultramafic bodies of restricted size (a few metres to some hundreds of metres), occurring within sedimentary formations composed mostly of carbonate breccias originating from the reworking of Mesozoic platform limestones and dolomites. The clastic formations also include numerous layers of polymictic breccias reworking lherzolitic clasts. These layers are found far from any lherzolitic body, implying that lherzolitic clasts cannot derive from the in situ fragmentation of an ultramafic body alone, but might also have been transported far away from their sources by sedimentary processes. A detailed analysis of the contacts between the Lherz ultramafic body and the surrounding limestones confirms that there is no fault contact and that sediments composed of ultramafic material have been emplaced into fissures within the brecciated carapace of the peridotites. These observations bear important constraints for the mode of emplacement of the lherzolite bodies. We infer that mantle exhumation may have occurred during Albian strike‐slip deformation linked to the rotation of Iberia along the proto‐North Pyrenean Fault.     

Rapid PPP ambiguity resolution using GPS+GLONASS observations

Integer ambiguity resolution (IAR) in precise point positioning (PPP) using GPS observations has been well studied. The main challenge remaining is that the first ambiguity fixing takes about 30 min. This paper presents improvements made using GPS+GLONASS observations, especially improvements in the initial fixing time and correct fixing rate compared with GPS-only solutions. As a result of the frequency division multiple access strategy of GLONASS, there are two obstacles to GLONASS PPP-IAR: first and most importantly, there is distinct code inter-frequency bias (IFB) between satellites, and second, simultaneously observed satellites have different wavelengths. To overcome the problem resulting from GLONASS code IFB, we used a network of homogeneous receivers for GLONASS wide-lane fractional cycle bias (FCB) estimation and wide-lane ambiguity resolution. The integer satellite clock of the GPS and GLONASS was then estimated with the wide-lane FCB products. The effect of the different wavelengths on FCB estimation and PPP-IAR is discussed in detail. We used a 21-day data set of 67 stations, where data from 26 stations were processed to generate satellite wide-lane FCBs and integer clocks and the other 41 stations were selected as users to perform PPP-IAR. We found that GLONASS FCB estimates are qualitatively similar to GPS FCB estimates. Generally, 98.8% of a posteriori residuals of wide-lane ambiguities are within \(\pm 0.25\) cycles for GPS, and 96.6% for GLONASS. Meanwhile, 94.5 and 94.4% of narrow-lane residuals are within 0.1 cycles for GPS and GLONASS, respectively. For a critical value of 2.0, the correct fixing rate for kinematic PPP is only 75.2% for GPS alone and as large as 98.8% for GPS+GLONASS. The fixing percentage for GPS alone is only 11.70 and 46.80% within 5 and 10 min, respectively, and improves to 73.71 and 95.83% when adding GLONASS. Adding GLONASS thus improves the fixing percentage significantly for a short time span. We also used global ionosphere maps (GIMs) to assist the wide-lane carrier-phase combination to directly fix the wide-lane ambiguity. Employing this method, the effect of the code IFB is eliminated and numerical results show that GLONASS FCB estimation can be performed across heterogeneous receivers. However, because of the relatively low accuracy of GIMs, the fixing percentage of GIM-aided GPS+GLONASS PPP ambiguity resolution is very low. We expect better GIM accuracy to enable rapid GPS+GLONASS PPP-IAR with heterogeneous receivers.     

Linking sedimentation rates and large‐scale architecture for facies prediction in nonmarine basins (Paleogene,Almazán Basin,Spain)

This article focuses on the relationships between the large‐scale stratigraphic architecture of the Almazán basin infill and the sedimentation rates (SR) calculated for precise time intervals. Our aim was to improve the understanding of the timing and causes of the architectural changes, their significance in terms of accommodation space and sediment supply and their relationship with climate and tectonics. The study area includes the Gómara fluvial fan, the main sediment transfer system of the Almazán basin during Paleogene times. Its large‐scale architecture shifted through time between a stacking pattern of low density ribbon‐like and high density sheet‐like channel fills. Laterally to the fluvial system, mudstone and evaporitic mudstone units represented evaporitic mudflats which passed laterally into palustrine/lacustrine limestone units interpreted as lakes and ponds. Stacked calcretes occurred in distal alluvial and distal floodplain settings. A magnetostratigraphy encompassing 2600 m guided by available fossil mammal biochronology has provided a temporal framework that spans the complete Paleogene infill of the basin, from Late Lutetian to Late Oligocene, filling a gap in the Cenozoic chronostratigraphy of Spanish basins. This permits to constrain the kinematics of the structures both in the basin and in its margins, and to provide the timing for the depositional sequences. These data, combined with a magnetostratigraphic map, where magnetic reversals were traced through the Gómara monocline, allow a detailed analysis of the SR variability across the fluvial system and its adjacent depositional environments. The results show that high sedimentation rates (around 30–40 cm kyr^?1) are related to fluvial environments with low density ribbon‐shaped channels, while low SR (around or below 10 cm kyr^?1) are related to high density sheet‐like channels. Laterally, mud dominated environments with high SR (15–20 cm kyr^?1) grade into palustrine/lacustrine carbonated environments with low SR (around 9 cm ky^?1). The lowest SR (about 3 cm kyr^?1) are related to the development of stacked calcrete profiles in distal floodplain and in the connection of distal alluvial and palustrine/lacustrine units.     

Regional magma plumbing and emplacement mechanisms of the Faroe‐Shetland Sill Complex: implications for magma transport and petroleum systems within sedimentary basins

The movement of magma through the shallow crust and the impact of subsurface sill complexes on the hydrocarbon systems of prospective sedimentary basins has long been an area of interest and debate. Based on 3D seismic reflection and well data, we present a regional analysis of the emplacement and magmatic plumbing system of the Palaeogene Faroe‐Shetland Sill Complex (FSSC), which is intruded into the Mesozoic and Cenozoic sequences of the Faroe‐Shetland Basin (FSB). Identification of magma flow directions through detailed seismic interpretation of approximately 100 sills indicates that the main magma input zones into the FSB were controlled primarily by the NE–SW basin structure that compartmentalise the FSB into its constituent sub‐basins. An analysis of well data shows that potentially up to 88% of sills in the FSSC are <40 m in thickness, and thus below the vertical resolution limit of seismic data at depths at which most sills occur. This resolution limitation suggests that caution needs to be exercised when interpreting magmatic systems from seismic data alone, as a large amount of intrusive material could potentially be missed. The interaction of the FSSC with the petroleum systems of the FSB is not well understood. Given the close association between the FSSC and potential petroleum migration routes into some of the oil/gas fields (e.g. Tormore), the role the intrusions may have played in compartmentalisation of basin fill needs to be taken fully into account to further unlock the future petroleum potential of the FSB.     

The Asturian Basin within the North Iberian margin (Bay of Biscay): seismic characterisation of its geometry and its Mesozoic and Cenozoic cover

The distribution and structure of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic cover within the central part of the North Iberian Margin (Bay of Biscay) is analysed based on a dense set of 2D seismic reflection lines and logs. The integration of well data allows the recognition of seven seismostratigraphic units and the construction of a surface that illustrates the 3D morphology of this area at the time of the Jurassic rifting. The study zone comprises what is known as Le Danois Bank, a basement high, and the Asturian Basin, one of the sedimentary basins originated during the Iberian rifting at the end of the Paleozoic. Its development continued with the oceanisation of the Bay of Biscay as a failed arm of the Atlantic rift; later, during the Cenozoic, a drastic change in tectonic regime induced the partial closure of Biscay and building up the Cantabrian?Pyrenean chain along the northern border of Iberia. This compressional period left its imprint in the Asturian Basin sediments in the form of a mild inversion and general uplift. The geometry of the basin bottom appears as an asymmetric bowl thinning out towards the edges, with a main E‐W depocenter, separated by E‐W striking faults from a secondary one. Those bounding faults show twisted trends in the north, interpreted as a consequence of the compressional period, when a transfer zone in a N‐S direction formed between the two E‐W striking deformation fronts in Biscay. This study shows that the transfer zone extends further to the west, reaching the longitude of Le Danois Bank. The maximum thickness of the filling within the Asturian Basin is estimated in more than 10 km, deeper than assessed in previous studies. The recognition of frequent halokynetic structures at this longitude is another observation worth to remark. Based on this study, it is suggested that the basin formed on top of a distal basement block of stretched crust limiting with the hyperextended rifted domain of Biscay. This location largely conditioned its deformation during the late compression.     

High‐resolution evolution of terrigenous sediment yields in the Provence Basin during the last 6 Ma: relation with climate and tectonics

Basin‐wide correlation of Messinian units and Plio‐Quaternary chronostratigraphic markers (5.3 Ma, 2.6 Ma, 0.9 Ma and 0.45 Ma), the mapping of total sediment thickness and the determination of overall sedimentary volumes enabled us to provide a high‐resolution quantitative history of sediment volumes for the last 6 Ma along the Gulf of Lions margin. The results point to (i) a dramatic increase in terrigenous sediment input during the Messinian Salinity Crisis. This increased sedimentation reflects enhanced regional fluvial erosion related to the dramatic fall of Mediterranean base‐level. Stronger weathering due to a regional wetter climate probably also increased erosional fluxes. (ii) A sediment input three times higher during the Plio‐Quaternary compared to the Miocene seems in agreement with published measurements from World's ocean. However, the timing of this increase being uncertain, it implies that the trigger(s) also remain(s) uncertain. (iii) A decrease in detrital volume around 2.6 Ma is attributed to a regional change in the drainage pattern of rivers in the northwestern Alps. (iv) This study also highlights the Mid‐Pleistocene Revolution around 0.9 Ma, which resulted in an almost doubling of sediment input in the Provencal Basin.