Late Palaeozoic to Triassic evolution of the Turan and Scythian platforms: The pre-history of the Palaeo-Tethyan closure

A number of en échelon-arranged, southwest-facing arc fragments of Palaeozoic to Jurassic ages, sandwiched between two fairly straight east-northeast trending boundaries, constitute the basement of the Scythian and the Turan platforms located between the Laurasian and Tethyside units. They have until now largely escaped detection owing to extensive Jurassic and younger cover and the inaccessibility of the subsurface data to the international geological community. These units are separated from one another by linear/gently-curved faults of great length and steep dip. Those that are exposed show evidence of strike-slip motion. The arc units originally constituted parts of a single “Silk Road Arc” located somewhere south of the present-day central Asia for much of the Palaeozoic, although by the late Carboniferous they had been united into a continental margin arc south of the Tarim basin and equivalent units to the west and east. They were stacked into their present places in northern Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Caucasus and the northern Black Sea by large-scale, right-lateral strike-slip coastwise transport along arc-slicing and arc-shaving strike-slip faults in the Triassic and medial Jurassic simultaneously with the subductive elimination of Palaeo-Tethys. This gigantic dextral zone (“the Silk Road transpression”) was a trans-Eurasian structure and was active simultaneously with another, similar system, the Gornostaev keirogen and greatly distorted Eurasia. The late Palaeozoic to Jurassic internal deformation of the Dniepr–Donets aulacogen was also a part of the dextral strain in southern Europe. When the emplacement of the Scythian and Turan units was completed, the elimination of Palaeo-Tethys had also ended and Neo-Tethyan arcs were constructed atop their ruins, mostly across their southern parts. The western end of the great dextral zone that emplaced the Turan and Scythian units horsetails just east of north Dobrudja and a small component goes along the Tornquist–Teisseyre lineament.     

Determination of Rare Earth Elements, Sc, Y, Zr, Ba, Hf and Th in Geological Samples by ICP-MS after Tm Addition and Alkaline Fusion

We present a revised method for the determination of concentrations of rare earth (REE) and other trace elements (Y, Sc, Zr, Ba, Hf, Th) in geological samples. Our analytical procedure involves sample digestion using alkaline fusion (NaOH-Na₂O₂) after addition of a Tm spike, co-precipitation on iron hydroxides, and measurement by sector field-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS). The procedure was tested successfully for various rock types (i.e., basalt, ultramafic rock, sediment, soil, granite), including rocks with low trace element abundances (sub ng g⁻¹). Results obtained for a series of nine geological reference materials (BIR-1, BCR-2, UB-N, JP-1, AC-E, MA-N, MAG-1, GSMS-2, GSS-4) are in reasonable agreement with published working values.     

Flexural isostatic response of the Alps to increased Quaternary erosion recorded by foreland basin remnants,SE France

We test the hypothesis that flexural isostatic compensation of the mass removed by enhanced Quaternary erosion is responsible for uplift of the Western European Alps and their forelands. We use two well‐preserved and well‐dated (1.8 Ma) abandonment surfaces of foreland basin remnants in SE France (the Chambaran and Valensole plateaux) as passive benchmarks for tilting of the foreland. Estimating their initial slope from morphometric scaling relationships, we determine bulk post‐depositional tilting of 0.5–0.8% for these surfaces. The calculated isostatic response of the Alpine lithosphere to erosional unloading, using the method recently proposed by Champagnac et al. [Geology 35 (2007) 195–198] , yields a predicted tilting of 0.3–0.4% in the considered areas, explaining approximately half of the determined post‐depositional tilting. Such long‐term deformation being insensitive to cyclic loading/unloading because of glaciations, we suspect the other half to be related to as yet undetermined long‐wavelength and long‐lived tectonic process(es).     

A Compilation of Silicon,Rare Earth Element and Twenty‐One other Trace Element Concentrations in the Natural River Water Reference Material SLRS‐5 (NRC‐CNRC)

The natural river water certified reference material SLRS‐5 (NRC‐CNRC) was routinely analysed in this study for major and trace elements by ten French laboratories. Most of the measurements were made using ICP‐MS. Because no certified values are assigned by NRC‐CNRC for silicon and 35 trace element concentrations (rare earth elements, Ag, B, Bi, Cs, Ga, Ge, Li, Nb, P, Rb, Rh, Re, S, Sc, Sn, Th, Ti, Tl, W, Y and Zr), or for isotopic ratios, we provide a compilation of the concentrations and related uncertainties obtained by the participating laboratories. Strontium isotopic ratios are also given.     

Seismic image of the deep crust at the eastern margin of the Alps (Austria): indications for crustal extension in a convergent orogen

A 39-km-long deep seismic reflection profile recorded during two field campaigns in 1996 and 2002 provides a first detailed image of the deep crust at the eastern margin of the Eastern Alps (Austria). The ESE–WNW-trending, low-fold seismic line crosses Austroalpine basement units and extends approximately from 20 km west of the Penninic window group of Rechnitz to 60 km SSE of the Alpine thrust front.The explosive-source seismic data reveals a transparent shallow crust down to 5 km depth, a complexly reflective upper crust and a highly reflective lowermost crust. The upper crust is dominated by three prominent west-dipping packages of high-amplitude subparallel reflections. The upper two of these prominent packages commence at the eastern end of the profile at about 5 and 10 km depth and are interpreted as low-angle normal shear zones related to the Miocene exhumation of the Rechnitz metamorphic core complex. In the western portion of the upper crust, east-dipping and less significant reflections prevail. The lowermost package of these reflections is suggested to represent the overall top of the European crystalline basement.Along the western portion of the line, the lower crust is characterised by a 6–8-km-thick band of high-amplitude reflection lamellae, typically observed in extensional provinces. The Moho can be clearly defined at the base of this band, at approximately 32.5 km depth. Due to insufficient signal penetration, outstanding reflections are missing in the central and eastern portion of the lower crust. We speculate that the result of accompanying gravity measurements and lower crustal sporadic reflections can be interpreted as an indication for a shallower Moho in the east, preferable at about 30.5 km depth.The high reflectivity of the lowermost part of the lower crust and prominent reflection packages in the upper crust, the latter interpreted to represent broad extensional mylonite zones, emphasises the latest extensional processes in accordance with eastward extrusion.     

Buchbesprechungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Hans Benndorf †

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Hans Benndorf

     

Zur Entwicklung der luftelektrischen Grundanschauung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Luftelektrische Tagesgänge und Massenaustausch im Hochgebirge der Alpen

Zusammenfassung Es wird über die Ergebnisse luftelektrischer Untersuchungen auf dem Jungfraujoch (Schweiz) und ihre Deutung berichtet. Während zweier Meßperioden von je mehrwöchiger Dauer wurden das luftelektrische Potentialgefälle und der vertikale Leitungsstrom registriert; bearbeitet sind zunächst die Tagesgänge an klaren Tagen mit Hochdruckwetter. Die Tagesvariationen der drei luftelektrischen Elemente: Potentialgefälle, Vertikalstrom und Leitfähigkeit zeigen, daß auf dem Jungfraujoch im Sommer und im Herbst zwei ganz verschiedene Typen des luftelektrischen Verhaltens zu erkennen sind: Im Sommer herrscht auch an dieser Höhenstation der von den Tieflandstationen bekannte Typ vor, bei dem das Potentialgefälle angenähert invers zur Leitfähigkeit und zum Vertikalstrom verläuft. Im Herbst dagegen verlaufen Potentialgefälle und Vertikalstrom im wesentlichen gleichsinnig bei gegensinniger, aber schwächer ausgeprägter Tagesvariation der Leitfähigkeit. Im Sommer herrscht also auch in Jungfrauhöhe in den Alpen derkontinentale Typ, während sich im Herbst die Verhältnisse demozeanischen Typ annähern. Eine genauere Analyse ergibt, daß im Sommer die Tagesvariation desSäulenwiderstandes (columnar resistance) über dem Jungfraujoch in enger Korrelation zum örtlichen Widerstand der Luft an der Meßstelle (Reziprokwert der Leitfähigkeit) steht, während dies im Herbst nicht mehr der Fall ist.Zur Deutung dieser Feststellungen ist folgendes anzunehmen: Im Hochsommer wirkt die Tagesschwankung des vertikalen Massenaustausches aerosolverändernd bis in die Höhe des Alpenkammes, erkennbar daran, daß die Steuerung der luftelektrischen Tagesvariationen im wesentlichen von den unteren Schichten her erfolgt. Im Herbst dagegen ist dieser Einfluß in Kammhöhe der Alpen nahezu geschwunden; die Austauschvariation dringt nicht mehr bis in diese Höhen vor. Die verbleibenden Variationen der Leitfähigkeit deuten auf advektiven Luftaustausch hin. Das Verhalten des Dampfdruckes auf dem Jungfraujoch im Sommer und Herbst stützt diese Deutung.

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Summary The present paper gives an account of researches on atmospheric electricity carried out at Jungfraujoch (Switzerland). During two periods of several weeks each the potential gradient and the vertical air-earth current have been recorded. In the first place the diurnal variations on fine days at high pressure weather situation are elaborated. The daily variations of the three elements: potential gradient, vertical current, and conductivity, show that in summer and autumn two different types of the conditions of atmospheric electricity can be discerned: In summer the well-known type of the lowland stations is predominating also at this high altitude station, the type where the potential gradient is very nearly inverse to conductivity and vertical current. In autumn on the contrary the potential gradient and the vertical current are essentially parallel since the conductivity shows a slight diurnal variation in contrary sense. Thus, in summer prevails at the altitude of Jungfraujoch in the Alps thecontinental type, whilst in autumn the conditions approach to theoceanic type. It results from a rigorous analysis that in summer the diurnal variation of thecolumnar resistance on Jungfraujoch is in close correlation to the local air resistance (the reciprocal figure of conductivity) at the measuring point, whereas in autumn this is no longer the case.To explain these results we must assume as follows: In midsummer the diurnal variation of vertical mass exchange produces alterations of the aerosol up to the altitude of the crest of the Alps, which is perceptible from the fact that diurnal variations of atmospheric electricity start essentially from the lower layers. In autumn this influence has almost disappeared in the summit altitude of the Alps, as the daily variation of exchange does not advance to this altitude. The remaining variations of the conductivity point at an advective exchange of air. The behaviour of vapour pressure in summer and autumn at Jungfraujoch gives support to this interpretation.

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Résumé L'article traite des résultats de recherches d'électricité atmosphérique au Jungfraujoch (Suisse) et de leur interprétation. Deux périodes de mesures de plusieurs semaines chacune ont été consacrées à l'enregistrement du gradient de potentiel et du courant vertical. On décrit tout d'abord la variation diurne lors des jours sereins de temps anticyclonique. On distingue an Jungfraujoch en été et en automne respectivement deux types très différents de la marche diurne du gradient de potentiel, du courant vertical et de la conductibilité. En été le type bien connu des stations de plaine pour lequel le gradient de potentiel varie à peu près inversement à la conductibilité et au courant vertical s'observe aussi au Jungfraujoch. Par contre en automne le gradient de potentiel et le courant vertical varient en général dans le même sens, tandis que la conductibilité varie, elle, en sens contraire, bien que faiblement. Il y a donc à l'altitude du Jungfraujoch en été le «type continental», alors qu'en automne les conditions se rapprochent du «type océanique». Une analyse plus détaillée montre qu'en été la variation diurne de la «résistance tubulaire» (columnar resistance) au-dessus du Jungfraujoch est en liaison étroite avec la résistance locale de l'air au point de mesure (inverse de la conductibilité), tandis qu'en automne ce n'est plus le cas.Pour interpréter ces résultats il faut admettre ce qui suit: En été la variation diurne de l'échange vertical turbulent modifie les aérosols jusqu'au niveau de la crête alpine, ce que l'on reconnaît au fait que les variations diurnes des phénomènes d'électricité atmosphérique sont largement conditionnés par les couches basses. En automne par contre cet effet a disparu sur les Alpes, car la variation de l'échange turbulent n'a plus d'influence à ce niveau. La variation de la conductibilité qui subsiste suggère un échange d'air par advection. L'allure de la pression de vapeur d'eau au Jungfraujoch en été et en automne confirme cette hypothèse.

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Mit 11 Textabbildungen.     

Colluvial sedimentation in a hyperarid setting (Atacama Desert,northern Chile): Geomorphic controls and stratigraphic facies variability

Research on colluvial depositional systems has recently emphasized periglacial and high‐altitude settings, and the relations between Quaternary slope stratigraphy and climate change. This article examines the role of variable slope morphology, surface hydrology and microclimate in controlling colluvial sedimentation along a coastal tract of the hyperarid Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Direct accessibility of active surfaces is accompanied by uninterrupted stratigraphic exposures along the base of slopes, allowing direct comparisons between surface processes and the resulting sedimentary record. Four slope sectors are identified, based on differences in morphology and processes over active surfaces. Colluvial sedimentation is controlled by complex interactions of slope gradients and profiles, exposure to dominant winds, and potential runoff pathways, which vary considerably between different sectors. Major differences are evident between these hyperarid deposits and slope sedimentation in periglacial and temperate settings, including the complete absence of pedogenic activity and clay minerals; the volume of aeolian deposits and their role in controlling processes which redistribute sediment downslope, extending colluvial aprons; and the occurrence of runoff processes only where favoured by particular topographic configurations. Depositional surfaces range from steep talus cones, to debris‐flow‐dominated and aeolian‐dominated colluvial aprons, to an aeolian ramp subject to reworking by mass flows and flash floods. Consequently, facies associations and architectures at outcrop are highly variable and highlight the importance of spatial variations in slope morphology and processes in producing distinct, coeval colluvial stratigraphies within a single environmental context. Discrepancies between active processes and the corresponding stratigraphic signatures are also evident in some sectors; for example, preservation of alluvial and aeolian facies in stratigraphic sections does not always reflect the dominant processes over active slopes. Together with the spatial variability in processes and deposits along these slopes, this suggests that caution is required when extracting palaeoenvironmental information from analyses of colluvial successions.