The GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam/Groupe de Recherche de Gèodésie Spatiale satellite-only and combined gravity field models: EIGEN-GL04S1 and EIGEN-GL04C

The recent improvements in the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) tracking data processing at GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ) and Groupe de Recherche de Géodésie Spatiale (GRGS) Toulouse, the availability of newer surface gravity data sets in the Arctic, Antarctica and North-America, and the availability of a new mean sea surface height model from altimetry processing at GFZ gave rise to the generation of two new global gravity field models. The first, EIGEN-GL04S1, a satellite-only model complete to degree and order 150 in terms of spherical harmonics, was derived by combination of the latest GFZ Potsdam GRACE-only (EIGEN-GRACE04S) and GRGS Toulouse GRACE/LAGEOS (EIGEN-GL04S) mean field solutions. The second, EIGEN-GL04S1 was combined with surface gravity data from altimetry over the oceans and gravimetry over the continents to derive a new high-resolution global gravity field model called EIGEN-GL04C. This model is complete to degree and order 360 and thus resolves geoid and gravity anomalies at half- wavelengths of 55 km at the equator. A degree-dependent combination method has been applied in order to preserve the high accuracy from the GRACE satellite data in the lower frequency band of the geopotential and to form a smooth transition to the high-frequency information coming from the surface data. Compared to pre-CHAMP global high-resolution models, the accuracy was improved at a spatial resolution of 200 km (half-wavelength) by one order of magnitude to 3 cm in terms of geoid heights. The accuracy of this model (i.e. the commission error) at its full spatial resolution is estimated to be 15 cm. The model shows a reduced artificial meridional striping and an increased correlation of EIGEN-GL04C-derived geostrophic meridional currents with World Ocean Atlas 2001 (WOA01) data. These improvements have led to select EIGEN-GL04C for JASON-1 satellite altimeter data reprocessing. Electronic Supplementary Material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Provenance of the Bosnian Flysch

Sandwiched between the Adriatic Carbonate Platform and the Dinaride Ophiolite Zone, the Bosnian Flysch forms a c. 3000 m thick, intensely folded stack of Upper Jurassic to Cretaceous mixed carbonate and siliciclastic sediments in the Dinarides. New petrographic, heavy mineral, zircon U/Pb and fission-track data as well as biostratigraphic evidence allow us to reconstruct the palaeogeology of the source areas of the Bosnian Flysch basin in late Mesozoic times. Middle Jurassic intraoceanic subduction of the Neotethys was shortly followed by exhumation of the overriding oceanic plate. Trench sedimentation was controlled by a dual sediment supply from the sub-ophiolitic high-grade metamorphic soles and from the distal continental margin of the Adriatic plate. Following obduction onto Adria, from the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition onwards a vast clastic wedge (Vranduk Formation) was developed in front of the leading edge, fed by continental basement units of Adria that experienced Early Cretaceous synsedimentary cooling, by the overlying ophiolitic thrust sheets and by redeposited elements of coeval Urgonian facies reefs grown on the thrust wedge complex. Following mid-Cretaceous deformation and thermal overprint of the Vranduk Formation, the depozone migrated further towards SW and received increasing amounts of redeposited carbonate detritus released from the Adriatic Carbonate Platform margin (Ugar Formation). Subordinate siliciclastic source components indicate changing source rocks on the upper plate, with ophiolites becoming subordinate. The zone of the continental basement previously affected by the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous thermal imprint has been removed; instead, the basement mostly supplied detritus with a wide range of pre-Jurassic cooling ages. However, a c. 80 Ma, largely synsedimentary cooling event is also recorded by the Ugar Formation, that contrasts the predominantly Early Cretaceous cooling of the Adriatic basement and suggests, at least locally, a fast exhumation.     

Sediment oxygen profiles in a super-oxygenated antarctic lake

Perennially ice-covered lakes are found in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. In contrast to temperate lakes that have diurnal photic periods, antarctic (and arctic) lakes have a yearly photic period. An unusual feature of the antarctic lakes is the occurrence of O2 at supersaturated levels in certain portions of the water column. Here we report the first sediment O2 profiles obtained using a microelectrode from a perennially ice-covered antarctic lake. Sediment cores collected in January and October 1987 from Lake Hoare in Taylor Valley show oxygenation down to 15, and in some cases, 25 cm. The oxygenation of sediments several centimeters below the sediment-water interface is atypical for lake sediments and may be characteristic of perennially ice-covered lakes. There is a significant difference between the observed January and October sediment O2 profiles. Several explanations may account for the difference, including seasonality. A time-dependent model is presented which tests the feasibility of a seasonal cycle resulting from the long photoperiod and benthic primary production in sediments overlain by a highly oxygenated water column.     

Bayes estimation: A novel approach to derivation of internally consistent thermodynamic data for minerals,their uncertainties,and correlations. Part II: Application

Internally consistent thermodynamic data, including their uncertainties and correlations, are reported for 22 phases of the quaternary system CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O. These data have been derived by simultaneous evaluation of the appropriate phase properties (PP) and reaction properties (RP) by the novel technique of Bayes estimation (BE). The thermodynamic model used and the theory of BE was expounded in Part I of this paper. Part II is the follow-up study illustrating an application of BE. The input for BE comprised, among others, the a priori values for standard enthalpy of formation of the i-th phase, Δ_f H _i ⁰ , and its standard entropy, S _i ⁰ , in addition to the reaction reversal constraints for 33 equilibria involving the relevant phases. A total of 269 RP restrictions have been processed, of which 107 turned out to be non-redundant. The refined values for Δ_f H _i ⁰ and S _i ⁰ obtained by BE, including their 2σ-uncertainties, appear in Table 4; the Appendix reproduces the corresponding correlation matrix. These data permit generation of computed phase diagrams with 2σ-uncertainty envelopes based on conventional error propagation; Fig. 3 depicts such a phase diagram for the system CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂. It shows that the refined dataset is capable of yielding phase diagrams with uncertainty envelopes narrow enough to be geologically useful. The results in Table 4 demonstrate that the uncertainties of the prior values for Δ_f H _i ^Emphasis>0 , given in Table 1, have decreased by up to an order of magnitude, while those for S _i ⁰ improved by a factor of up to two. For comparison, Table 4 also lists the refined Δ_f H _i ⁰ and S _i ⁰ data obtained by mathematical programming (MAP), minimizing a quadratic objective function used earlier by Berman (1988). Examples of calculated phase diagrams are given to demonstrate the advantages of BE for deriving internally consistent thermodynamic data. Although P-T curves generated from both MAP and BE databases will pass through the reversal restrictions, BE datasets appear to be better suited for extrapolations beyond the P-T range explored experimentally and for predicting equilibria not constrained by reversals.     

Cycle anatomy and variability in the storm-dominated type cincinnatian (Upper Ordovician): coming to grips with cycle delineation and genesis

Although parasequence and sequence are scale-independent terms, they are frequently applied only to specific scales of cycles. For example, meter-scale cycles are commonly assumed to be parasequences or PACs. In the Upper Ordovician Kope and Fairview Formations of northern Kentucky, we examined a succession of 50 meter-scale cycles that have been variously interpreted as deepening-upward, shallowing-upward, or showing no relationship with water depth. Our analysis shows that these cycles, characterized by shifts in storm-bed proximality, are highly variable in their thickness and internal construction. Most cycles are best considered high-frequency sequences, because deepening-upward intervals are common, and many cycles contain evidence of abrupt basinward shifts in facies as expected at sequence boundaries. A minority fit the parasequence model of shallowing-upward cycles bounded by flooding surfaces. Larger, 20 m scale cycles are defined by systematic thickening and thinning trends of meter-scale cycles. However, meter-scale cycles do not display any systematic trends in cycle anatomy as a function of position within the 20 m cycles or position within the Kope and Fairview Formations. The high cycle variability and the lack of systematic stratigraphic organization with respect to longer-term cyclicity reflect either the irregularity of relative sea-level changes, the poor recording of sea-level changes in this deep-water setting, or the generation of these cycles by climate-induced cyclicity in storm intensity. These three mechanisms would generate similar patterns at the outcrop scale, so it is not possible at the present to distinguish between them.     

The Ms = 6.2, June 15, 1995 Aigion earthquake (Greece): evidence for low angle normal faulting in the Corinth rift

We present the results of a multidisciplinary study of the M_s = 6.2, 1995, June 15, Aigion earthquake (Gulf of Corinth, Greece). In order to constrain the rupture geometry, we used all available data from seismology (local, regional and teleseismic records of the mainshock and of aftershocks), geodesy (GPS and SAR interferometry), and tectonics. Part of these data were obtained during a postseismic field study consisting of the surveying of 24 GPS points, the temporary installation of 20 digital seismometers, and a detailed field investigation for surface fault break. The Aigion fault was the only fault onland which showed detectable breaks (< 4 cm). We relocated the mainshock hypocenter at 10 km in depth, 38 ° 21.7 N, 22 ° 12.0 E, about 15 km NNE to the damaged city of Aigion. The modeling of teleseismic P and SH waves provides a seismic moment M_o = 3.4 10¹⁸ N.m, a well constrained focal mechanism (strike 277 °, dip 33 °, rake – 77°), at a centroidal depth of 7.2 km, consistent with the NEIC and the revised Harvard determinations. It thus involved almost pure normal faulting in agreement with the tectonics of the Gulf. The horizontal GPS displacements corrected for the opening of the gulf (1.5 cm/year) show a well-resolved 7 cm northward motion above the hypocenter, which eliminates the possibility of a steep, south-dipping fault plane. Fitting the S-wave polarization at SERG, 10 km from the epicenter, with a 33° northward dipping plane implies a hypocentral depth greater than 10 km. The north dipping fault plane provides a poor fit to the GPS data at the southern points when a homogeneous elastic half-space is considered: the best fit geodetic model is obtained for a fault shallower by 2 km, assuming the same dip. We show with a two-dimensional model that this depth difference is probably due to the distorting effect of the shallow, low-rigidity sediments of the gulf and of its edges. The best-fit fault model, with dimensions 9 km E–W and 15 km along dip, and a 0.87 m uniform slip, fits InSAR data covering the time of the earthquake. The fault is located about 10 km east-northeast to the Aigion fault, whose surface breaks thus appears as secondary features. The rupture lasted 4 to 5 s, propagating southward and upward on a fault probably outcropping offshore, near the southern edge of the gulf. In the shallowest 4 km, the slip – if any – has not exceeded about 30 cm. This geometry implies a large directivity effect in Aigion, in agreement with the accelerogram aig which shows a short duration (2 s) and a large amplitude (0.5 g) of the direct S acceleration. This unusual low-angle normal faulting may have been favoured by a low-friction, high pore pressure fault zone, or by a rotation of the stress directions due to the possible dip towards the south of the brittle-ductile transition zone. This fault cannot be responsible for the long term topography of the rift, which is controlled by larger normal faults with larger dip angles, implying either a seldom, or a more recently started activity of such low angle faults in the central part of the rift.     

Early miocene post-collisional calc-alkaline magmatism along the easternmost segment of the periadriatic fault system (Slovenia and Croatia)

Summary Early Miocene calc-alkaline igneous rocks from the easternmost segment of the Periadriatic fault system can be subdivided into two series of different alkalinity: (1) Volcanics which occur in the vicinity of the Velenje-Rogatec Line range from high-alumina basalt via low-K and medium-K andesites to medium-K dacites. (2) In the Pohorje Mountains mafic rocks are lacking. A high-K tonalitic pluton crystallized at pressures of about 0.7 GPa as indicated by Al-in-hornblende barometry and accessory magmatic epidote. Rapid exhumation of the tonalite during dextral transtension along the Periadriatic fault system is indicated by tonalitic pebbles in Helvetian (?) clastic sediments. High-K andesitic to dacitic volcanics are interlayered with, and dikes cut, the clastic sediments.Compositional variations shown by the volcanics from the Velenje-Rogatec Line are consistent with fractionation of the observed phenocryst assemblages (olivine, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, titanomagnetite). Substantial fractionation of plagioclase is indicated by decreasing Sr/Nd and Sr/Y values and increasing negative Eu anomalies with increasing SiO₂. All samples have chondrite-normalized HREE > 9.6 and low (Tb/Yb)_n ratios (1.29–1.08). With increasing SiO₂, the abundances of HREE and Y (18 to 39 ppm) increase and those of Sc (32.5 to 20.9 ppm) decrease slightly. These features, together with low Hf/Lu and Zr/Y values (10.1–5.7 and 5.7–3.6, respectively), rule out garnet as a major fractionating phase. Since (La/Yb)_n values (3.24–6.59) do not increase with SiO₂ and chondrite-normalized REE patterns do not show concave-upward shapes, fractionation of amphibole was probably insignificant. Although Rb/Cs values ( 18) are generally low, a significant contribution by continental crustal materials to the magmas by an AFC process is suggested by negative correlations of Nb/U(7.16 to 3.14) and Nb/Th(2.14 to 0.87) values with SiO₂, as well as by low Hf/Ta(7.8–3.4), and in part also by K/Rb (340-71) and Zr/Rb (5.0–1.7) values.Rocks from the Pohorje Mountains have high abundances of U. Values of Nb/U and Nb/Th are low (3.55 to 1.85 and 1.27 to 0.64, respectively) and are negatively correlated with SiO₂. These features, in combination with high values of Ba/Nb (56 to 93), Ba/La (23–30), and Rb/Cs (19–56), as well as with previously published ¹⁸O values ( 9) for the tonalite indicate a substantial contribution of the continental crust to these magmas. High Sr abundances (455 to 984 ppm) and moderate negative Eu anomalies suggest that fractionation of plagioclase was of minor importance. Although the rocks have relatively low Sc (9.3 to 3.8 ppm) and Y (21 to 14 ppm) contents, low (Tb/Yb)_n values (1.67–1.14) indicate that garnet was not a major fractionating phase. Instead, fractionation of amphibole is a viable mechanism to explain the combination of high (La/Yb)_n (21.8–13.1) and low (Tb/Yb)_n.

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Untermiozäner, kalkalkaliner Post-Kollisions-Magmatismus entlang des östlichsten Segmentes des periadriatischen Störungssystems (Slowenien und Kroatien)

Zusammenfassung Untermiozäne Kalkalkali-Magmatite aus dem östlichen Bereich des Periadriatischen Lineaments gliedern sich in zwei Serien unterschiedlicher Alkalinität: (1) Entlang der Velenje-Rogatec-Linie treten High-Al-Basalte, Low-K- und Medium-K-Andesite und Medium-K-Dazite auf. (2) Im Pohorje-Gebirge, wo basische Magmatite fehlen, kristallisierte ein High-K-Tonalit bei Drücken von ca. 0.7 GPa (Al-in-Hornblende-Barometer, magmatischer Epidot). Gerölle dieses Tonalits in einer untermiozänen (Helvet?) klastischeu Abfolge belegen eine schnelle Heraushebung des Tonalits durch dextrale Transtension im östlichsten Bereich des periadriatischen Lineaments. Eingeschaltet in die klastischen Sedimente sind andesitische bis dazitische Pyroklastika und Laven sowie diskordante dazitische Gänge, die alle der High-K-Serie angehören.Die chemische Variation innerhalb der Vulkanitserie von der Velenje-Rogatec-Linie läßt sich durch Fraktionierung der Einsprenglingsminerale Olivin, Plagioklas, Klinopyroxen, Orthopyroxen und Titanomagnetit erklären. Abnehmende Sr/Nd- und Sr/Y-Werte und zunehmende negative Eu-Anomalien mit steigendem SiO₂ weisen auf eine bedeutende Plagioklas-Fraktionierung hin. Alle Vulkanite besitzen hohe Gehalte an schweren Seltenen Erden (chondritnormiert > 9.6) und geringe (Tb/Yb)_n-Werte (1.29–1.08). Mit zunehmendem SiO₂ nehmen die Gehalte an Yb(2.02 bis 4.30 ppm) und Y(18 bis 39 ppm) zu, während die Sc-Gehalte (32.5 bis 20.9 ppm) nur geringfügig abnehmen. Diese Charakteristika, zusammen mit geringen Hf/Lu- und Zr/Y-Werten (10.1–5.87 bzw. 5.7–3.6), schließen Granat als wesentliche, fraktionierende Phase aus. Da die (La/Yb)_n-Verhältnisse (3.24–6.59) nicht mit SiO₂ korrelieren und die chondritnormierten SeltenenErden-Muster keine nach oben konkaven Formen aufweisen, spielte die Fraktionierung von Amphibol keine wesentliche Rolle. Trotz geringer Rb/Cs-Werte ( 18) wird eine beträchtliche krustale Kontamination der Magmen angenommen. Für einen AFC-Prozeß sprechen negative Korrelationen von Nb/U(7.16–3.14) und Nb/Th(2.14–0.87) mit SiO₂ (bei steigenden Nb-, U- und Th-Gehalten), geringe Hf/Ta-Werte (7.8–4.3) und teilweise auch geringe K/Rb- (340-71) und Zr/Rb-Verhältnisse (5.0–1.7).Die Magmatite des Pohorje-Gebirges weisen hohe U-Gehalte sowie geringe Nb/U-und Nb/Th-Verhältnisse auf (3.55–1.85 bzw. 1.27–0.64), die eine schwache negative Korrelation mit SiO₂ zeigen. Zusammen mit hohen Ba/Nb-(56–93), Ba/La-(23-30) und Rb/Cs-Verhältnissen (19–56) sowie bereits publizierten ⁸O-Werten ( 9) weisen diese Eigenschaften auf einen beträchtlichen Anteil assimilierten Krustenmaterials in den Magmen hin. Hohe Sr-Gehalte (455–984 ppm) und relativ geringe negative Eu-Anomalien machen es unwahrscheinlich, daß während des AFC-Prozesses in der Unterkruste wesentliche Mengen an Plagioklas fraktioniert wurden. Obwohl die Gehalte an Sc (9.3–3.8 ppm) und Y (21–14 ppm) relativ gering sind, scheidet Granat aufgrund der geringen (Tb/Yb)_n- Verhältnisse (1.67–1.14) als dominierende Fraktionierungsphase aus. Die Kombination von hohen (La/Yb)_n- Verhältnissen (21.8–13.1) und geringen (Tb/Yb)_n-Verhältnissen deutet eher auf Amphibol als wichtige, fraktionierende Phase hin.

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With 9 Figures     

The first record of dinosaurs in the Dalmatian part (Croatia) of the Adriatic-Dinaric carbonate platform (ADCP)

The first discovery of dinosaur footprints on the Dalmatian part of the Adriatic-Dinaric carbonate platform (ADCP) is reported. They constitute the geologically youngest record of footprints on the ADCP. The trackbearing layer was formed in the intertidal environment and represents the final stage of a shallowing-upward cycle. Just below it, a heavy dinoturbated limestone layer can be observed. Microfacies analysis, incorporating evidence from benthic foraminifera and algae, indicates a Late Turonian–Early Coniacian age. The overall morphology and size of the footprints points to sauropod dinosaurs; they represent the largest forms recorded so far on the ADCP. This hints at a prolonged sauropod presence on the platform and to its Late Cretaceous connection to the continent rather than isolation.     

GGR Critical Review of Analytical Developments in 2004–2005

In 2005 Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research embarked upon a new initiative for its readers. Key researchers in various fields of geoanalytical technique development and their application were identified and invited to provide reviews pertinent to their expertise. As noted in the first of these publications "…instead of revisiting the historical context or decades of development in each analytical technique, the goal here has been to capture a snapshot of "hot topics" across a range of fields as represented in the… literature" (Hergt et al . 2005). Rather than prepare an annual review, a decision was taken earlier this year to provide a biennial summary of progress and accomplishments, in this case for the years 2004–2005. The principal techniques employed in Earth and environmental sciences are covered here, and include laser ablation and multicollector ICP-MS, ICP-AES, thermal ionisation and secondary ion mass spectrometry, as well as neutron activation analysis, X-ray fluorescence and atomic absorption spectrometry. A comprehensive review of the development of reference materials, often essential to these techniques, is also provided. The contributions assembled serve both to keep readers informed of advances they may be unfamiliar with, but also as a means of showcasing examples of the breadth and depth of work being conducted in these fields.     

Reference Materials in Geoanalytical Research -Review for 2004 and 2005

This review gives an overview of the use and development of reference materials of geochemical and environmental interest in the literature of the years 2004 and 2005. In these years the performance of existing methods has been improved and new geochemical applications using new techniques have been developed. Accordingly, there was an increasing need for new reference materials, especially for in situ microanalysis and for precise stable isotope measurements. In addition, there was a notable trend for further characterisation of existing reference materials, mainly for the platinum-group elements. This review focuses on five topics: reference materials for platinum-group elements, reference glasses for in situ microanalysis, zircon reference materials, isotopic reference materials, and the development and certification of reference materials.