Three-dimensional architecture and development of Danian bryozoan mounds at Limhamn, south-west Sweden, using ground-penetrating radar

Bryozoan mounds from the middle Danian (Lower Palaeocene) of the Danish Basin represent a possibly new class of non‐cemented skeletal mounds. The sedimentology and palaeoecology of the mounds have recently been studied in detail. Three‐dimensional images of middle Danian bryozoan mound structures in the Limhamn limestone quarry, south‐west Sweden, obtained from combined reflected ground‐penetrating radar signals and outcrop analysis provide new information about the architecture and growth development of such mounds. The mounds are composed of bryozoan limestone and dark‐grey to black flint bands which outline mound geometries. Ground‐penetrating radar data sections are collected over a 120 m by 60 m grid of data lines with trace spacing of 0·25 m, providing a depth penetration of 7 to 12 m and a vertical resolution of ca 0·30 m. The ground‐penetrating radar images outline the geometry of the internal layering of the mounds which, typically, have widths and lengths of 30 to 60 m and heights of 5 to 10 m. Mound architecture and growth show great variability in the ground‐penetrating radar images. Small‐scale mound structures with a palaeorelief of only a few metres may constitute the basis for growth of larger mounds. The outermost beds of the individual mounds are commonly characterized by sub‐parallel to parallel reflections which have a circular to slightly oval appearance in map view. The mounds are mainly aggrading and do not show clear signs of pronounced lateral migration during growth, although some mound structures indicate a preferential growth direction towards the south. Growth patterns interpreted from the ground‐penetrating radar images suggest that the palaeocurrents in the study area may have shown great variability, even on a small scale. This observation is in contrast to results from studies of extensive, slightly older early Danian mound complexes exposed in coastal cliffs at Stevns Klint and Karlby Klint located 50 and 200 km away from the study area, respectively. At these locations the mounds show a remarkably uniform development and typically are asymmetrical, clearly showing migration directions towards the south. These differences in mound geometry may be the result of differences in the current systems and water depths that existed during formation of the early and middle Danian mounds, respectively. The mounds at Limhamn were located closer to the basin margin in shallower water than those at Stevns Klint and Karlby Klint. In addition, the difference in mound architecture may be due to the occurrence of non‐layered, irregular coral mounds intercalated with the bryozoan mounds at Limhamn.     

A New Video and Digital Camera System for Studies of the Dynamics of Microtopographic Features on Tidal Flats

A newly developed video and camera system for tidal flat microtopographic studies is presented. It consists of a SONY handy cam placed in an underwater housing mounted on a frame about 70?cm above the sediment surface. A rectangular surface area of 30?×40?cm is imaged by the camera. The camera records video sequences and/or digital images at predetermined time lapses. The total number of images is about 540, and a similar number of 10-second long video sequences can be recorded. The camera is programmed with a PC before deployment, and the total deployment time depends on the time lapse between recordings. The camera is connected to an external power supply (12?volt), and a halogen projector pointing towards the sediment surface ensures that the system is operable on a 24-hours scale. The system has been tested in the Danish Wadden Sea. It has proved to be a very useful tool in studies of topographic effects of erosion and deposition sequences, and for studies of benthic organisms-sediment interactions. The test site was further equipped with sensors for water and seabed measurements, which proved to be indispensable regarding the interpretation of recorded image time-series.     

Stadials and interstadials during the Weichsel glackiation on Finnmarksvidda, northern Norway

Till beds and waterlain sediments from at least 3 stadials and 2 interstadials during the Weichsel glaciation are recorded on Finnmarksvidda. The oldest, possibly Weichselian, ice-free period recorded on Finnmarksvidda is represented in one river section and is preliminary named the Vuolgamasjåkka thermomer. Its initiation is TL-dated to about 120 ka, which indicates a pre-Weichselian, possibly Eemian age. The interstadial which follows the subsequent and assumed oldest Weichsel stadial on Finnmarksvidda, the Eiravarri interstaeial, has previously been tentatively correlated lithostratigtrahically with the Peräpohojola interstadial ( sensu stricto ) in North Finland. The youngest interstadial, the Sargejåk internatiodial , is in this paper suggested to correlate with the Tärändö interstadial in North Sweden. The initial Weichselian ice movement across Finnmarksvidda is so far unknown, but locally N of Kautokeino in the W the initial (recorded) ice movement was directed towards NW-N. The regional ice movements for the two subsequent stadials on Finnmarksvidda were initially directed towards NE-ene and NNW, respectively.     

A Late Pleistocene sequence at Seitevare, Swedish Lapland

A peat layer beneath two till beds was found at Seitevare in Swedish Lapland. The pollen flora layer indicates deposition during the later part of the Eemian Interglacial. The vegetation consisted of open forests predominated by pine and birch, mixed with alder and spruce. The sedimentation took place in a small oligotrophic-dystrophic water basin with a pH about 5, according to the diatom flora. In an adjacent section, silty sediments with pollen indicating interstadial vegetation (birches, herbs) are covered by one till bed. These sediments are tentatively correlated with the Peräpohjola Interstadial in northern Finland and north-eastern Sweden. The lithostratigraphy indicates one pre-Eemian and probably three Weichselian glacial advances.     

Bryophytes from the last interglacial/glacial cycle, Jameson Land, East Greenland

Subfossil bryophyte remains from Jameson Land, central East Greenland reveal diverse moss floras from the Langelandselv interglacial and the Hugin Sø interstadial. Around 30 species are reported as new subfossils from Greenland, indicating our insufficient knowledge of earlier bryophyte floras in the area. Among the species found from the Langelandselv interglacial. Several are southern and do not reach as far north as Jameson Land today, thus indicating a slightly warmer climate than at present in the area. The climate indications for the Hugin Sø interstadial are less clear, and further studies are necessary before delinitivc conclusions can he drawn. A large proportion of the found taxa indicate mineral-rich or intermediately mineral-rich conditions. Several wetland species indicate moving water, and a few sometimes or exclusively ( Sanionia nivalis ) occur in connection with late snow beds or meltwater brooks. Abundant material or the Polytrichaceae and of Racomitrum indicates that more or less unstable soil. with sparse vascular plant cover, was relatively abundant.     

Oxygen isotope ratios in magnetite core-and-mantle structures

In a polymetamorphic, felsic, biotite-bearing gneiss, biotite has reacted to form magnetite and microcline. The resulting structure is a magnetite core surrounded by a mantle of feldspar and quartz normally not exceeding 20mm in diameter. Measurements of oxygen isotope ratios disclose disequilibrium between mantle microcline and mantle quartz and also between mantle and matrix minerals of the same species. A clustering of temperature estimates from the oxygen isotope distribution between magnetite and quartz and between magnetite and microcline in the interval 550 to 600°C suggests an approach to oxygen isotope equilibrium. No signs of a re-equilibriation of the reacting biotite can be found.