Palaeozoic Intraplate Crustal Anatexis in the Mount Painter Province, South Australia: Timing, Thermal Budgets and the Role of Crustal Heat Production

The effect of radiogenic heat production within the crust onthermal processes such as crustal anatexis is generally disregardedas bulk geochemical models suggest that crustal heat generationrates are too low to effect significant heating. However, theMount Painter Province in northern South Australia is characterizedby a total crustal contribution to surface heat flow of morethan twice the global average. The province is composed dominantlyof Proterozoic granites and granite gneisses with an area averageheat production of 16·1 µW/m³; individual lithologieshave heat production >60 µW/m³. These Proterozoic rocksare intruded by the British Empire Granite, a younger intrusivewhose origin has remained enigmatic. Isotope geochemistry suggestscrustal sources for the melt and it has a crystallization ageof 440–450 Ma, which places the setting >750 km inboardof the nearest active plate boundary zone at this time. Phaseequilibria calculations suggest that temperatures of at least720–750°C are required to produce the granite butthe intensity of crustal thickening during Palaeozoic deformation(12%) cannot account for these conditions. Here we describea model for the generation of the British Empire Granite inwhich the primary thermal perturbation for mid-crustal anatexiswas provided by the burial of the high heat-producing MountPainter basement rocks beneath the known thickness of Neoproterozoiccover sediments. The high heat-producing rocks at Mount Painterimply that the natural range and variability of crustal heatproduction is much greater than previously believed, with importantconsequences for our understanding of temperature-dependentcrustal processes including the exploitation of geothermal energyresources. KEY WORDS: geothermal energy; low-pressure anatexis; thermal conductivity; thermal regime     

Deconvolution of pyroclastic grain-size spectra for interpretation of transport mechanisms: an application to the AD 79 Vesuvio deposits

A computer code using sequential fragmentation/transport theory was used to deconvolute and characterize a large grain-size data set taken from the AD 79 Vesuvio deposits. The results allow us to interpret transport and deposition processes. Four principal morphological classes of grain-size spectra were recognized in the AD 79 deposits: 1 unimodal distributions with coarse modes and very good sorting; 2 polymodal distributions in which relative fractions of each subpopulation are considerably variable; 3 polymodal distributions, but with one mode greatly prevailing over the other ones; 4 flat spectra in which a large number of size classes show the same loading. Because different eruptive, transport and deposition conditions may have operated on pyroclasts which occur in the same bed, we have assigned grain-size subpopulations, with different modes to specific mechanisms of particle movement and sedimentation depending on the size range of the particles and the textures of the beds. The fragmentation/transport processes considered here occur either within dilute flows (as fall, traction, saltation and suspension loads) or in high-concentration flows (as a fluidized system or one with an extremely high sedimentation rate). Variation in strength and position of modes throughout the entire vertical section of AD 79 products illustrates changes in transport and deposition processes with time. Size spectra from Vesuvio quantitatively demonstrate contemporaneous deposition from fall and surge mechanisms as well as contributions from different levels of hydrovolcanic products. In contrast, vertical variations in size spectra within individual pyroclastic flow deposits suggest variation from high particle concentration near the base of the bed to more dilute depositional conditions towards the top. Lateral variations in size spectra for one marker horizon show how a local pyroclastic flow in a channel grades into a surge on the margins. This study supports the model of continuous modification in loadings of several discrete subpopulations during deposition from a single explosive cloud.     

Using TOPMODEL towards identifying and modelling the hydrological patterns within a headwater,humid, tropical catchment

Increasing pressure on the tropical environment requires a more thorough understanding of hydrological processes as part of reconciling the conflicting demands of economic development vis-à-vis sustainable land management. Using TOPMODEL, a physically based semi-distributed topohydrological model, we test its validity in modelling the stream flow dynamics (hydrograph) in a 1 ha tropical rainforest catchment in French Guiana. Another objective is through field validation of TOPMODEL to ascertain possible runoff generation mechanisms. The field validation of the temporal and spatial hydrodynamics across a rainfall–runoff event reveals that TOPMODEL may be suited for applications to this particular tropical rainforest environment; in fact, this is possibly the first successful application of such a model within the humid tropics. The main reasons why the model was successful are the presumed low hydraulic conductivities of the subsoil, coupled with the absence of an additional deep groundwater body, the contribution from which has caused difficulties in application of topographically, ‘physically’ based runoff models elsewhere in the humid tropics. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE ROLE OF LAKES IN MORAINE FORMATION,CHILEAN LAKE DISTRICT

The nested moraines of the Chilean Lake District have been used to establish a glacial chronology for southernmost South America. This paper focuses on non-climatic controls which may have modulated the climatic signal. It presents a model for formation of the moraines around Lagos Puyehue and Rupanco where there is a nested complex dating from the last glaciation. These moraines can be divided into two types on the basis of their form, position and constituent materials: rampart moraines are broad amalgamated moraine complexes whilst ridge moraines are narrow single ridges usually located around lakeshores. Both types have lateral moraines with low up-glacier longitudinal gradients. Sections in the moraines show they are largely composed of stratified glaciofluvial sediments overthrust on their proximal flanks by clay-rich diamicts containing reworked glaciofluvial material. Despite their different characteristics, a single model explains the features of both moraine types and their location around the down-glacier ends of the lakes. Moraine formation depends crucially on the presence of a layer of water-saturated, fine, impermeable sediment in the lake basins which allows the glacier lobes to advance with negligible surface gradients, probably on a deforming bed. Although the formation of moraines requires a climatically triggered advance, their precise position is not dictated by climatic factors but by contrasts in sediment permeability and grain-size.     

When downhole logging turns to geochemistry

The procedure of lowering geophysical instruments down boreholes on a wire has, over the past 60 years, been a useful aid in defining the physical nature of the rock formations through which the borehole passes. Current developments, however, herald the advent of the use of such techniques for the measurement of geochemical concentrations in a quantitative way. This opens the door to a whole new series of applications in a wide range of geological disciplines.     

Stone runs in the Falkland Islands

Large parts of the Falkland Islands are covered by conspicuous stone stripes. Their appearance is believed to be the result of partial vegetation cover developing on solifluction-transported rock.     

Evaluation of the Glugla method for estimating evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge

Abstract

Estimates of groundwater recharge are often needed for a variety of groundwater resource evaluation purposes. A method for estimating long-term groundwater recharge and actual evapotranspiration not known in the English literature is presented. The method uses long-term average annual precipitation, runoff, potential evaporation, and crop-yield information, and uses empirical parameter curves that depend on soil and crop types to determine long-term average annual groundwater recharge (GWR). The method is tested using historic lysimeter records from 10 lysimeters at Coshocton, Ohio, USA. Considering the coarse information required, the method provides good estimates of groundwater recharge and actual evapotranspiration, and is sensitive to a range of cropping and land-use conditions. Problems with practical application of the technique are mentioned, including the need for further testing using given parameter curves, and for incorporating parameters that describe current farming practices and other land uses. The method can be used for urban conditions, and can be incorporated into a GIS framework for rapid, large-area, spatially-distributed estimations of GWR. An example application of the method is given.