Timing of Late Quaternary glaciation along the southwestern slopes of the Qilian Shan, Tibet

Moraines along the southwestern slopes of the Qilian Shan were dated using cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) surface exposure techniques to help define the timing of glaciation in northernmost Tibet. The CRN data show glaciers extending 5–10 km beyond their present positions during the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and probably maintained at their maximum extent until the Lateglacial. These data help support the view that glaciers throughout Tibet and the Himalaya were maintained at or near their maximum LGM extent until the Lateglacial. An optically stimulated luminescence date of 11.8 ± 1.0 ka on silt that caps a latero-frontal moraine shows that glaciers had retreated significantly by the end of the Pleistocene and that loess was beginning to form in this region in response to the changing climate during and after the Younger Dryas Stade.     

Geochemical Evolution and Unusual Pyroxene Chemistry of the MD Tholeiite Dyke Swarm from the Archaean Craton of Southern West Greenland

The MD dyke swarm is composed of four generations of large basictholeiite dykes which cut the entire Archaean craton of southernWest Greenland. The four successive generations (MD1, MD2, MD3a,MD3b) are characterized by their orientation and cross-cuttingrelationships and by their mineralogy, texture and progressivelyevolved tholeiitic chemistry. Rare-earth element (REE) abundancessuggest that the dykes may have a fairly complex petrogeneticevolution. The suite varies from early (MD1) heteradcumulatenorites to ophitic and sub-ophitic gabbroic and doleritic rocks(MD2 and MD3) and the youngest generation (MD3b) comprises plagioclase-phyricdolerites. The pyroxene chemistry parallels the geochemical evolution ofthe dykes showing an overall Fe-enrichment trend. However, theclinopyroxenes are enigmatic in that, although they occur predominantlyas part of medium and coarse-grained holocrystalline textures,they are chemically highly variable and calcium-poor, many plottingin the metastable field in the system MgSiO₃ (En)-CaSiO₃ (Wo)-FeSiO₃(Fs). Many individual grains are extremely complex and may beregularly or irregularly zoned. Along with more typical pyroxene forms, the MD1 dykes containpyroxene dendrites poikilitically enclosed by plagioclase. Thedendrites vary compositionally from hypersthene bases to branchesof pigeonite and subcalcic augite and terminate in augite branchtips. The MD2 and MD3a dyke pyroxenes are the most complex.The majority of them are sub-ophitic grains, many with successivezones of orthopyroxene, pigeonite, subcalcic augite, augiteand ferroaugite. However, Ca-enrichment or Ca-depletion, Fe-enrichmentor Fe-depletion and apparently opposing zoning trends can occurin neighbouring grains. Even small interstitial pyroxenes showa very wide range of compositions. Morphologically unusual andcomplex clinopyroxene ‘cylinders’ occur in someof the MD3a dykes. They are chemically relatively uniform andare normal tholeiitic augites. The MD3b rocks have small concentricallyzoned sub-ophitic pyroxenes which show Ca-enrichment with arelatively constant Fs component (29 to 39 mol. per cent). Themost extremely zoned grains have hypersthene cores with successivecoronas of pigeonite and subcalcic augite and have margins ofaugite or ferroaugite. The present ‘coexistence’of such compositionally widely variable pyroxenes and the extremeand often irregular nature of their chemical zoning make thedetermination of true original coexisting pyroxene phases andthe use of a two pyroxene geothermometer very difficult andof limited significance. The presence of a wide variety of pyroxenes of apparently bothstable and metastable compositions in these holocrystallinedykes suggests that these rocks have undergone a complex andrather unusual cooling history. The principal genetic factorswhich could have influenced their crystallization are (1) supercooling,(2) the evolution of discrete interstitial liquid cells, (3)augite-pigeonite peritectic reactions and (4) plagioclase growthand delay of pyroxene nucleation during supercooling of liquidto below the basalt liquidus.     

Alkali Picrites Formed by Melting of Old Metasomatized Lithospheric Mantle: Manitdlat Member, Vaigat Formation, Palaeocene of West Greenland

Alkaline picrites and basalts constitute 20–200 m of lavaflows and hyaloclastites in the middle part of an     

Sediment waves in a modern high-energy glacilacustrine environment

A 4·7 km² field of sediment waves occurs in front of the Slims River delta in Kluane Lake, the largest lake in the Yukon Territory. Slims River heads in the Kaskawulsh Glacier, part of the St Elias Ice Field and discharges up to 400 m³ s^?1 of water with suspended sediment concentrations of up to 7 g l^?1. The 19 km long sandur of Slims River was created in the past 400 years since Kaskawulsh Glacier advanced and dammed the lake and the sandur has advanced into Kluane Lake at an average rate of 48 m a^?1. However, this rate is decreasing as flow is diverted from Slims River because of the retreat of the Kaskawulsh Glacier. The sandur and a road constructed on the delta remove coarse‐grained sediment, so the river delivers dominantly mud to the lake. Inflow during summer generates quasi‐continuous turbidity currents with velocities up to 0·6 m s^?1. The front of the delta consists of a plane surface sloping lakeward at 0·0188 (1·08°). A field of sediment waves averaging 130 m in length and 2·3 m in amplitude has developed on this surface. Slopes on the waves vary from ?0·067 (?3·83°, i.e. sloping in the opposite direction to the regional slope) to 0·135 (7·69°). The internal structure of the sediment waves, as documented by seismic profiling, shows that sedimentation on the stoss portion of the wave averages 2·7 times that on the lee portion. Rates of sediment accumulation in the wave field are about 0·3 m a^?1, so these lacustrine waves have formed in a much shorter period of time (less than 200 years) and are advancing upslope towards the delta much more quickly (1 to 2 m a^?1) than typical marine sediment waves. These waves formed on the flat surface of the lake floor, apparently in the absence of pre‐existing forms, and they are altered and destroyed as the wave field advances and the characteristics of the turbidity currents change.     

Carbonate stromatolites from a Messinian hypersaline setting in the Caltanissetta Basin, Sicily: petrographic evidence of microbial activity and related stable isotope and rare earth element signatures

Lower Messinian stromatolites of the Calcare di Base Formation at Sutera in Sicily record periods of low sea‐level, strong evaporation and elevated salinity, thought to be associated with the onset of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Overlying aragonitic limestones were precipitated in normal to slightly evaporative conditions, occasionally influenced by an influx of meteoric water. Evidence of bacterial involvement in carbonate formation is recorded in three dolomite‐rich stromatolite beds in the lower portion of the section that contain low domes with irregular crinkly millimetre‐scale lamination and small fenestrae. The dominant microfabrics are: (i) peloidal and clotted dolomicrite with calcite‐filled fenestrae; (ii) dolomicrite with bacterium‐like filaments and pores partially filled by calcite or black amorphous matter; and (iii) micrite in which fenestrae alternate with dark thin wispy micrite. The filaments resemble Beggiatoa‐like sulphur bacteria. Under scanning electron microscopy, the filaments consist of spherical aggregates of dolomite, interpreted to result from calcification of bacterial microcolonies. The dolomite crystals are commonly arranged as rounded grains that appear to be incorporated or absorbed into developing crystal faces. Biofilm‐like remains occur in voids between the filaments. The dolomite consistently shows negative δ¹³C values (down to ?11·3‰) and very positive δ¹⁸O (mean value 7·9‰) that suggest formation as primary precipitate with a substantial contribution of organic CO₂. Very negative δ¹³C values (down to ?31·6‰) of early diagenetic calcite associated with the dolomite suggest contribution of CO₂ originating by anaerobic methane oxidation. The shale‐normalized rare earth element patterns of Sutera stromatolites show features similar to those in present‐day microbial mats with enrichment in light rare earth elements, and M‐type tetrad effects (enrichment around Pr coupled to a decline around Nd and a peak around Sm and Eu). Taken together, the petrography and geochemistry of the Sutera stromatolites provide diverse and compelling evidence for microbial influence on carbonate precipitation.     

Between a Hotspot and a Cold Spot: Isotopic Variation in the Southeast Indian Ridge Asthenosphere, 86{degrees}E-118{degrees}E

Glasses from a 2600 km section of the Southeast Indian Ridgewest of the Australian–Antarctic Discordance all possessNd–Pb–Sr isotopic signatures typical of Indian Oceanridge basalt. The boundary between Pacific- and Indian-Ocean-typeridge basalt within the Discordance thus marks the westernmostextent of shallow Pacific-type asthenosphere beneath the ridge.Along-axis He, Nd, Pb, and Sr isotopic patterns are largelyindependent of ridge segmentation, but a weak tendency is evidentfor the most strongly Indian-Ocean-type mantle to be relativelyfusible and for shallower asthenosphere to have lower ³He/⁴He.On average,     

A theoretical model for aeolian impact ripples

New insights into the grain-bed impact process arising from both numerical and physical experiments involving single grain impacts lead to a more complete conceptual model of the aeolian saltation process that in turn allows a simple model of aeolian impact ripples to be developed. The saltating population may be idealized as consisting of (1) long trajectory, high impact-energy, constant impact-angle ‘successive saltations’, and (2) short trajectory, low impact-energy ‘reptations’. It is argued that the spatial variations in mass flux due to the reptating population lead to the growth and translation of impact ripples. Using the sediment continuity equation, an expression for the spatial variation in the ejection rate of reptating grains from a sinusoidally perturbed bed, and a probability distribution for the reptation lengths, a simple stability analysis demonstrates that the flat bed is unstable to small amplitude perturbations. A fastest-growing wavelength emerges that is roughly six times the mean reptation length, and is only weakly dependent upon the detailed shape of the probability distribution of reptation lengths. The results match well with the observed initial wavelengths in wind tunnel experiments.     

Mineralogy and Petrology of a Tactite near Helena, Montana

The aluminous pyroxene, fassaite, occurs in two small tabularbodies within mafic plutonites of the Boulder Batholith nearits north-east margin twelve miles east of Helena, Montana.First described by Knopf & Lee (1957), the bodies are contact-metasomatizedlimestone septa, now magnesian-tactites, consisting chieflyof fassaite, spinel, garnet, vesuvianite, and clintonite. Lesscommon minerals include pargasite, diopside, wollastonite, sphene,perovskite, anorthite, forsterite, calcite and chlorite. Sometwenty-five microprobe analyses of the fassaite show it is variablein composition and largely consists of the components CaMgSi₂O₆(53–83 per cent), CaAl₂SiO₆ (7–25 per cent), CaFeAlSiO₆(8–28 per cent), and CaTiAl₂O₆ (0–7 per cent). Thestoichiometry generally requires that most of the iron is ferric,consistent with Mössbauer data taken on a typical sample.If fassaite analyses from these and other contact metamorphicrocks are plotted on a triangular diagram with Ca(Mg,Fe)Si₂O₆,CaAl₂SiO₆ and CaFeAlSiO₆ as end-members, the distribution ofpoints offers no positive evidence for a solvus gap betweenfassaite and diopside as proposed by Ginzburg (1969). The mostaluminous fassaites occur with spinel-clintonite ± grossularand have 25 per cent of the Si replaced by Al, making them truepolymorphs of a garnet (i.e. Gr₄₂And₂₃Pp₃₅). No unusual cationordering is detected in these fassaites by single-crystal X-rayphotographs or Mössbauer measurements. Smede's (1966) estimate of 3–4 km of stratigraphic coverfor the Boulder Batholith indicates pressures of approximately1 kb, in agreement with the occurrence of andalusite + K-feldsparin a hornfels at the Kokaruda Ranch complex. The partial assemblagesof grossular, epidote, perovskite, anorthite-wollastonite, anorthite-calcite,and fassaite-calcite require X_CO2 = 0·12 ± 0·08and T = 570 ± 10 °C at these pressures. These pressuresand temperatures place this occurrence in the upper portionsof the hornblende-hornfels facies after Turner (1968), althoughthe low pressures and water-rich fluids permit assemblages (wollastonite,calcite-forsterite-diopside) that Turner lists as characteristicof the pyroxene-hornfels facies.     

Sealers Bay submarine fan complex, Oligocene, southern New Zealand

The Oligocene Balleny Group of Chalky Island, southwestern Fiordland, comprises a typical continental margin sequence 900 m in thickness. Thin nearshore traction deposited sediments at the base are overlain by submarine canyon and fan lithofacies that were deposited by the full range of subaqueous mass-transport processes. A steep-walled channel within Balleny Group is interpreted as a fossil proximal fan-channel. The sedimentary fill of the channel is texturally similar to sediments moving by slump-creep in Recent submarine canyons and fan-valleys. The field data presented indicate (1) that a small canyon complex at Sealers Bay was initially cut by subaqueous debris-flows derived from an adjacent cliffed continental coast; (2) that transport within the upper parts of the canyon and fanchannel complex was primarily by inertia-flow and slump-creep; and (3) that these more proximal types of mass-transport gave way gradationally and successively to fluxoturbidity and turbidity currents at locations further down-slope, with consequent deposition of sediment in more distal fan-channel and fan-surface environments as fluxoturbidites and turbidites, with lesser contributions from inertia-flows.     

Porosity evolution of the Cambrian Bonneterre Dolomite, south-eastern Missouri, USA

The Cambrian Bonneterre Dolomite of south-eastern Missouri, USA, hosts the large Mississippi Valley type (MVT) lead-zinc-copper ore deposits of the region. The Bonneterre Dolomite consists of dolomitized algal bioherms, oolitic grainstone and associated lithologies that were deposited on a carbonate platform surrounding the Precambrian age St Francois Mountains. Porosity was determined by point counting thin sections from cores and mines in the Bonneterre Dolomite and by gas porosimetry. Volumes of epigenetic cements were estimated by point counting cement filling micro- and mesoporosity using cathodoluminescence. Cement volumes were added to present porosity to estimate porosities during various stages of mineralization. Prior to the onset of mineralization, micro- and mesoporosity in the Bonneterre Dolomite averaged approximately 19%. Precipitation of early dolomite cement (roughly concurrent with the main period of sulphide deposition) reduced average porosity to approximately 7% and closed off much of the intercrystalline pore space. Later cementation by dolomite (prior to late stage sulphides) reduced porosity to approximately 5%, and late cementation by quartz further reduced porosity to the present average value of <4%. Periods of carbonate dissolution during MVT mineralization enhanced large scale megaporosity associated with fractures and breccias but did not significantly increase smaller scale porosity. Dolomite cementation associated with MVT mineralization, porosity and permeability were facies controlled. Today, as a result of mineralization, large scale fractures and breccias control porosity and permeability. This study indicates that dolomite porosity may undergo significant change during basinal brine migrations associated with MVT mineralization.