Bimodal magmatism and associated sedimentary facies with particular reference to the correlation between orogeny and regression

It is stressed that a thorough investigation of the subtle and still poorly understood relationships between orogeny, magmatism and associated sediments is warranted. Certain types of sediments appear to be commonly linked to specific magmatic contexts. This is especially true for the oceanic crust, but it may be equally valid for bimodal continental magmatism with the development of granite. Grand scale regression with the formation of continental detrital deposits could represent the response to mantle upwelling and/or plume activity.

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Zusammenfassung Zwischen Orogenese, Magmatismus und zugehörigen Sedimenten existiert ein enger Zusammenhang, der meist wenig verstanden ist und dringend eingehender Studien bedarf. Gewisse Sediment-Typen sind meist an einen ganz spezifischen, magmatischen Kontext gebunden. Dies ist insbesondere der Fall für die ozeanische Kruste, könnte aber auch für den bimodalen, kontinentalen magmatischen Zyklus mit der Bildung von Granit zutreffen. Die gro\räumigen Regressionen und die damit verbundene Entstehung von kontinentalen, detritischen Ablagerungen könnte die Antwort auf vertikale Mantel-Konvektion oder Plume-Aktivität sein.

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Résumé Il est important de mieux comprendre les relations subtiles existant entre orogenèse, magmatisme et sédiments associés. Certains types de sédiments sont systématiquement apparentés à un contexte magmatique spécifique. Ceci est particulièrement évident pour la croûte océanique, mais pourrait Être également valable dans le cadre du magmatisme continental bimodal avec développement de granite. Les régressions à grande échelle avec formation de sédiments détritiques continentaux pourraient représenter la conséquence d'une activité accrue et/ou de mouvements convectifs du manteau.

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The lattice dynamics and thermodynamics of the Mg2SiO4 polymorphs

We use an approach based upon the Born model of solids, in which potential functions represent the interactions between atoms in a structure, to calculate the phonon dispersion of forsterite and the lattice dynamical behaviour of the beta-phase and spinel polymorphs of Mg₂SiO₄. The potential used (THB1) was derived largely empirically using data from simple binary oxides, and has previously been successfully used to model the infrared and Raman behaviour of forsterite. It includes ‘bond bending’ terms, that model the directionality of the Si-O bond, in addition to the pair-wise additive Coulombic and short range terms. The phonon dispersion relationships of the Mg₂SiO₄ polymorphs predicted by THB1 were used to calculate the heat capacities, entropies, thermal expansion coefficients and Gruneisen parameters of these phases. The predicted heat capacities and entropies are in outstandingly good agreement with those determined experimentally. The predicted thermodynamic data of these phases were used to construct a phase diagram for this system, which has Clausius-Clapeyron slopes in very close agreement with those found by experiment, but which has predicted transformation pressures that show less close agreement with those inferred from experiment. The overall success, however, that we have in predicting the lattice dynamical and thermodynamic properties of the Mg₂SiO₄ polymorphs shows that our potential THB1 represents a significant step towards finding the elusive quantitative link between the microscopic or atomistic behaviour of minerals and their macroscopic properties.     

Ice and climate modeling: An editorial essay

The growth and decay of ice sheets are driven by forces affecting the seasonal cycles of snowfall and snowmelt. The external forces are likely to be variations in the earth's orbit which cause differences in the solar radiation received. Radiational control of snowmelt is modulated by the seasonal cycles of snow albedo and cloud cover. The effects of orbital changes can be magnified by feedbacks involving atmospheric CO₂ content, ocean temperatures and desert areas. Climate modeling of the causes of the Pleistocene ice ages involves modeling the interactions of all components of the climate system; snow, sea ice, glacier ice, the ocean, the atmosphere, and the solid earth. Such modeling is also necessary for interpreting oxygen isotope records from ice and ocean as paleoclimatic evidence.     

Effects of mesoscale atmospheric convection cells on the waters of the East China Sea

Currents and atmospheric parameters were measured in the East China Sea in February, 1975, as part of the AMTEX'75 program. These data were used to describe outbreaks of cold continental air over this warm and shallow sea. Particular emphasis was placed on describing the structure of mesoscale atmospheric cells embedded in the outbreaks and the effects of these cells on the water column.Two cold air outbreaks were recorded. Heat fluxes (latent plus sensible) as high as 1270 cal/cm² day were calculated. Evidence of mesoscale atmospheric cells was found during outbreaks in satellite imagery and in solarimeter data. The development of mesoscale cells was described by correlating fluctuations in the air temperature and absolute humidity records. The cells were found to be best developed when satellite imagery showed that they were of the closed variety. The data suggest that cellular activity matures from open to closed cell types.During the period of greatest development, a representative closed cell was 24–30 km in diameter, moved at 8 m s^-1 over the spar buoy, had a temperature fluctuation of 0.4 °C, an absolute humidity fluctuation of 0.4 g kg^-1, and wind speed and heat flux fluctuations of - 12.5%.A non-dimensional index, formed from the fluctuations of the air temperature and absolute humidity records, was used to indicate the passage of mesoscale atmospheric cells over the measuring site. Using this index as input and the fluctuations in the oceanic parameters at a depth of 20 m as output, it was found that the passage of mature cells was significantly correlated with temperature fluctuations and current fluctuations aligned 25 ° to the right of the wind about 45 min later.