Interpretation of grain-size distributions from measured sediment data, Platte River, Nebraska

Breaks in the slope of log-probability plots of cumulative grain-size distributions of bed material are compared with frequency distributions of bedload and suspended sediment over a range of discharges at two stations on the Platte River in south-central Nebraska. The break between suspension and intermittent suspension as determined from the bed-material curve coincides with the upper limit of the grain-size overlap between bedload particles and suspended-sediment particles, whereas the break between intermittent suspension and traction corresponds to the grain size at the lower limit of overlap of bedload particles and suspended-sediment particles. Although grain-size distributions of bedload change little with discharge, the size of the coarsest grains in suspension increases with increasing discharge. Thus, the length of overlap of bedload and suspended-sediment distributions increases with increasing discharge. The limits of grain-size overlap of bedload and suspended-sediment distribution curves associated with near-flood discharges most closely approximate the breaks in the bed material grain-size distribution.     

U-series Isotope Data on Lau Basin Glasses: the Role of Subduction-related Fluids during Melt Generation in Back-arc Basins

New thermal ionization mass spectrometry U-series disequilibriumdata are presented for 24 basaltic to dacitic glasses from activespreading centres in the back-arc Lau Basin (SW Pacific), togetherwith additional inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometrytrace element analyses and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope data.Valu Fa Ridge samples, adjacent to the arc front, have highU/Th and (²³⁰Th/²³⁸U) <1, implying a recent (<<350ka) addition of a U-rich slab-derived fluid. The Valu Fa datacan be combined with existing ²³⁰Th–²³⁸U data for theCentral Tonga arc to infer a fluid addition event at     

Controlling factors of volumetrically important marine carbonate cementation in deep slope settings

The controlling parameters of early marine carbonate cementation in shoal water and hemipelagic to pelagic domains are well‐studied. In contrast, the mechanisms driving the precipitation of early marine carbonate cements at deeper slope settings have received less attention, despite the fact that considerable volumes of early marine cement are present at recent and fossil carbonate slopes in water depths of several hundreds of metres. In order to better understand the controlling factors of pervasive early marine cementation at greater water depths, marine carbonate cements observed along time‐parallel platform to basin transects of two intact Pennsylvanian carbonate slopes are compared with those present in the slope deposits of the Permian Capitan Reef and Neogene Mururoa Atoll. In all four settings, significant amounts of marine cements occlude primary pore spaces downslope into thermoclinal water depths, i.e. in a bathymetric range between some tens and several hundreds of metres. Radial, radiaxial and fascicular optic fibrous calcites, and radiaxial prismatic calcites are associated with re‐deposited facies, boundstones and rudstones. Botryoidal (formerly) aragonitic precipitates are common in microbially induced limestones. From these case studies, it is tentatively concluded that sea water circulation in an extensive, near‐sea floor pore system is a first‐order control on carbonate ion supply and marine cementation. Coastal upwelling and internal or tidal currents are the most probable mechanisms driving pore water circulation at these depths. Carbonate cements precipitated under conditions of normal to elevated alkalinity, locally elevated nutrient levels and variable sea water temperatures. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future work are discussed.     

Provenance and Magmatic-Metamorphic Evolution of a Variscan Island-Arc Complex: Constraints from U-Pb Dating, Petrology, and Geospeedometry of the Kyffhauser Crystalline Complex, Central Germany

The Kyffhäuser Crystalline Complex, Central Germany, formspart of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise, which is assumed torepresent the Variscan collision zone between the East Avalonianterrane and the Armorican terrane assemblage. High-precisionU–Pb zircon and monazite dating indicates that sedimentaryrocks of the Kyffhäuser Crystalline Complex are youngerthan c. 470 Ma and were intruded by gabbros and diorites between345 ± 4 and 340 ± 1 Ma. These intrusions had magmatictemperatures between 850 and 900°C, and caused a contactmetamorphic overprint of the sediments at P–T conditionsof 690–750°C and 5–7 kbar, corresponding toan intrusion depth of 19–25 km. At 337 ± 1 Ma themagmatic–metamorphic suite was intruded by granites, syenitesand diorites at a shallow crustal level of some 7–11 km.This is inferred from a diorite, and conforms to P–T pathsobtained from the metasediments, indicating a nearly isothermaldecompression from 5–7 to 2–4 kbar at 690–750°C.Subsequently, the metamorphic–magmatic sequence underwentaccelerated cooling to below 400°C, as constrained by garnetgeospeedometry and a previously published K–Ar muscoviteage of 333 ± 7 Ma. With respect to P–T–D–tdata from surrounding units, rapid exhumation of the KCC canbe interpreted to result from NW-directed crustal shorteningduring the Viséan. KEY WORDS: contact metamorphism; U–Pb dating; hornblende; garnet; Mid-German Crystalline Rise; P–T pseudosection     

Stratospheric aerosol measurements in the Arctic winter of 1996/1997 with the M‐55 Geophysika high‐altitude research aircraft

In‐situ aerosol measurements were performed in the northern hemispheric stratosphere up to altitudes of 21 km between 13 November 1996 and 14 January 1997, inside and outside of the polar vortex during the Airborne Polar Experiment (APE) field campaign. These are measurements of particle size distributions with a laser optical particle counter of the FSSP‐300 type operated during 9 flights on the Russian M‐55 high‐altitude research aircraft Geophysika. For specific flights, the FSSP‐300 measurements are compared with balloon‐borne data (launched from Kiruna, Sweden). It was found that the stratospheric aerosol content reached levels well below the background concentrations measured by the NASA operated ER‐2 in 1988/89 in the northern hemisphere. During the APE campaign, no PSC particle formation was observed at flight altitudes although the temperatures were below the NAT condensation point during one flight. The measured correlations between ozone and aerosol give an indication of the subsidence inside the 1996/97 polar vortex. Despite the lower aerosol content in the winter 1996/97 compared to the 1989 background, the heterogeneous reactivity of the aerosol (as calculated from the measured data with additional model input) is comparable. This is due to the dependency of the reactive uptake coefficients on the atmospheric water vapor content. Under the described assumptions the reaction rates on the background aerosol are significantly smaller than for competing gas phase chlorine activation, as can be expected for stratospheric background conditions especially inside the polar vortex.