Glacial deposits and ice-sheet dynamics in the north-central Baltic Sea during the last deglaciation

Nine seismic stratigraphic units were distinguished, and their distribution mapped, in an 80 × 130 km submeridionally oriented area in the north-central Baltic Sea, east of Gotska Sandön and Farö. Analysis of these units revealed a great influence of the bedrock topography on the structure and distribution of the glacial deposits. Major glacially eroded valleys in the Baltic Clint, connecting the Faro Deep and the North Central Baltic Basin (Harff & Winterhalter 1996) across a narrow sill, form an extensive submeridional bedrock depression. The concentration of ice flow into this depression is reflected in the drumlinized surface of the till near the Baltic Clint. Large eskers in the elongated bedrock depressions and on the Ordovician Plateau mark the locations of former subglacial meltwater conduits. Termination of the eskers with extensive glacio fluvial outwash fans at the northern limit of the Farö Deep, the presence of subaquatic melt-out till in the bottom of it, and wedge-shaped ice-marginal grounding-line deposit on the Silurian Plateau suggest floating ice margin conditions in the low-lying areas and a local ice shelf confined to the Frö Deep during the deglaciation.     

A Crustal Progenitor for the Intrusive Anorthosite--Charnockite Kindred of the Cupriferous Koperberg Suite, O'okiep District, Namaqualand, South Africa; New Isotope Data for the Country Rocks and the Intrusives

The Koperberg Suite comprises some 1700 small bodies of intrusiverocks largely composed of andesine anorthosite, biotite diorite,and leuconorite, norite and melanorite-hypersthenite; 30 mineshave been established in the O'okiep District in the cupriferousrocks of this anorthosite-charnockite kindred. The suite isintrusive into a sequence of granite gneiss and metavolcanicand metasedimentary rocks, and intrusive granite, that wereelevated to the granulite fades of regional metamorphism.TheSm-Nd model ages for the country rocks and the Koperberg Suiteare all 1700 Ma (T_CHUR) and 2000 Ma (T_DM) supporting a majorcrustforming event in this portion of Namaqualand at the endof Lower Proterozoic times. The granulite fades metamorphismin the O'okiep District is recorded by a Rb-Sr isochron ageof 1223 48 Ma on the Nababeep Granite Gneiss, and by (1197 15)-Ma-old inherited cores of zircons in the Koperberg Suite.The time of intrusion of the Concordia and Rietberg Granitesis believed to be reflected by their Rb-Sr whole-rock age of1105 24 Ma. The mean U-Pb age of 1029 10 Ma on individualzircon grains and zircon rims from the Koperberg Suite recordsthe time of its intrusion, and this is supported by the Sm-Ndwhole-rock age of 1022 42 Ma for the suite. Subsequent coolingand reheating events are recorded by the Ar-Ar ages of 800–850Ma for the Koperberg Suite, and of 500–550 Ma for thesuite and certain country rocks, respectively.An Nd value of-7,and its volume and composition, suggest a crustal-melt sourcefor the intrusive Concordia Granite. Moreover, the age-correctedhigh l_Sr (07061-07272) and low Nd (-9), and the high µ₂(101), that characterize the Koperberg Suite also imply a crustalsource, and a model is presented for the generation of the majorpart of the suite by partial melting of granulites of overallintermediate (diorite) composition in the lower crust. Corresponding author     

Map and GIS database of glacial landforms and features related to the last British Ice Sheet

A review of the academic literature and British Geological Survey mapping is employed to produce a 'Glacial Map', and accompanying geographic information system (GIS) database, of features related to the last (Devensian) British Ice Sheet. The map (1:625 000) is included in a folder and GIS data are freely available by web download (http://www.shef.ac.uk/geography/staff/clark_chris/britice.html). Emphasis is on information that constrains the last ice sheet. The following are included: moraines, eskers, drumlins, meltwater channels, tunnel valleys, trimlines, limit of key glacigenic deposits, glaciolacustrine deposits, ice-dammed lakes, erratic dispersal patterns, shelf-edge fans and the Loch Lomond Readvance limit of the main ice cap. The GIS contains over 20 000 features split into thematic layers (as above). Individual features are attributed such that they can be traced back to their published sources. Given that the published sources of information that underpin this work were derived by piecemeal effort over 150 years, then our main caveat is of data consistency and reliability. It is hoped that this compilation will stimulate greater scrutiny of published data, assist in palaeoglaciological reconstructions and facilitate use of field evidence in numerical ice-sheet modelling. It may also help direct field workers in their future investigations.     

Oncolites from lacustrine sediments in the Cretaceous of north-eastern Spain

Compact micritic oncolites up to 8 cm in maximum diameter occur within Maestrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) Garumniense continental marls of Sierra del Montsec (Lerida Province) of north-eastern Spain. Synsedimentary development is documented by patches of terrigenous quartz that occur among oncolitic protuberances. Soluble nuclei (limestone fragments and bivalves) further suggest an origin through accretion, rather than that of soil pisolite. Similarities between the petrography and isotopic compositions of the oncolites and those of interbedded Garumniense limestones suggest similar sedimentary origins. However, these lacustrine oncolites, like modern counterparts described by others, probably developed through in situ metabolic precipitation of calcium carbonate. Evidence of this origin is their high degree of concentricity, which is unlikely to have developed through sedimentary accretion, inasmuch as the oncolites ‘float’ in quiet-water marls.     

Glacial deposits and Late Weichselian ice-sheet dynamics in the northeastern Baltic Sea

Glacial deposits and landforms, interpreted from the continuous seismic reflection data, have been used to reconstruct the Late Weichselian ice-sheet dynamics and the sedimentary environments in the northeastern Baltic Sea. The bedrock geology and topography played an important role in the glacial dynamics and subglacial meltwater drainage in the area. Drumlins suggest a south-southeasterly flow direction of the last ice sheet on the Ordovician Plateau. Eskers demonstrate that subglacial meltwater flow was focused mostly within bedrock valleys. The eskers have locally been overlain by a thin layer of till. Thick proximal outwash deposits occupy elongated depressions in the substratum, which often occur along the sides of esker ridges. Ice-marginal grounding-line deposit in the southern part of the area has a continuation on the adjacent Island of Saaremaa. Therefore, we assume that its formation took place during Palivere Stadial of the last deglaciation, whereas the moraine bank extending southwestward from the Serve Peninsula is tentatively correlated with the Pandivere Stadial. The wedge-shaped ice-marginal grounding-line deposit was locally fed by subglacial meltwater streams during a standstill or slight readvance of the ice margin. The thickness of the glacier at the grounding-line was estimated to reach approximately 180 m. In the western part of the area, terrace-like morphology of the ice-marginal deposit and series of small retreat moraines 10–20 km north of it suggest stepwise retreat of the ice margin. Therefore, a rather thin and mobile ice stream was probably covering the northeastern Baltic Sea during the last deglaciation.     

Landscape Change and Environmental Histories

Historical geography was once a popular element of university curricula in New Zealand. It was also a conspicuous focus of research. Today however there is only one identifiable course in historical geography in New Zealand's university calendars – at Massey – and few writers have maintained an active research interest rooted in the sub‐discipline. This Comment suggests some reasons why now is a good time for New Zealand's geographers to reassess this state of affairs, and outlines five themes that might be pursued in the construction of more explicit historical geographies at the start of the third millennium.     

STUDIES ON THE GROWTH OF RHIZOCARPON GEOGRAPHICUM IN NW SCOTLAND, AND SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR LICHENOMETRY

Scotland, a maritime subpolar environment (55–60°N), has seen relatively few applications of lichenometry – even though it offers much potential. Perhaps surprisingly, direct measurements of Rhizocarpon geographicum growth rates in Scotland are so far lacking. This study reports on the growth of this crustose areolate species from two sites in Assynt, NW Scotland, between 2002 and 2009. Repeat photography of 23 non-competing thalli growing under identical environmental conditions on a single vertical surface over 5 years at Inchnadamph showed growth rates to be a function of size – with larger thalli (10–30 mm) growing significantly faster than the smallest thalli (<10 mm). Mean diametral growth rates in thalli >10 mm are 0.67 mm yr⁻¹ (s.d. = 0.16). Studies on a second vertical surface near Lochinver, over 7 years, yielded complex growth data on a more mature population of R. geographicum thalli (<50 mm in diameter). Here, mean diametral growth rates in the larger thalli (>10 mm) are slower (0.29 mm yr⁻¹; s.d. = 0.12) than those at Inchnadamph. However, at this site, competition with other species rules out any meaningful comparison of growth rates between the two sites. Other growth processes were monitored over the five to seven-year study period, including hypothallus growth, areolae development, thallus coalescence, and inter-species competition – all have important implications for the use of Rhizocarpon species in lichenometry.     

Fluid flow in sedimentary basins: model of pore water flow in a vertical fracture

Open fractures provide high-permeability pathways for fluid flow in sedimentary basins. The potential for flow along permeable or open fractures and faults depends on the continuity of flow all the way to the surface except in the case of convective flow. Upward flowing fluid cools and may cause cementation due to the prograde solubility of quartz, but in the case of carbonates such flow may cause dissolution. The rate and duration of these processes depend on the mechanisms for sustaining fluid flow into the fracture, the geometries of fracture and sedimentary beds intersected, permeability, pressure and temperature gradients. Heat loss to the adjacent sediments causes sloping isotherms which can induce non-Rayleigh convection. To analyse these problems we have used a simple model in which a single fracture acts as a pathway for vertically moving fluid and there is no fluid transport across the walls of the fracture except near its inlet and outlet. Four mechanisms for fluid flow into the lower part of the fracture are considered: decompression of pore water; compaction of intersected overpressared sediments; focusing of compaction water derived from sediments beneath the fracture; and finally focusing of pore water moving through an aquifer. Water derived from the basement is not considered here. We find that sustained flow is unlikely to have velocities much higher than 1–100 m/yr, and the flow is laminar. The temperature of the fluid expelled at the top of the fracture increases by less than 1% and the vertical temperature gradient in the fracture remains close to the geothermal gradient. Where hot water is introduced from basement fractures (hydrothermal water) during tectonic deformation, much higher velocities may be sustained in the overlying sediments, but here also this depends on the permeability near the surface. Most of the cooling of water with (ore) mineral precipitation will then occur near the surface. In most cases, pore water decompression and sediment compaction will yield only very limited pore water flux with no significant potential for cementation or heating of the sediments adjacent to the fracture. Focusing of compaction water from sediments beneath the fracture or from an intersected aquifer can yield fluxes high enough to cement an open fracture significantly but the flow must be sustained for a very long time. For velocities of 1–100 m/yr, it takes typically 0.3–30 Myr to cement a fracture by 50%. The highest velocities may be obtained when a fracture extends all the way to the surface or sea floor. When a fracture does not reach the sediment surface, the flow velocity is reduced by the displacement of water in the sediments near the top of the fracture. The flow into the fracture from the sediments may often be rate limiting rather than the flow on the fracture. Sedimentary rocks only a few metres from the fracture will receive a much lower flux than the fracture. The fracture will therefore close due to cementation before significant amounts of silica can be introduced into adjacent sandstones. The isotherm slope in the adjacent sediments will in most cases be less than 10–20°. Non-Rayleigh convection velocities in the sediments adjacent to the fracture are too small to cause any significant diagenetic reactions such as quartz cementation. These quantifications of fluid flow in fractures in sedimentary basins are important in terms of constraining models for diagenesis, heat transport and formation of ore minerals in a compaction-driven system.