Luminescence dating of ice‐marginal deposits in northern Germany: evidence for repeated glaciations during the Middle Pleistocene (MIS 12 to MIS 6)

The exact number, extent and chronology of the Middle Pleistocene Elsterian and Saalian glaciations in northern Central Europe are still controversial. This study presents new luminescence data from Middle Pleistocene ice‐marginal deposits in northern Germany, giving evidence for repeated glaciations during the Middle Pleistocene (MIS 12 to MIS 6). The study area is located in the Leine valley south of the North German Lowlands. The data set includes digital elevation models, high‐resolution shear wave seismic profiles, outcrop and borehole data integrated into a 3D subsurface model to reconstruct the bedrock relief surface. For numerical age determination, we performed luminescence dating on 12 ice‐marginal and two fluvial samples. Luminescence ages of ice‐marginal deposits point to at least two ice advances during MIS 12 and MIS 10 with ages ranging from 461±34 to 421±25 ka and from 376±27 to 337±21 ka. The bedrock relief model and different generations of striations indicate that the older ice advance came from the north and the younger one from the northeast. During rapid ice‐margin retreat, subglacial overdeepenings were filled with glaciolacustrine deposits, partly rich in re‐worked Tertiary lignite and amber. During MIS 8 and MIS 6, the study area may have been affected by two ice advances. Luminescence ages of glaciolacustrine delta deposits point to a deposition during MIS 8 or early MIS 6, and late MIS 6 (250±20 to 161±10 ka). The maximum extent of both the Elsterian (MIS 12 and MIS 10) and Saalian glaciations (MIS 8? and MIS 6) approximately reached the same position in the Leine valley and was probably controlled by the formation of deep proglacial lakes in front of the ice sheets, preventing a further southward advance.     

Tertiary basalts and peridotite xenoliths from the Hessian Depression (NW Germany), reflecting mantle compositions low in radiogenic Nd and Sr

A total of 17 alkali basalts (alkali olivine basalt, limburgite, olivine nephelinite) and quartz tholeiites, and of 10 peridotite xenoliths (or their clinopyroxenes) were analyzed for Nd and Sr isotopes. ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of all basalts and of the majority of ultramafic xenoliths plot below the mantle array with a large variation in Nd isotopes and a smaller variation in Sr isotopes. The tholeiites were less radiogenic in Nd than the alkali basalts. Volcanics from the Eifel and Massif Central regions contain Nd and Sr, which is more radiogenic than that of the basalts from the Hessian Depression. Nd and Sr isotopic compositions of all rocks from the latter area, with the exception of one tholeiite and one peridotite plot in the same field of isotope ratios as the Ronda ultramafic tectonite (SW Spain), which ranges in composition from garnet to plagioclase peridotite. The alkali basaltic rocks are products of smaller degrees of partial melting of depleted peridotite, which has undergone a larger metasomatic alteration compared with the source rock of tholeiitic magmas. For the peridotite xenoliths such metasomatic alteration is indicated by the correlation of their K contents and isotopic compositions. We assume that the upper mantle locally can acquire isotopic signatures low in radiogenic Nd and Sr from the introduction of delaminated crust. Such granulites low in radiogenic Nd and Sr are products of early REE fractionation and granite (Rb) separation.     

Enhanced residual mean circulation during the evolution of split type sudden stratospheric warming in observations and model simulations

Residual mean circulation changes during the evolution of sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) are investigated by composite analyses of 76 major warming events identified in a present day simulation performed with a coupled ocean–troposphere–stratosphere model from 299 winters. Their dynamical signatures are compared with the 17 SSW events identified from 35 years of Era-Interim data. The main difference is that, relative frequency of simulated SSW events is smaller than that obtained from reanalysis. SSW events are classified as displacement or split events based on the geopotential field values at 10 hPa. The geopotential field values identify 10 and 3 split events in simulation and observation respectively. The model quite accurately simulates some of the dynamical features associated with the major SSW. Residual mean circulation induced by EP-flux divergence, sum of advection and residual forcing are stronger in split events than in displacement type SSW has been confirmed by both simulation and observation. Moreover, the contribution of EP-flux divergence or planetary wave forcing is larger than the contribution of other types of forcing.     

Fluid inclusion study of the Wunugetu Cu–Mo deposit,Inner Mongolia,China

Hydrothermal alteration and mineralization at the Wunugetu porphyry Cu–Mo deposit, China, include four stages, i.e., the early stage characterized by quartz, K-feldspar and minor mineralization, followed by a molybdenum mineralization stage associated with potassic alteration, copper mineralization associated with sericitization, and the last Pb–Zn mineralization stage associated with carbonation. Hydrothermal quartz contains three types of fluid inclusions, namely aqueous (W-type), daughter mineral-bearing (S-type) and CO₂-rich (C-type) inclusion, with the latter two types absent in the late stage. Fluid inclusions in the early stage display homogenization temperatures above 510°C, with salinities up to 75.8 wt.% NaCl equivalent. The presence of S-type inclusions containing anhydrite and hematite daughter minerals and C-type inclusions indicates an oxidizing, CO₂-bearing environment. Fluid inclusions in the Mo- and Cu-mineralization stages yield homogenization temperatures of 342–508°C and 241–336°C, and salinities of 8.6–49.4 and 6.3–35.7 wt.% NaCl equivalent, respectively. The presence of chalcopyrite instead of hematite and anhydrite daughter minerals in S-type inclusions indicates a decreasing of oxygen fugacity. In the late stage, fluid inclusions yield homogenization temperatures of 115–234°C and salinities lower than 12.4 wt.% NaCl equivalent. It is concluded that the early stage fluids were CO₂ bearing, magmatic in origin, and characterized by high temperature, high salinity, and high oxygen fugacity. Phase separation occurred during the Mo- and Cu-mineralization stages, resulting in CO₂ release, oxygen fugacity decrease and rapid precipitation of sulfides. The late-stage fluids were meteoric in origin and characterized by low temperature, low salinity, and CO₂ poor.     

The significance of isotope specific diffusion coefficients for reaction-transport models of sulfate reduction in marine sediments

Modeling isotopic signatures in systems affected by diffusion, advection, and a reaction which modifies the isotopic abundance of a given species, is a discipline in its infancy. Traditionally, much emphasis has been placed on kinetic isotope effects during biochemical reactions, while isotope effects caused by isotope specific diffusion coefficients have been neglected. A recent study by Donahue et al. (2008) suggested that transport related isotope effects may be of similar magnitude as microbially mediated isotope effects. Although it was later shown that the assumed differences in the isotope specific diffusion coefficients were probably overstated by one or two orders of magnitude (Bourg, 2008), this study raises several important issues: (1) Is it possible to directly calculate isotopic enrichment factors from measured concentration data without modeling the respective system? (2) Do changes in porosity and advection velocity modulate the influence of isotope specific diffusion coefficients on the fractionation factor α? (3) If one has no a priori knowledge whether diffusion coefficients are isotope specific or not, what is the nature and magnitude of the error introduced by either assumption? Here we argue (A) That the direct substitution of measured data into a differential equation is problematic and cannot be used as a replacement for a reaction-transport model; (B) That the transport related fractionation scales linearly with the difference between the respective diffusion coefficients of a given isotope system, but depends in a complex non-linear way on the interplay between advection velocity, and downcore changes of temperature and porosity. Last but not least, we argue that the influence of isotope specific diffusion coefficients on microbially mediated sulfate reduction in typical marine sediments is considerably smaller than the error associated with the determination of the fractionation factor.     

Holocene survival of the wild horse in Europe: a matter of open landscape?

The wild horse Equus ferus was one of the most frequent species of the Late Pleistocene large ungulate fauna in Eurasia and played an important role in the subsistence of human groups, especially at the end the Late Glacial. It is frequently assumed that E. ferus became extinct in Europe at the beginning of the Holocene because of the development of woodlands and loss of open habitats. Because of its preference for open habitats and in spite of its adaptability, the appearance or disappearance of the wild horse could therefore be a suitable palaeoecological indicator for the opening of the Holocene primeval woodlands. We revised the dating and reliability of the subfossil record and dated several bones by atomic mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dating. From the beginning of the Holocene (9600 cal a BC) to the end of the Atlantic Period (3750 cal a BC) there are 207 archaeological sites with wild horse records available in Europe. E. ferus survived the Pleistocene Holocene transition in Europe, but the spatiotemporal dynamics of populations fluctuated remarkably in the early and middle Holocene. Small and sparse populations increasingly became extinct during the early Holocene, until between 7100 and 5500 cal a BC the wild horse was almost absent in central parts of the European Lowlands. Particular conditions in natural open patches in the canopy forests, chalklands and floodplains may have maintained the local survival of the horse in some regions of the Lowlands, however. In the Late Atlantic, between 5500 and 3750 cal a BC the range of the wild horse was again extended. It re‐immigrated into central and western Europe, probably as a consequence of increasing landscape opening by Neolithic peoples. The data presented here may be a valuable part of the debate on the degree of openness of the early and middle Holocene landscape. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Radiometric Zircon Ages of a Tuff Sample from the Baishantou Member of Wuyun Formation,Jiayin: A Contribution to the Search for the K‐T Boundary in Heilongjian River Area,China

The existence of the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) boundary in the non-marine succession is expected at Jiayin in the Heilongjiang River area, China. Zircons from a tuff sample from the Baishantou Member of Wuyun Formation in Jiayin were analyzed by the laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U-Pb dating and fission-track dating methods. Ages of 64.1±0.7 Ma (U-Pb) and 61.7±1.8 Ma (fission-track dating) were obtained, which allow re-evaluation of a previously reported late Maastrichian age for the tuff layer that was in conflict with the paleontological evidence. These results confirm the Danian age of the section in agreement with the paleontological evidence.     

Geochemical Stratigraphy and Microvertebrate Assemblage Sequences across the Silurian/Devonian Transition in South China

Carbon isotope (δ13Corg) analyses of non-marine clastic rocks and neritic carbonates and black shales spanning the Silurian/Devonian transition are compared from two richly fossiliferous sequences in Qujing of East Yunnan and Zoige of Sichuan, South China. The two sections, Xishancun and Putonggou sections in South China, reveal positive δ13Corg shifts happening in the Upper Pridoli and Lower Devonian and reaching peak values as heavy as ?25.2‰ (Xishancun) and ?19.9‰ (Putonggou) in the lowermost Lochkovian following the first occurrence of the thelodont Parathelodus and the conodont Icriodus woschmidti woschmidti (only in Putonggou Section and together with Protathyris-Lanceomyonia brachiopod fauna). These results replicate a globally known positive shift in δ13Corg from the uppermost Silurian to the lowermost Devonian. The δ13Corg variations across the Silurian/Devonian Boundary (SDB) at the two sections in South China exhibit a shift in carbon isotopic composition similar to the detailed SDB curves from the borehole Klonk-1 drilled at top of the Klonk Global Standard Stratotype-Section and Point (GSSP) in the Prague Basin, Czech Republic. In addition, four microvertebrate assemblages, including the Liaojiaoshan, Xishancun, Yanglugou and Xiaputonggou assemblages, are recognized from the Silurian/Devonian transition exposed in the Xishancun and Putonggou sections, respectively. The results from both carbon isotope stratigraphy and microvertebrate assemblage sequences suggest that the SDB in South China is located at the base of the Xishancun Formation (between sample QX-20 and sample QX-21) in the Xishancun Section and the lower part of the Xiaputonggou Formation (between sample ZP-09 and sample ZP-10) in the Putonggou Section. The isotopic trend for organic carbon together with the changes of microvertebrate remains across the SDB can offer an approach to a potential correlation of the SDB from different sedimentary facies, which help to correlate the marine with non-marine deposits.     

Fragility curves for masonry structures submitted to permanent ground displacements and earthquakes

Usually, the vulnerability of structures is treated considering only one single hazard, for example either seismic hazard or ground instability. However, historical monuments, cultural heritage structures or old masonry structures can be affected, over the past centuries of existence, by a succession of different hazards. The objective of this paper was to quantify the changes in the seismic vulnerability of a given structure previously damaged by quasi-static differential settlements. In view of this, a soil-structure model of the masonry building is constructed using TREMURI software by putting springs at the base of the building to account for the soil behaviour. Classical empirical relationships are used for setting the mechanical properties of these foundation springs. The chosen equations are valid for both static and dynamic situations. The soil-structure model is first submitted to differential settlements with maximum magnitudes ranging from 5 to 25 cm. Then, the damaged structures are submitted to a set of time-histories. Fragility curves taking into consideration permanent differential settlements are finally obtained, using a modified regression technique accounting for the presence of residual drift due to the prior static loading.     

Origin of composite dikes in the Gouldsboro granite, coastal Maine

Composite dikes, consisting of aphyric basaltic margins and phenocryst-rich rhyolitic interiors, cut the Gouldsboro granite of coastal Maine at many localities. Limited hybridization (exchange of crystals, commingling, and mixing) occurs in most of the dikes and indicates that the two magmas were contemporaneous with emplacement of rhyolitic magma following closely in time the initial emplacement of the basaltic dike. Petrographic characteristics and geochemistry indicate that the source of the rhyolite was resident magma in the Gouldsboro granite magma chamber. The composite dikes formed when basaltic dikes ruptured the Gouldsboro magma chamber, permitting partly crystallized magma from the margin of the chamber to flow outward into the center of the basaltic dikes. Field relations of similar composite dikes in other areas (e.g., Iceland, Scotland) are consistent with this model. A second type of composite dike (silicic margins with chilled basaltic pillows) commonly cuts mafic intrusions along the Maine coast and probably formed when a granitic dike ruptured an established chamber of mafic magma, permitting resident mafic magma to collapse downward into the still Liquid granitic dike. Most composite dikes have probably formed when a magma chamber was disrupted by a dike of contrasting magma rather than by tapping a stratified magma chamber.