The sediment composition and predictive mapping of facies on the Propeller Mound—A cold-water coral mound (Porcupine Seabight,NE Atlantic)

Here we provide a detailed qualitative and quantitative insight on recent sediment composition and facies distribution of a cold-water coral (CWC) mound using the example of the Propeller Mound on the Irish continental margin (Hovland Mound Province, Porcupine Seabight). Five facies types on Propeller Mound are defined: (1) living coral framework, (2) coral rubble, (3) dropstone, (4) hardground, representing the on-mound facies, and (5) hemipelagic sediment facies, which describes the off-mound area. This facies definition is based on already published video-data recorded by Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), photo-data of gravity cores, box cores, and dredges from sediment surfaces as well as on the composition of the sediment fraction coarser than 125 μm, which has been analyzed on five selected box cores. Sediment compositions of the living coral framework and coral rubble facies are rather similar. Both sediment types are mainly produced by corals (34 and 35 wt%, respectively), planktonic foraminifers (22 and 29 wt%, respectively), benthic foraminifers (both 7 wt%), and molluscs (21 and 10 wt%, respectively), whereas the living coral framework characteristically features additional brachiopods (6 wt%). Hardgrounds are well-lithified coral rudstones rich in coral fragments (>30 surf%), foraminifers, echinoderms, and bivalves. The dropstone facies and the hemipelagic sediment typically carry high amounts of lithoclasts (36 and 53 wt%, respectively) and planktonic foraminifers (35 and 32 wt%, respectively); however, their faunal diversity is low compared with the coral-dominated facies (12 and <2 wt% coral fragments, 7 and 6 wt% benthic foraminifers, and 4 and 0 wt% balanids). Using the maximum likelihood algorithm within ArcGIS 9.2, spatial prediction maps of the previously described mound facies are calculated over Propeller Mound and are based on mound morphology parameters, ground-truthed with the sedimentary and faunal information from box cores, photographs, and video-data. This method is tested for the first time for CWC ecosystems and provides areal estimates of the predicted facies, as well as suggests further occurrences of living coral frameworks, coral rubble, and dropstones, which are not discovered in the area yet. Thus, sediment composition analysis combined with facies prediction mapping might provide a potential new tool to estimate living CWC occurrences and sediment/facies distributions on CWC mounds, which is an important prerequisite for budget calculations and definition of marine protected areas, and which will improve our understanding of CWC mound formation.     

Geochemical constraints on the origin of the Kicking Horse and Monarch Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc ore deposits, southeast British Columbia, Canada

Two Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) ore deposits, Kicking Horse and Monarch, have been studied with the aim of comparing the ores at the two localities and to characterize the origin of the mineralizing fluids and the ore formation process(es). Both deposits are hosted by the Middle Cambrian Cathedral Formation carbonate host rocks, Kicking Horse on the north and Monarch on the south flank of the Kicking Horse valley near Field (SE British Columbia). The ore bodies are situated at the transition of (western) basinal to (eastern) shallow-water strata of the paleo-Pacific passive margin succession in the Cordilleran Foreland Province of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Both deposits are related spatially to normal faults. In both localities, the ore minerals are dominated by pyrite, sphalerite, and galena. Dolomite, minor quartz, and calcite are also present in close association with the ores. The salinity (21–30 wt% NaCl eq.) and homogenization temperatures (63–182°C) measured in fluid inclusions in carbonate, quartz, and sphalerite lie within the typical range of MVT fluid conditions. The good stoichiometry (50–53 mol% CaCO₃), low δ¹⁸O values (−21 to −14‰ Vienna Peedee belemnite) and relatively high homogenization temperatures (>95°C) of the dolomite suggest the dolomites were formed under burial diagenesis. The ore-forming fluids probably interacted with siliciclastic units, based on elevated Li contents and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, which are highest in the dolomite type after the main ore stage. We propose that the ores formed from the mixing of a downward-infiltrating, sulfur-bearing halite-dissolution fluid with an upward-migrating, metal-rich evaporated seawater fluid, which had already undergone minor mixing with a dilute fluid.     

渤海湾西岸第二道贝壳堤的细分及其年龄序列

渤海湾西岸贝壳堤平原的第二道贝壳堤(II堤)在上古林可进一步划分为被泻湖盐沼沉积物所分隔的两道大致平行、互不相连的堤(II1、II2堤)。以系统的14C年代学研究为基础,在II贝壳堤的下部或底部、下伏地层顶部及相邻的泥质沉积物的合适层位获得一批经过校正的14C年龄。II1堤和II2堤的起止时间分别约为公元前10～5世纪、公元前3世纪—3世纪。     

Interpreting maps through the eyes of expert and novice users

The experiments described in this article combine response time measurements and eye movement data to gain insight into the users' cognitive processes while working with dynamic and interactive maps. Experts and novices participated in a user study with a ‘between user’ design. Twenty screen maps were presented in a random order to each participant, on which he had to execute a visual search. The combined information of the button actions and eye tracker reveals that both user groups showed a similar pattern in the time intervals needed to locate the subsequent names. From this pattern, information about the users' cognitive load could be derived: use of working memory, learning effect and so on. Moreover, the response times also showed that experts were significantly faster in finding the names in the map image. This is further explained by the eye movement metrics: experts had significantly shorter fixations and more fixations per second meaning that they could interpret a larger part of the map in the same amount of time. As a consequence, they could locate objects in the map image more efficiently and thus faster.     

华北克拉通东南缘新元古代凤台组冰期沉积序列及演化

新元古代冰期事件作为一个显著的沉积记录,广泛留存在各个古克拉通。新元古代凤台组肉红色冰碛杂岩仅发育在华北克拉通东南缘,以单一的碳酸盐成分为主要鉴定特征。本文通过细致研究,认为华北克拉通东南缘在新元古代中晚期为陡坡镶边碳酸盐台地环境,受到海洋型冰川作用,形成了凤台组为代表的大陆边缘型冰川沉积地层。冰川运动仅局限于大陆边缘而未引入腹地陆源碎屑,导致凤台组冰碛杂岩中的基质和角砾基本来源于下伏碳酸盐岩地层,并具有冰碛沉积和重力流沉积特征。结合前人的研究资料和成果,凤台组的发育时限为埃迪卡拉纪,可对比关联华北克拉通南缘罗圈组和西缘正目观组,从而在华北克拉通周缘形成了显著的埃迪卡拉纪冰川沉积。另外,凤台组包含多套冰期—间冰期的沉积地层,应指示着次一级的冷暖气候周期,可能记录着埃迪卡拉纪冰期的完整沉积记录。厘清凤台组的沉积序列及演化过程,有利于研究碳酸盐台地在冰期—间冰期的沉积历史,继而完善不同古地理背景下的冰期沉积类型,并补充低纬度地区的冰川作用案例。     

Holocene environment and subsistence patterns near the Tree Shelter, Red Sea Mountains, Egypt

The Tree Shelter site dates to the Early to Mid-Holocene (8000 to 4900 ¹⁴C yr BP). Present conditions around the site are hyperarid, but charcoal remains indicate less severe aridity at the time of its occupation. The environment around the site then supported a rich wadi vegetation, which allowed hunting during the Epipaleolithic and herding during the Neolithic occupation. Although more favorable than today, the environmental conditions also displayed a desert character and seem to have limited the range of domestic herbivores introduced in the area.     

Water balance variability in the confined Aba’ala limestone graben at the western margin of the Danakil depression,northern Ethiopia

Marginal grabens are major development corridors in Ethiopia, and need to be understood for proper assessment of the hydrological budget. This study investigates the water balance of the Aba’ala graben (553 km²) in the period 2015–2016 under the challenge of data scarcity. We measured the rainfall and river discharge in order to analyse the runoff components of the graben. The rainfall volume in the Aba’ala graben showed erratic behaviour, which led to rapid flood runoff of the major river into the graben bottom. The average annual inflow and outflow of the graben bottom for the period 2015–2016 amounted to 364 and 254 hm³, respectively. However, flood runoff and evapotranspiration had a marked effect on water availability. Water storage took 36% of the water inflow into the graben bottom. Sustainable water management could reduce the temporal variation of the water storage in Aba’ala graben.