Fluvial sedimentation in a salt‐controlled mini‐basin: stratal patterns and facies assemblages,Sivas Basin,Turkey

The Sivas Basin, located on the Central Anatolian Plateau in Turkey, is an elongate Oligo‐Miocene basin that contains numerous salt‐walled mini‐basins. Through field analysis, including stratigraphic section logging, facies analysis and geological mapping, a detailed tectono‐stratigraphic study of the Emirhan mini‐basin and its 2·6 km thick sediment fill has been undertaken. Three main palaeoenvironments are recognized – playa‐lake, braided stream and lacustrine – each corresponds to a relatively long‐lived depositional episode within a system that was dominated overall by the development of a distributive fluvial system. At local scale, this affects the geometry of the succession and influences facies distributions within preserved sequences. Sequences affected by wedge geometries are characterized by localized channelized sandstone bodies in the area of maximum subsidence and these pass laterally to floodplain mudstone towards the diaper; several internal unconformities are recognized. By contrast, sequences affected by hook geometries display narrow and steep drape‐fold geometries with no evidence of lateral facies change and apparent conformity in the preserved succession. The sediment fill of the Emirhan mini‐basin records the remobilization of diapir‐derived detritus and the presence of evaporitic bodies interbedded within the mini‐basin, implying the growth of salt walls expressed at the surface as palaeo‐topographic highs. The mini‐basin also records the signature of a regional change in stratigraphic assemblage, passing from playa‐lake facies to large‐scale highly amalgamated fluvial facies that represent progradation of the fluvial system. The initiation and evolution of this mini‐basin involves a variety of local and regional controls. Local factors include: (i) salt withdrawal, which influenced the rate and style of subsidence and consequently temporal and spatial variation in the stratigraphic assemblage and the stratal response related to halokinesis; and (ii) salt inflation, which influenced the topographic expression of the diapirs and consequently the occurrence of diapir‐derived detritus intercalated within the otherwise clastic‐dominated succession.     

TESSIN VISLab—laboratory for scientific visualization

Scientific visualization is an integral part of the modeling workflow, enabling researchers to understand complex or large data sets and simulation results. A high-resolution stereoscopic virtual reality (VR) environment further enhances the possibilities of visualization. Such an environment also allows collaboration in work groups including people of different backgrounds and to present results of research projects to stakeholders or the public. The requirements for the computing equipment driving the VR environment demand specialized software applications which can be run in a parallel fashion on a set of interconnected machines. Another challenge is to devise a useful data workflow from source data sets onto the display system. Therefore, we develop software applications like the OpenGeoSys Data Explorer, custom data conversion tools for established visualization packages such as ParaView and Visualization Toolkit as well as presentation and interaction techniques for 3D applications like Unity. We demonstrate our workflow by presenting visualization results for case studies from a broad range of applications. An outlook on how visualization techniques can be deeply integrated into the simulation process is given and future technical improvements such as a simplified hardware setup are outlined.     

Iridium anomalies and fractionated siderophile element patterns in impact ejecta, Brockman Iron Formation, Hamersley Basin, Western Australia: evidence for a major asteroid impact in simatic crustal regions of the early Proterozoic earth

A stratigraphically consistent <20-cm-thick unit of microkrystite spherule and microtektite-bearing impact fallout ejecta overlying volcanic tuff of the 4th Shale Macroband (DGS4) of the Dales Gorge Member (2.47–2.50 Ga), Brockman Iron Formation, Hamersley Group, Western Australia, displays anomalous platinum group element (PGE) and other trace metal patterns. The unit has high Ir (13 ppb) and Pt (35 ppb), and low Pd (2.7 ppb) and Au (1.55–1.88 ppb). The low Pd/Ir ratios and low Cr/V suggest depletion in volatile PGE and metals relative to refractory PGE and V, contrasted to the ubiquitous high Pd/Ir of most terrestrial rocks. Marked depletion in the volatile Rare Earth Element (REE) abundances in stilpnomelane spherule cores is consistent with this model. The loss of volatile PGE, analogous to relations in 3.24 Ga impact fallout units of the Barberton greenstone belt (S3 and S4), suggests fractionation related to atmospheric spherule condensation. The microkrystite spherule unit locally incorporate fragments and up to meter-scale boulders of banded chert and stromatolite carbonate, suggesting tsunami transport postdating spherule deposition. DGS4 microkrystite spherules are dominated by stilpnomelane mantled by K-feldspar shells, which consist of inward-radiating fibrous feldspar aggregates suggestive of devitrification. The K and REE enrichment of spherule margins are contrasted to flat REE patterns of the stilpnomelane cores, suggesting adsorption of lithophile elements during settling of the spherules through the hydrosphere. K-feldspar shells contain submicron-scale Ni metal, oxide, sulfide and arsenide grains and euhedral needles of feldspar-exsolved ilmenite. Associated magnetite may have high nickel (<1.25% NiO). The generally mafic composition of the spherules and high Ni/Cr and Ni/Co are consistent with a target mafic-ultramafic crust, consistent with the lack of shock-metamorphosed quartz. Mixing calculations suggest a contribution of 2.5–3% projectile component to the impact-generated volatile cloud. Conservative mass balance estimates derived from the Ir and Pt flux, assuming global extent of a 10-cm-thick spherule unit and chondritic projectile composition, suggest an asteroid diameter on the scale of 30 km. Similar estimates are obtained from spherule sizes, which in DGS4 reach a mean diameter of 2.0 mm in aerodynamically elongate spherules. The evidence implies formation of an impact basin on the scale of 400 km in simatic/oceanic regions of the early Proterozoic crust.     

Sources and biological fractionation of Silicon isotopes in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific

Silicon isotopes in dissolved silicic acid were measured in the upper four kilometers between 4°N and 3°S latitude at 110°W longitude in the eastern Equatorial Pacific. Silicon isotopes became progressively heavier with silicic acid depletion of surface water as expected from biological fractionation. The value of ε estimated by applying a steady-state isotope fractionation model to data from all stations between 4°N and 3°S was −0.77 ± 0.12‰ (std. err.). When the analysis was restricted to those stations whose temperature and salinity profiles indicated that they were directly influenced by upwelling of the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC), the resulting value of ε was −1.08 ± 0.27‰ (std. err.) similar to the value established in culture studies (−1.1‰). When the non steady state Rayleigh model was applied to the same restricted data set the resulting value of ε was significantly more positive, −0.61 ± 0.16‰ (std. err.). To the extent that the equatorial system approximates a steady state these results support a value of −1.1‰ for the fractionation factor for isotopes of Si in the sea. Without the assumption of steady state the value of ε can only be constrained to be between −0.6 and −1.1‰. Silicic acid in Equatorial Pacific Deep Water below 2000 m had a near constant δ³⁰Si of +1.32 ± 0.05‰. That value is significantly more positive than obtained for North Pacific Deep Water at similar depths at stations to the northwest of our study area (0.9-1.0‰) and it is slightly less positive than new measures of the δ³⁰Si of silicic acid from the silicic acid plume centered over the Cascadia basin in the Northeast Pacific (Si(OH)₄ > 180  μM, δ³⁰Si = +1.46 ± 0.12‰ (SD, n = 4). We show that the data from the equator and Cascadia basin fit a general trend of increasing δ³⁰Si(OH)₄ with increasing silicic acid concentration in the deep sea, but that the isotope values from the Northeast Pacific are anomalously light. The observed level of variation in the silicon isotope composition of deep waters from this single ocean basin is considerably larger than that predicted by current models based on fractionation during opal formation with no isotope effect during dissolution. Confirmation of such high variability in deep water δ³⁰Si(OH)₄ within individual ocean basins will require reassessment of the mechanisms controlling the distribution of isotopes of silicon in the sea.     

Experimental simulation of plagioclase diagenesis atP-T conditions of 3.5 km burial depth

Dissolution of plagioclase under the physical conditions at shallow to intermediate burial depths is a prime candidate for secondary porosity generation in feldspathic siliciclastic sediments. The diagenetic behavior of granular aggregates of plagioclase feldspar and quartz has been investigated by experimentation performed in a Bridgeman-type pressure vessel. The experiments, each of two weeks duration, simulated pressure-temperature conditions approximating 3.5 km burial depth. By using a double-acting pore-fluid reservoir, solutions of various chemistries were cycled through samples composed of oligoclase or labradorite feldspar and quartz (90:10 wt% respectively).Scanning electron microscope analysis of the post-experiment samples reveals dissolution features and precipitated products. Dissolution voids of 10 microns occur typically in areas of maximum stress such as crack-tips and grain contacts. Dissolution on a larger scale is exemplified by topographical smoothing of grain su faces. The dissolved species are subsequently reprecipitated as Ca-enriched overgrowths (possibly zeolites) and clays. These precipitates are found individually on the scale of 10 microns and collectively as surface coatings on both feldspar and quartz grains. Atomic absorption spectroscopic analyses of the pore fluid suggest that the fluid chemistry is consistent with the observed experimental precipitates.These experiments show that clay coatings are unnecessary precursors to grain surface dissolution and that the diagenetic precipitation is not mineral selective. Also, the mass transfer of the dissolved species appears to be localized because grains displaying both dissolution and precipitation features are commonplace. Volume changes due to mineral transformation/alteration may increase secondary porosity if the dissolved species produced from dissolution are only partially involved in reprecipitation and the remaining dissolved material is flushed out by the pore fluids. However, if the mass transfer is primarily local then permeability would significantly decrease as precipitates may choke the pore throats.     

The 825-1110 angstroms EUV spectrum of Venus

On 15 August 1994 we launched the EUVS sounding rocket payload to observe the 825-1110 angstrom region of Venus's far ultraviolet airglow spectrum. The EUVS telescope/spectrograph obtained good data at five times higher spectral resolution than was previously available in the far ultraviolet. We present these data and compare our results to those obtained by the Galileo UVS and Venera 11/12 UV spectrophotometers. We identify several new spectral emission features, including both singly ionized nitrogen and molecular nitrogen in Venus's spectrum. We also see evidence for electron-impact-induced emission from CO. Finally, the EUVS data indicate that the "Ar" emissions detected in Venus's far ultraviolet spectrum by Venera 11/12 spectrophotometers are in fact not due to argon, thus eliminating the discrepancy between in situ and remote sensing measurements.     

Investigating the Sensitivity of Marine Fog to Physical and Microphysical Processes Using Large-Eddy Simulation

Boundary-Layer Meteorology - Over the past few years large-eddy simulation (LES) has demonstrated success in modelling continental radiation fog, and several recent studies have used LES to...     

Ocean Turbulence and Mixing Near the Shelf Break South-East of Nova Scotia

Boundary-Layer Meteorology - Formation of coastal fog was observed near the southern tip of Nova Scotia when warm, humid air was advected towards the shore over an area of colder water. The...     

Summer algal blooms in a coastal ecosystem: the role of atmospheric deposition versus entrainment fluxes

The nitrogen inputs from atmospheric deposition and bottom water entrainment to the surface layer were modelled in the summer period (May–September) over a 11-year period (1989–1999) and compared to investigate the significance of these fluxes for generating blooms in the Kattegat. In the summer periods the average atmospheric deposition was 2.81 mg N m⁻² d⁻¹ compared to average entrainment fluxes of 5.42 mg N m⁻² d⁻¹, 1.21 mg N m⁻² d⁻¹ and 1.15 mg N m⁻² d⁻¹ for the northern, central and southern part of the Kattegat, respectively. Atmospheric nitrogen deposition alone could not sustain biomass increases associated with observed blooms and entrainment fluxes dominated the high nitrogen inputs to the surface layer. The potential for a bloom through growth was typically obtained after several days of high nitrogen inputs from entrainment in the frontal area of the northern Kattegat and to some extent from atmospheric deposition. The modelled nitrogen input in this area could account directly for 30% of the observed blooms in the Northern sub-basin, and through advective transport 24% and 19% of the observed blooms in the central and southern Kattegat. The direct nitrogen inputs through atmospheric deposition and entrainment to the central and southern sub-basins were small and could not be linked to any bloom observation.