Heretical views on mountain building in Europe and North America: Harbingers of modern tectonics

Since Hutton's doctrine of internal dynamics, geologists have striven to find a rationale for the forces that engender mountain ranges. The 19th century vogue in geological opinion came to a consensus of thermal contraction, and ana priori assumption of shrinking of the globe. Outcrop relations were interpreted accordingly. But leading geologists on both sides of the Atlantic soon observed structures not accounted for by the prevailing hypothesis. The Alpine school of mobilism introduced tectonic polarity (Suess, 1875), nappes (Bertrand, 1884), thrust plates (Termier, 1903) and reached its climax with Argand's visionary perception of crustal flux, of closing ocean basins, and of colliding continents. While the nappe theory was being debated in Europe, another controversy with respect to mountain building surfaced in the American West: the derivation of the Basin Ranges (Gilbert, 1876). Just as the early proponents of large-scale crustal shortening felt that they must dissent from established views, so their contemporaries in America paradoxically discovered still another reason for mountain building, namely, that of crustal extension (Russel, 1884;Le Conte, 1889).

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Zusammenfassung ObwohlHutton (1795) die endogene Herkunft der gebirgsbildenden Kräfte bereits erkannt hatte, sind die physikalischen Grundlagen der Orogenese bis heute nicht abgeklärt worden. Im letzten Jahrhundert waren sich die Forscher zwar einig, daß thermale Erdschrumpfung den Faltenschub bewirke; und entsprechende Querschnitte durch die Faltengebirge sind denn auch zu wissenschaftlichem Allgemeingut geworden. Der bekannteste Fall ist wohl die Glarner Doppelfalte in den Zentralpen (Heim, 1878). Im Gefolge fortschreitender Geländeaufnahmen in den Gebirgen Europas und Nordamerikas erschien das Kontraktionsmodell der Orogenese allerdings stets fragwürdiger. Die Alpengeologen insbesondere verwiesen auf die paläogeographische Konsequenz der einseitigen tektonischen Verfrachtung (Suess, 1875), der Gleitdecken (Bertrand, 1884;Schardt, 1893) und Schubdecken (Termier, 1903). Die neue Anschauung über mobile Orogentektonik fand ihren Niederschlag in Argands meisterhaftem Vortrag über den Bau Asiens am Internationalen Geologen Kongreß 1922 (Argand, 1924).Gleichzeitig mit der Zuspitzung der Diskussion über die Deckentheorie der Alpen, spielte sich auch in Nordamerika eine Kontroverse ab. Auch hier drehte sich die Frage um die Entstehung der Gebirge. Zwar ging es nicht um die üblichen Faltengebirge, sondern um den neuen Typ des Blockgebirges, der im Großen Becken der westlichen Vereinigten Staaten als Basin Ranges (Gilbert, 1876) bekannt wurde. Während die Alpengeologen tektonische Schübe von bisher ungeahnter Größe entdeckten und damit weit mehr Verkürzung der Kruste als die Lehrmeinung wahr haben wollte, hatten es die Erforscher des amerikanischen Westens noch schwieriger, da das Blockgebirge des Großen Beckens offensichtlich durch Ausweitung der Kruste entstanden war (Russell, 1884;Le Conte, 1889). So haben in der alten und der neuen Welt gerade diese, der Lehrmeinung abtrünnigen Ansichten, dem heutigen geotektonischen Denken zum Durchbrach verholfen.

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Résumé Bien que Hutton (1795) ait reconnu la dynamique endogène des phénomènes géologiques, leurs fondements physiques ne sont pas, quant à présent, encore clarifiés. L'opinion en voque au 19ème siècle était en faveur de la contraction thermique comme déterminante de la poussée tectonique. Les profils transversaux dans les chaînes plissées devinrent alors de représentation courante. Tel est la cas bien connu du «Double-pli» de Glaris dans les Alpes centrales (Heim, 1878). Mais des géologues des deux côtés de l'Atlantique observèrent bientôt des structures ne concordant pas avec le modèle de la contraction dans l'orogenèse. L'école mobiliste alpine établit les concepts de la polarité tectonique (Suess, 1875), celui des nappes (Bertrand, 1884), celui des grands charriages (Termier, 1903). La nouvelle conception sur le tectogenèse atteignit son apogée avec la conférence magistrale d'Argand sur la Structure de l'Asie au Congrès géologique international de 1922. (Argand, 1924). — Pendant que la théorie des nappes était en pleine discussion en Europe, une autre controverse sur l'orogenèse se développait dans l'Ouest américain: les problèmes des «Basin Ranges» (Gilbert, 1876). De même que les premiers partisans du rétrécissement à grande échelle de l'écorce terrestre durent s'écarter des points de vue établis, leurs contemporains des Etats-Unis découvrirent paradoxalement une autre cause du soulèvement des chaînes de montagnes: l'extension de l'écorce terrestre (Russel, 1884;Le Conte, 1889).

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Growth mechanisms and geochemistry of carbonate concretions from the Cambrian Wheeler Formation (Utah,USA)

Carbonate concretions provide unique records of ancient biogeochemical processes in marine sediments. Typically, they form in organic‐rich mudstones, where a significant fraction of the bicarbonate required for carbonate precipitation is supplied from the decomposition of organic matter in the sediments. As a result, carbonates that comprise concretions are usually characterized by broad ranges in δ¹³C and include values that are significantly depleted relative to seawater. This article reports results from a physical, petrographic and geochemical analysis of 238 concretions from the Wheeler Formation (Cambrian Series 3), Utah, USA, which are unusual in several respects. Most prominently, they formed in organic‐poor mudstones (total organic carbon = 0·1 to 0·5%) and are characterized by a narrow range of δ¹³C that onlaps the range of contemporaneous seawater values. Subtle centre to edge trends in δ¹³C demonstrate that concretion precipitation was initiated by local chemical gradients set up by microbial activity in the sediments, but was sustained during growth by a large pool of inorganic bicarbonate probably derived from alkaline bottom waters. The large inorganic pool appears to have been important in facilitating rapid precipitation of the concretion matrix, which occurred via both displacive and replacive carbonate precipitation during early diagenesis. Stable isotope data from cogenetic pyrite (δ³⁴S) and silica (δ¹⁸O) phases provide insight into the evolution of biogeochemical processes during concretion growth, and suggest that concretions were formed almost entirely during sulphate reduction, with only minor modification thereafter. Concretions of the Wheeler Formation appear to represent an end‐member system of concretion formation in which rapid growth was promoted by ions supplied from sea‐water. As such, they offer insight into the spectrum of processes that may influence the growth of carbonate concretions in marine sediments.     

Validation of Walk Scores and Transit Scores for estimating neighborhood walkability and transit availability: a small-area analysis

We investigated the validity of Walk Scores and Transit Scores from the Walk Score website using several objective geographic information systems (GIS) measures of neighborhood walkabiltiy and transit availability based on 400- and 800-m street network buffers. Address data come from the 2008 Boston Youth Survey Geospatial Dataset, a school-based sample of public high school students in Boston, MA with complete residential address information (n = 1,292). GIS data were used to create multiple objective measures of neighborhood walkability and transit availability. We also obtained Walk Scores and Transit Scores. We calculated Spearman correlations of Walk Scores and Transit Scores with the GIS neighborhood walkability/transit availability measures as well as Spearman correlations accounting for spatial autocorrelation. Several significant correlations were observed between Walk Score and 400-m buffer GIS measures of neighborhood walkability; all significant correlations were found for the 800-m buffer. All correlations between Transit Scores and GIS measures of neighborhood transit availability were also significant (all p < 0.0001). However, the magnitude of correlations varied by the GIS measure and neighborhood definition. Relative to the 400-m buffer, correlations for the 800-m buffer were higher. This study suggests that Walk Score is a good, convenient tool to measure certain aspects of neighborhood walkability and transit availability (such as density of retail destinations, density of recreational open space, intersection density, residential density and density of subway stops). However, Walk Score works best at larger spatial scales.     

Molecular and isotopic partitioning of low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons during migration and gas hydrate precipitation in deposits of a high-flux seepage site

Detailed knowledge of the extent of post-genetic modifications affecting shallow submarine hydrocarbons fueled from the deep subsurface is fundamental for evaluating source and reservoir properties. We investigated gases from a submarine high-flux seepage site in the anoxic Eastern Black Sea in order to elucidate molecular and isotopic alterations of low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons (LMWHC) associated with upward migration through the sediment and precipitation of shallow gas hydrates. For this, near-surface sediment pressure cores and free gas venting from the seafloor were collected using autoclave technology at the Batumi seep area at 845 m water depth within the gas hydrate stability zone.Vent gas, gas from pressure core degassing, and from hydrate dissociation were strongly dominated by methane (> 99.85 mol.% of ∑[C₁–C₄, CO₂]). Molecular ratios of LMWHC (C₁/[C₂ + C₃] > 1000) and stable isotopic compositions of methane (δ¹³C = ? 53.5‰ V-PDB; D/H around ? 175‰ SMOW) indicated predominant microbial methane formation. C₁/C₂₊ ratios and stable isotopic compositions of LMWHC distinguished three gas types prevailing in the seepage area. Vent gas discharged into bottom waters was depleted in methane by > 0.03 mol.% (∑[C₁–C₄, CO₂]) relative to the other gas types and the virtual lack of ¹⁴C–CH₄ indicated a negligible input of methane from degradation of fresh organic matter. Of all gas types analyzed, vent gas was least affected by molecular fractionation, thus, its origin from the deep subsurface rather than from decomposing hydrates in near-surface sediments is likely.As a result of the anaerobic oxidation of methane, LMWHC in pressure cores in top sediments included smaller methane fractions [0.03 mol.% ∑(C₁–C₄, CO₂)] than gas released from pressure cores of more deeply buried sediments, where the fraction of methane was maximal due to its preferential incorporation in hydrate lattices. No indications for stable carbon isotopic fractionations of methane during hydrate crystallization from vent gas were found. Enrichments of ¹⁴C–CH₄ (1.4 pMC) in short cores relative to lower abundances (max. 0.6 pMC) in gas from long cores and gas hydrates substantiates recent methanogenesis utilizing modern organic matter deposited in top sediments of this high-flux hydrocarbon seep area.     

Water quality analysis of a freshwater diversion at Caernarvon, Louisiana

Since 1991, Mississippi River water has been diverted at Caernarvon, Louisiana, into Breton Sound estuary. Breton Sound estuary encompasses 1100 km² of fresh and brackish, rapidly subsiding wetlands. Nitrite + nitrate, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, ammonium, total phosphorus, total suspended sediments, and salinity concentrations were monitored at seven locations in Breton Sound from 1988 to 1994. Statistical analysis of the data indicated decreased total Kjeldahl nitrogen with associated decrease in total nitrogen, and decreased salinity concentrations in the estuary due to the diversion. Spring and summer water quality transects indicated rapid reduction of nitrite + nitrate and total suspended sediment concentration as diverted Mississippi River water entered the estuary, suggesting near complete assimilation of these constituents by the ecosystem. Loading rates of nitrite + nitrate (5.6–13.4 g m⁻² yr⁻¹), total nitrogen (8.9–23.4 g m⁻² yr⁻¹), and total phosphorus (0.9–2.0 g m⁻² yr⁻¹) were calculated along with removal efficiencies for these constituents (nitrite + nitrate 88–97%; total nitrogen 32–57%; total phosphorus 0–46%). The low impact of the diversion on water quality in the Breton Sound estuary, along with assimilation of TSS over a very short distance, suggests that more water may be introduced into the estuary without detrimental affects. This would be necessary if freshwater diversions are to be used to distribute nitrients and sediments into the lower reaches of the estuary, in an effort to compensate for relative sea-level rise, and reverse the current trend of rapid loss of wetlands in coastal Louisiana.     

Quantification of mineral matter in the Argonne Premium Coals using interactive Rietveld-based X-ray diffraction

The mineral matter in the eight reference North American coal samples of the Argonne Premium Coal series has been investigated on a quantitative basis using X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. X-ray diffraction data obtained from electronic low-temperature (oxygen–plasma) ash (LTA) residues, from ashes produced by heating the coals in air at 370°C, and also from the raw coals themselves, were evaluated using an interactive data processing system ( ™) based on Rietveld interpretation methods. The results from the three types of material (LTA, 370°C ash and raw coal) were compared for each sample. This allowed the components present in the raw coals in crystalline form to be recognised separately from mineral artifacts produced, particularly in the low-rank coals, from interaction of organically associated elements (Ca, S, etc.) during the two ashing processes.After the allowance for the production of any artifacts, the quantitative mineral assemblages identified from XRD of the raw coals were found to be consistent, even for coals having a relatively low ash percentage (around 5%), with the results obtained from the respective mineral concentrates prepared by the ashing methods. The effects of heating the coal to 370°C could also be distinguished, relative to the raw coal or the LTA, through changes in components such as pyrite and the clay minerals.Although some areas of uncertainty exist, particularly with magnesium in the low-rank coals, the calculated chemical compositions of the coal ash derived from the mineral mixtures identified for each coal were also found to be consistent with the results of direct chemical analysis of the respective coal ash materials.     

Groundwater supply and demand from southern Africa’s crystalline basement aquifer: evidence from Malawi

Failure of borehole sources in weathered and fractured crystalline basement aquifers in Malawi in southern Africa has been linked with poor borehole design, mechanical failure and badly sited boreholes. However, recent work in Malawi indicates that demand may now exceed long-term resource potential in some places and that this is also a cause of water point failure. An 11-year climate cycle (including a wet and dry period) necessitates overdraft from groundwater storage during the dry-cycle years before episodic rainfall events in the wetter part of the cycle again recharge the aquifers. Data, particularly groundwater hydrograph data, are sparse, but sufficient to evaluate the long-term renewable groundwater potential for both fractured and weathered basement-aquifer types in each of the 15 management areas in Malawi. The groundwater potential or long-term renewable resource (recharge) is given by the sum of Darcian throughflow and dry-season depletion of storage. Estimated rural demand exceeds the renewable resource in the fractured-rock aquifer in two management units and in the weathered-rock aquifer in two other units. Although there is inherent uncertainty in the water-balance estimates, the likelihood that rural demand is exceeding long-term average recharge in some areas is cause for concern.     

Field meeting in the Isle of Purbeck,September 2012, to examine the Upper Kimmeridge Clay and the Lulworth district

An account is given of a Geologists’ Association meeting in the Isle of Purbeck held on 28th–30th September 2012 and the stratigraphy and structures of the rocks examined during the weekend are described. Uppermost Jurassic Stage nomenclature and recent changes to stratigraphical nomenclature in the uppermost part of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation are discussed and the conclusion reached that the long-established divisions (Members) of this Formation are both readily recognisable and have nomenclatorial priority. The recent change to the position of Pallasioides-Rotunda zonal boundary ignores the ammonite fauna and is inappropriate. For the Lulworth district the stratigraphy of the uppermost Jurassic (Portlandian) through Lower and Upper Cretaceous formations are described and their associated structures discussed. The coastal evolution of the Lulworth coast is briefly discussed.