Stability and Phase Relations of Trioctahedral Calcium Brittle Micas (Clintonite Group)

On the pseudobinary join CaO:3MgO:Al₂O₃:2SiO₂:_xH2O–CaO:1.25MgO:2.75 Al₂O₃: 0.25SiO₂:_xH₂O clintonite mixed crystals Ca(Mg_{1+ x}Al_{2 – x}) (Al_{4 – x}Si_xO₁₀)(OH)₂ with x rangingfrom 0.6 to 1.4 occur in the temperature range 600–830?C, 2 kb fluid pressure. On the MgSirich side clintonites coexistwith chlorite, forsterite, diopside, and calcite (due to smallamounts of CO₂ in the gas phase) and, at lower temperatures,also with idocrase, hydrogrossularite, and aluminous serpentine.Decomposition of clintonite over a divariant temperature rangeoccurs above 830 ?C, 2 kb; clintonite-free subsolidus assemblagescomprising three or four solid phases are formed in the temperatureranges 890 ?–1120 ?C. The subsolidus assemblages can berepresented in a polyhedron defined by the corners forsterite,diopside, melilite, spinel, anorthite, corundum, and calciumdialuminate. Above 1120 ?C partial melting occurs. The upper thermal stability limits of three selected compositionshave been reversed in the P-T range 0.5–20 kb and 730–1050 ?C, respectively. Below some 4 kb breakdown is dueto the divariant reactions: (1)Ca(Mg_2.25Al_0.75)(Al_2.75)(Si_1.25O₁₀)(OH)₂ spinel+diopside_ss+forsterite+clintonite_ss+vapor, (2)Ca(Mg₂Al)(Al₃SiO₁₀)(OH)₂ spinelx002B;melilite_ss+anorthite+clintonite_ss+vapor, (3)Ca(Mg_1.75Al_1.25)(Al_3.25)(Si_0.75O₁₀)(OH)₂ spinel+melilite_ss+corundum+clintonite_ss+vapor, At the terminations of the divariant temperature ranges (1)melilite_ss, (2) diopside_ss, and (3) anorthite enter those assemblagesand clintonitess disappears completely. The reactions can berepresented by the following equations (1)log,_H2O = 10.2879–8113/T+0.0856(P–1)/T, (2)log = 9.5852–7325/T+0.0794(P–1)/T, (3)log = 7.8358–5250/T+0.077(P–1)/T, with P expressed in bars and Tin ?K. Above 4 kb the upper thermalstability limit of clintonite is defined by incongruent melting,with grossularite participating at pressures above 9 kb. Thesecurves exhibit a very steep, probably even negative slope inthe P-T diagram. There is a close correspondence between natural clintonite-bearingassemblages and thosefound experimentally. The rarity of clintonitein nature is not due to special conditions of pressure and temperaturebut rather due to special bulk compositions of the rocks.     

Convergent flow of ice within the Astrolabe subglacial basin, Trre Adélie, East Antarctica: an hypothesis derived from nummerical modelling experiments

The existence of a large subglacial lake beneath the antarctic Ice Sheet at Terre Adélie indicates the presence of basal ice at its pressure-melting temperature. A numerical model of the ice-sheet thermal regime is employed using the balance velocity of the ice sheet as an initial model input in order to calculate ice-sheet basal temperatures. However, the results from this model show the Terre Adélie area to be characterised by basal freezing. Heat in addition to that accounted for in the model is thus required at the ice-sheet base in order for pressure melting temperatures to be attained. The sources for such heat are (1) an enhanced geothermal heat flux and (2) an increase in frictional heating caused by the flow of ice. In this paper the latter possibility is expanded by hypothesising that subglacial topography induces convergent ice flow around Terre Adélie, causing enhanced basal ice velocities. Model experiments indicate that an increase in ice velocity (from 7 to at least 42 m yr⁻¹) is required to raise the temperature of the basal ice to the pressure melting value. Increased ice velocity, and consequent frictional heat production due to convergent ice flow, may therefore be important in explaining the location of the subglacial lake in this region. These results allow the process of convergent ice flow within a contemporary ice sheet to be quantified. A verification (or otherwise) of the model results may be possible if ice surface velocity measurements from modem GPS methods are made.     

LANDSCAPE PERMANENCE AND NUCLEAR WARNINGS

ABSTRACT. From the perspective of a human lifetime, the hazards of some nuclear wastes are permanent, so the warnings we place at contaminated nuclear sites must be permanent too. I address questions of how best to provide one hundred centuries of public warning at the first facility for permanent disposal, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. Scenarios of intrusion developed to guide the design of warning markers predicted that most of the changes in the area will be social and cultural. Because blatant and permanent markers will increase, not reduce, the probability of inadvertent intrusion, the most appropriate warning is a “landscape of illusion.” Such a landscape needs not permanent surface markers but underground warning devices beneath a soft surface marker. No warning can guarantee deterrence for 10,000 years, however.     

VARIATIONS OF SNOW DEPTH AND DURATION IN THE SWISS ALPS OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS: LINKS TO CHANGES IN LARGE-SCALE CLIMATIC FORCINGS

A study of snow statistics over the past 50 years at several climatological stations in the Swiss Alps has highlighted periods in which snow was either abundant or not. Periods with relative low snow amounts and duration are closely linked to the presence of persistent high surface pressure fields over the Alpine region during late Fall and in Winter. These high pressure episodes are accompanied by large positive temperature anomalies and low precipitation, both of which are unfavorable for snow accumulation during the Winter. The fluctuations of seasonal to annual pressure in the Alpine region is strongly correlated with anomalies of the North Atlantic Oscillation index, which is a measure of the strength of the westerly flow over the Atlantic. This implies that large-scale forcing, and not local or regional factors, plays a dominant role in controling the timing and amount of snow in the Alps, as evidenced by the abundance or dearth of snow over several consecutive years. Furthermore, since the mid-1980s, the length of the snow season and snow amount have substantially decreased, as a result of pressure fields over the Alps which have been far higher and more persistent than at any other time this century. A detailed analysis of a number of additional Alpine stations for the last 15 years shows that the sensitivity of the snow-pack to climatic fluctuations diminishes above 1750 m. In the current debate on anthropogenically-induced climatic change, this altitude is consistent with other studies and estimates of snow-pack sensitivity to past and projected future global warming.     

Sedimentology and geomorphology of drumlins in western Allgäu, South Germany

Form, lithological composition, geomorphological situation and internal structure of three different drumlins belonging to the Pleistocene Rhine and Iller glacial systems in South Germany are described: one consisting almost completely of subglacial till, another consisting of ice-marginal deposits with an incomplete mantle of till, the third consisting of delta deposits. It is concluded that no precise limits should be drawn between accumulation and erosion drumlins.     

Holocene evolution of the Canet-St Nazaire lagoon (Golfe du Lion, France) as determined from a study of sediment properties

The sedimentation in the lagoons of the Golfe du Lion coast (Mediterranean Sea, France) records their post-Holocene evolution. The Canet-St Nazaire lagoon provides an example of such an evolution. Eight cores (ranging from 13.5 to 19.7 m in length) from a transect of the lagoon provide a cross-section of the late Quaternary stratigraphy. The sedimentary sequence comprises mud and sand layers. The two sand formations are identified as parts of two distinct shelf-sedimentary prisms. Stratigraphic analysis defines three stages in the recent, muddy infilling, corresponding to the last divisions of the Holocene. Sedimentation rates of the muds, related to climatic and palaeogeomorphological events, largely determine their geotechnical and geochemical properties. It appears, indeed, to be the most important factor in determining the compressibility index, the saturated bulk density and the organic and water contents of the deposits. Subboreal muds, poorly consolidated and rich in organic matter, correspond to a high rate of deposition. In the Subatlantic muds, in contrast, the sedimentation rate is lower whilst there is a decrease in the organic matter and an increase in the degree of cohesion.     

Holocene (Neoglacial) moraine and proglacial lake chronology, Barnes Ice Cap, Canada

Lichen diameters and radiocarbon dates from the western and southern margins of the Barnes Ice Cap yield a growth curve similar to that from southeastern Baffin Island. As a consequence, the moraine chronology of the northern and western Barnes Ice Cap needs revision, as does the chronology of the large proglacial lakes that existed north of the present Barnes Ice Cap. The revised chronology indicates that moraines were formed along the western margin of the Barnes Ice Cap during the following intervals: (1) less than 100 years ago; (2) 400–500 B.P.; (3) ca. 750 B.P.; (4) ca. 1000 B.P.; (5) ca. 1600 B.P.; (6) ca. 2100 B.P.; and (7) 2800 to 3100 B.P. As the western margin of the Barnes Ice Cap retreated, punctuated by stillstands and readvances, the northern margin of the Barnes Ice Cap lay athwart a series of westerly draining valleys, and a complex of proglacial lakes were dammed between the ice margin and the height of land. This sequence is traced by means of well-developed shorelines, lacustrine deltas, and spillways; specific lake levels are dated by lichenometry.
The Barnes Ice Cap moraine sequence is more complex than other Neoglacial records fringing mountain glaciers in Colorado, Alaska and Lappland. However, the chronology for the western Barnes Ice Cap closely resembles independent moraine chronology of mountain glaciers in Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island, and thus indicates that the difference between the Baffin Island climatic record and the general Neoglacial/Holocene climatic record (Denton & Karlén, Quaternary Research 7 , 1977) is real. Comparison of specific data from Swedish Lappland and Baffin Island shows substantial agreement. Although Neoglacial records may be globally synchronous, the case for a 2500 year periodicity of glacial fluctuations is not proven: a 300 to 600 year return interval is suggested for the period between 0 and 3000 B.P.     

Lake sediments from Store Koldewey, Northeast Greenland, as archive of Late Pleistocene and Holocene climatic and environmental changes

A 2.9 m long sedimentary record was studied from a small lake, here referred to as Duck Lake, located at 76°25'N, 18°45'W on Store Koldewey, an elongated island off the coast of Northeast Greenland. The sediments were investigated for their geophysical and biogeochemical characteristics, and for their fossil chironomid assemblages. Organic matter began to accumulate in the lake at 9.1 cal. kyr BP, which provides a minimum age for the deglaciation of the basin. Although the early to mid-Holocene is known as a thermal maximum in East Greenland, organic matter accumulation in the lake remained low during the early Holocene, likely due to late plant immigration and lack of nutrient availability. Organic matter accumulation increased during the middle and late Holocene, when temperatures in East Greenland gradually decreased. Enhanced soil formation probably led to higher nutrient availability and increased production in the lake. Chironomids are abundant throughout the record after 9.1 cal. kyr BP and seem to react sensitively to changes in temperature and nutrient availability. It is concluded that relative temperature reconstructions based on biogeochemical data have to be regarded critically, particularly in the period shortly after deglaciation when nutrient availability was low. Chironomids may be a suitable tool for climatic reconstructions even in those high arctic environments. However, a better understanding of the ecology of chironomids under these extreme conditions is needed.     

The Transition to Potassic Alkaline Volcanism in Island Arcs: The Ringgit--Beser Complex, East Java, Indonesia

The origin of potassic lavas with within-plate characteristicsin island are settings is unclear. The volcanic complex of Ringgit—Beser,situated in eastern Java, has erupted lavas of both normal islandare calc-alkaline type and atypical potassic lavas, includingsome highly magnesian lavas. The occurrence of these primitivelavas gives an unusual insight into the source characteristicsof the potassic lavas. The lavas from Ringgit—Beser have a wide range of K₂O(1.1–6.4 wt. %) and MgO contents (18.0–1.6 wt.%).The most magnesian lavas have high Ni and Cr contents. The calc-alkalinelavas have incompatible trace element patterns typical of islandare lavas with enrichments in large ion lithophile elements(LILE) and light rare earth elements (LREE) relative to highfield strength elements (HFSE) and heavy REE (HREE). The potassiclavas may be divided into two series on the basis of Ba andNb contents, with the enriched potassic (EK) series having higherBa and Nb contents for a given MgO content than the potassic(K) series. The EK and K series lavas have some incompatibletrace element ratios similar to within-plate lavas (e.g., highCe/Pb, low LILE/HFSE ratios, and low B/Be). However, both theEK series and K series lavas have negative Ti and Zr anomalies,and the EK series lavas have high Ba/La similar to are lavas.There is little distinction in Sr and Nd isotopes between theK and EK series, but the calc-alkaline lavas have lower ₈₇Sr/₈₆Srand higher ₁₄₃Nd/₁₄₄Nd ratios than the potassic lavas. The EKseries lavas have lower ₂₀₆Pb/₂₀₄Pb and higher ₂₀₈Pb/₂₀₄Pb thanthe K series lavas, but similar ₂₀₇Pb/₂₀₄Pb ratios. The K serieslavas define an almost horizontal trend in ₂₀₇Pb–₂₀₆Pbspace. The Pb isotopic ratios indicate that the EK series lavasare derived from a single mantle source, whereas the K seriesoriginate from a mixture of two mantle components. Calc-alkalinelavas have Pb isotope ratios similar to other calc-alkalineand tholeiitic lavas from Java, and plot on a mixing line betweenIndian Ocean mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) and Indian Oceansediment. Incompatible trace element and Pb isotope data for the calc-alkalinelavas indicate that these lavas have a similar source to othercalc-alkaline lavas erupted in Java, namely melts of the IndianOcean MORB mantle fluxed by fluids from the subducted slab.The potassic lavas originate from enriched mantle sources withinthe wedge which have not been affected by recent subductionprocesses. The EK series lavas are derived from a metasomatizedzone which has EMI-type characteristics. The K series lavasare derived from mixing of melts from Christmas Island-type(EMII) mantle and the metasomatized zone. The metasomatizedzone is probably situated at the base of the lithosphere andthe Indian Ocean MORB and Christmas Island-type mantle componentsare situated in the asthenosphere of the wedge. Isotopic datafor Ringgit—Beser lavas confirm that the mantle wedgeof the Sunda arc is extremely heterogeneous (Foden & Varne,1980; Varne, 1985; Wheller et al., 1987). The similarity in geochemistry between Indonesian potassic lavasand those erupted in continental settings indicates that themagma source is essentially the same, namely a metasomatizedphlogopite-rich layer generated by melts of recycled subductedlithosphere. The lack of negative Ti anomalies in the continentalpotassic lavas is ascribed to lower oxidation states in themantle in continental settings.