Exploring the impact of diagenesis on (isotope) geochemical and microstructural alteration features in biogenic aragonite

For the Quaternary and Neogene, aragonitic biogenic and abiogenic carbonates are frequently exploited as archives of their environment. Conversely, pre‐Neogene aragonite is often diagenetically altered and calcite archives are studied instead. Nevertheless, the exact sequence of diagenetic processes and products is difficult to disclose from naturally altered material. Here, experiments were performed to understand biogenic aragonite alteration processes and products. Shell subsamples of the bivalve Arctica islandica were exposed to hydrothermal alteration. Thermal boundary conditions were set at 100°C, 175°C and 200°C. These comparably high temperatures were chosen to shorten experimental durations. Subsamples were exposed to different ¹⁸O‐depleted fluids for durations between two and twenty weeks. Alteration was documented using X‐ray diffraction, cathodoluminescence, fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, as well as conventional and clumped isotope analyses. Experiments performed at 100°C show redistribution and darkening of organic matter, but lack evidence for diagenetic alteration, except in Δ₄₇ which show the effects of annealing processes. At 175°C, valves undergo significant aragonite to calcite transformation and neomorphism. The δ¹⁸O signature supports transformation via dissolution and reprecipitation, but isotopic exchange is limited by fluid migration through the subsamples. Individual growth increments in these subsamples exhibit bright orange luminescence. At 200°C, valves are fully transformed to calcite and exhibit purple‐blue luminescence with orange bands. The δ¹⁸O and Δ₄₇ signatures reveal exchange with the aqueous fluid, whereas δ¹³C remains unaltered in all experiments, indicating a carbonate‐buffered system. Clumped isotope temperatures in high‐temperature experiments show compositions in broad agreement with the measured temperature. Experimentally induced alteration patterns are comparable with individual features present in Pleistocene shells. This study represents a significant step towards sequential analysis of diagenetic features in biogenic aragonites and sheds light on reaction times and threshold limits. The limitations of a study restricted to a single test organism are acknowledged and call for refined follow‐up experiments.     

Collective properties of a magnitude-limited sample of cataclysmic binaries

Results of an analytical discussion of observational selection in a magnitude-limited sample of cataclysmic binaries (CBs) are presented. It is shown that the dependence of the strength of selection in favour of massive white dwarfs, of the mean orbital inclination and the fraction of eclipsing systems in a sample on the limiting magitude m reflects the large-scale distribution of CBs in the galaxy and the influence of interstellar absorption. Furthermore it is shown how selection in favour of massive white dwarfs depends on the mass radius relation of white dwarfs.Paper presented at the IAU Colloquium No. 93 on Cataclysmic Variables. Recent Multi-Frequency Observations and Theoretical Developments, held at Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg, F.R.G., 16–19 June, 1986.     

Agricultural land use and hydrology affect variability of shallow groundwater nitrate concentration in South Florida

South Florida's Miami‐Dade agricultural area is located between two protected natural areas, the Biscayne and Everglades National Parks, subject to the costliest environmental restoration project in history. Agriculture, an important economic activity in the region, competes for land and water resources with the restoration efforts and Miami's urban sprawl. The objective of this study, understanding water quality interactions between agricultural land use and the shallow regional aquifer, is critical to the reduction of agriculture's potentially negative impacts. A study was conducted in a 4‐ha square field containing 0·9 ha of corn surrounded by fallow land. The crop rows were oriented NW–SE along the dominant groundwater flow in the area. A network of 18 monitoring wells was distributed across the field. Shallow groundwater nitrate–nitrogen concentration [N‐NO₃^?] was analyzed on samples collected from the wells biweekly for 3 years. Detailed hydrological (water table elevation [WTE] at each well, groundwater flow direction [GwFD], rainfall) and crop (irrigation, fertilization, calendar) data were also recorded in situ. Flow direction is locally affected by seasonal regional drainage through canal management exercised by the local water authority. The data set was analyzed by dynamic factor analysis (DFA), a specialized time series statistical technique only recently applied in hydrology. In a first step, the observed nitrate variation was successfully described by five common trends representing the unexplained variability. By including the measured hydrological series as explanatory variables the trends were reduced to only three. The analysis yields a quantification of the effects of hydrological factors over local groundwater nitrate concentration. Furthermore, a spatial structure across the field, matching land use, was found in the five remaining common trends whereby the groundwater [N‐NO₃^?] in wells within the corn rows could be generally separated from those in fallow land NW and SE of the crop strip. Fertilization, masked by soil/water/plant‐delayed processes, had no discernible effect on groundwater nitrate levels. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heat flow during the carboniferous and mesozoic of the Northwest German Basin

The temperature history of the Northwest German Basin has been reconstructed using a one-dimensional computer model that accounts for compaction-related changes of physical rock properties, depth, temperature and maturity of organic matter. Maturity has been modelled by empirically relating vitrinite reflectance to time-temperature history. Heat flow values for the Mesozoic and Carboniferous have been obtained by matching measured and computed vitrinite reflectance. For Mesozoic samples agreement between measured and computed maturity can be achieved with a heat flow between 37 and 50 mW/m² (0.9 and 1.2 hfu). There is no systematic areal variation. Carboniferous samples are matched best at heat flows between 70 and 96 mW/m² (1.7 and 2.3 hfu), corresponding to geothermal gradients between 50 and 80 °C/km depending on lithology and compaction. Areal variation follows patterns subparallel to the structural grain of the Variscan orogeny. Mesozoic heat flow is compatible with heat flow in stable platform areas. Carboniferous heat flow and its geotectonic setting are best in agreement with present-day back-arc areas underlain by continental crust.

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Zusammenfassung Die Temperaturgeschichte des Nordwestdeutschen Bekkens wurde mittels eines eindimensionalen Computermodells rekonstruiert, das auch kompaktionsbezogenen Änderungen der physikalischen Gesteinseigenschaften, der Tiefe und der Temperatur gerecht wird. Die Reife wurde simuliert, indem Vitrinitreflexion und Zeit-Temperatur Verlauf empirisch miteinander korelliert wurden. Die Wärmeflußwerte für das Karbon und das Mesozoikum wurden dadurch ermittelt, daß gemessene und berechnete Vitrinitreflexion in optimale Übereinstimmung gebracht wurden. Für das Mesozoikum kann eine Übereinstimmung bei Wärmeflußwerten zwischen 37 und 50 mW/m² (0.9 und 1,2 hfu), für das Karbon für Werte zwischen 70 und 96 mW/m² (1.7 und 2.3 hfu) erzielt werden, was je nach Lithologie und Kompaktionszustand einem Geothermalgradienten zwischen 50 und 80 °C/km entspricht. Nur für die karbonischen Daten ist eine systematische räumliche Änderung der Werte erkennbar. Der Wärmefluß im Mesozoikum entspricht dem in heutigen stabilen Plattformgebieten. Wärmefluß und geotektonische Position im Karbon sind vergleichbar mit solchen heutigen »back-arc« Gebieten, die von kontinentaler Kruste unterlagert sind.

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Résumé L'histoire thermique du bassin allemand nord-occidental a été simulée sur ordinateur au moyen d'un modéle unidimensionnel; ce modèle tient compte des changements introduits par la compaction dans les propriétés physiques de roches, de la profondeur, de la température et de l'évolution de la matière organique. Pour modéliser cette évolution, on a établi une corrélation entre la réflectance de la vitrinite et l'histoire thermique. Les valeurs du flux de chaleur pour le Mésozoïque et le Carbonifère ont été obtenues par ajustement entre la réflectance de la vitrinite observée et calculée. Pour les échantillons mésozoïques, les valeurs calculées et mesurées s'accordent le mieux pour un flux compris entre 37 et 50 mW/m2 (0.9 et 1,2 HFU). Il n'y a pas de variation régionale systématique. Pour le Carbonifère, le meilleur accord donne un flux siuté entre 70 et 96 mW/m2 (1,7 et 2,3 HFU), ce qui correspond à des gradients géothermiques de 50 et 80 °C/Km, selon la lithologie et le degré de compaction. Il existe dans le Carbonifère, des variations régionales, qui parallélisent les lignes structurales de l'orogène varisque. Le flux de chaleur mésozoïque est compatible avec une situation de plate-forme stable. Le flux de chaleur carbonifère et sa répartition géotectonique fait plutôt penser, dans la nature actuelle, aux régions d'arrière-arc sur croûte continentale.

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, , , . , . . 37–50 mW/m² (0,9 i 1,2 hfu), — 70–96 mW/m² (1,7 2,3 hfu), — — 50 80°/. , . (back-arc), .

     

Use of multiparameter relative-age methods for age estimation and correlation of alluvial fan surfaces on a desert piedmont, eastern Mojave Desert, California

Numerical and calibrated age determinations of the late Quaternary alluvial fan deposits of the Soda Mountains piedmont in the Mojave Desert provide an opportunity to study the utility of the multiparameter relative-age (RA) method for distinguishing and mapping geomorphic surfaces on a desert piedmont. Most RA parameters could not discriminate between deposits of Holocene age, although pavements have formed over locally significant parts of surfaces as young as middle Holocene. Several parameters, including lithologic composition, particle size, soil development, and varnish cover, permit distinguishing between Holocene surfaces and late Pleistocene surfaces. Statistically significant differences in initial particle size and lithology of the deposits, inferred to be the result of complex interaction among hillslope, alluvial fan, and eolian processes and climatic change, create conditions unfavorable for use of most RA techniques. In contrast, soil-profile development and varnish cover data are successful in discrimination among deposits of Holocene and Pleistocene age. This is attributed to the development of pedogenic features and varnish that are strongly dependent on dust influx and to the relatively minor dependence of these features on differences in the depositional character of the fan.     

A magnetotelluric study of the Damara Belt in Namibia: 1. Regional scale conductivity anomalies

The Namibian margin is dominated by the late Proterozoic to early Cambrian fold belts of the Damara Orogen, which wrap around and separate the Congo and Kalahari Cratons. This mosaic of relatively ‘soft’ fold belts and ‘hard’ cratons apparently controlled the path for the opening of the South Atlantic in the early Cretaceous. The continents split along the coast-parallel fold belts of the Damara Orogen while the inland fold belt (Damara Belt) was effected by extension and widespread igneous intrusion but never developed to the rift stage. This paper is concerned with the interpretation of magnetotelluric (MT) data along a 200 km NW-SE profile across the Damara Belt in NW Namibia. The regional, two-dimensional electrical resistivity model and the induction vector data exhibit three distinctive zones: (i) a generally very resistive upper crust which is typical for the granites and metasediments of the Damara Belt, (ii) two subvertical conductors in upper to mid-crustal levels which correlate with major tectonic zone boundaries and (iii) a highly conductive middle to lower crust in the southern part of the profile. The geometry of the conductive structures could reflect a regional shear system in which upper crustal listric faults pass into a detachment zone in the middle crust. We interpret the high electrical conductivity in terms of graphite (or other forms of mineralization) enrichment along the shear planes. This zone of crustal weakness may have originated in Pre-Damara times and had probably experienced several episodes of crustal reactivation before the intrusion of basaltic dike swarms during the Cretaceous rifting and magmatism associated with the opening of the South Atlantic.