Die Bedeutung des Rückstandes von Druck-Lösungsvorgängen für stratigraphische Abfolgen,Wechsellagerung und Lagerstättenbildung

Zusammenfassung Druck-Lösungserscheinungen sind nicht auf stylolithische Kontakte beschränkt. Die Mehrzahl der Druck-Lösungsflächen ist glatt und nicht als solche erkennbar. Bei Abwesenheit von Stylolithisierung wird Druck-Lösungsrückstand meistens fälschlich als primäres Sediment angesprochen.Druckgelöstes Material wandert von Becken aus. Auf Schwellen führt es zu erhöhtem Stoffangebot für chemische und organische Ablagerung. Druckunlösliches Material konzentriert sich passiv in den Becken.Die Unterschiede zwischen benachbarten lithologischen Horizonten werden in stratigraphischen Abfolgen während der Diagenese über Druck-Lösungstätigkeit verstärkt. Wechsellagerungen können entstehen, indem relativ reine, fast monomineralische Horizonte (Kalkspat, Dolomit, Quarz) von Druck-Lösung kaum betroffen werden, während etwas mehr verunreinigte Schichten, besonders bei Gegenwart von Tonmineralien, bis auf ihren Lösungsrückstand zusammenschrumpfen können.Die während Faltung und Schieferung fortdauernde Druck-Lösungstätigkeit bewirkt weiteren Gesteinsschwund.Hauptsächlich synsedimentäre Lagerstätten können über Druck-Lösungsvorgänge während Diagenese und Orogenese eine weitere Anreicherung erfahren, indem Wertmineralien im Lösungsrückstand zurückbleiben. Verstärkte Anreicherungen sind in Richtung der Becken und Faltenschenkel zu erwarten.

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Pressure solution phenomena are not restricted to stylolitic contacts. The majority of pressure solution planes is smooth and not recognizable as such. Pressure solution residue in the absence of stylolitization is often misinterpreted as a primary sediment.Material dissolved under nonuniform pressure migrates from basins to ridges, where it leads to increased precipitation and organic deposition. The material that is insoluble under unilateral pressure thus becomes more concentrated in the basins.The differences between neighbouring lithological units in stratigraphic series are increased during diagenesis by pressure solution activity. Intercalations may result from relatively pure, almost monomineralic layers (e. g. calcite, dolomite, quartz) remaining relatively unaffected by pressure solution processes, while more impure layers, especially those containing clay minerals, may shrink to its solution residue.During folding and cleavage, continuing pressure solution activity results in further loss of rock matter.Mainly synsedimentary ore deposits may be further concentrated by pressure solution processes, both during diagenesis and orogenesis, leaving valuable minerals as part of the solution residue. Elevated concentrations are to be expected towards the basins and limbs of folds.

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Résumé Les phénomènes de dissolution par pression inégale ne sont pas limités aux contacts stylolithiques. La plupart des surfaces de dissolution par pression linéaire est lisse et sans caractères particuliers. En l'absence de stylolithisation, les résidus sont considérés souvent à tort comme des sédiments primaires.Le matériel dissous par pression linéaire migre du centre des bassins vers ses bords; cela conduit à un accroissement des dépÔts chimiques et organiques sur les seuils. Le matériel insoluble se concentre passivement au centre des bassins.Les différences entre horizons lithologiques voisins dans les séries stratigraphiques sont accentuées pendant la diagénèse par l'activité de dissolution par pression inégale. Il peut se former des alternances ou des horizons relativement »purs«, presque monominéraux (calcite, dolomite, quartz), qui ne sont pas touchés par la dissolution par pression inégale, tandis que des couches moins »pures« en raison de la présence en particulier de minéraux argileux, peuvent Être réduites à des résidus de dissolution.L'activité persistante de la dissolution par pression linéaire au cours du plissement et de la schistosité entraÎne une nouvelle diminution de matière dans la roche.Ce sont surtout les gisements synsédimentaires qui peuvent subir un enrichissement supplémentaire pendant la diagénèse et l'orogénèse, puisque ce sont les minéraux de valeur qui s'accumulent dans les résidus de dissolution. Ces enrichissements peuvent Être particulièrement renforcés en direction du centre des bassins et des flancs des plis.

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Design of feedback-controlled wide-band seismographs with respect to undesired side-effects

Various modifications of a displacement-sensing seismometer controlled by negative first-order low-pass, first-order high-pass and second-order high-pass feedback are analysed. Undesired side-effects of the frequency-limited feedback on the response of the closed-loop system are investigated. Rules for “optimum tuning” of systems with a flat-displacement or flat-velocity response in a desired period range are given.     

40Ar-39Ar dating of high pressure metamorphic micas from the Gran Paradiso area (Western Alps): Evidence against the blocking temperature concept

The⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar method has been applied to high pressure (HP) white micas from the Gran Paradiso crystalline massif and from the overthrust Schistes Lustrés of its western slope. Preliminary petrographic and microanalytical investigation of the phengite micas showed that their celadonite-content decreases with time (from Si_3.65 to Si_3.05), and that less foliated samples are the most suitable for the metastable persistence of the high celadonite-content of the early HP stage during subsequent metamorphic evolution.Such samples were investigated together with one where mica is a pure retrogressive product. Two groups of plateau-ages have been found: (a) 60 to 75 Ma on HP phengites and early paragonites of unretrograded HP parageneses, thus dating the early HP metamorphic stage; (b) 38–40 Ma on HP phengites (most often in slightly retrograded HP parageneses) and on the purely retrogressive mica. For the HP phengites in (b), this age is considered to reflect the end of Ar readjustement during the later lowerP and/or higherT metamorphic stage, and not their crystallization.This disparity in plateau-ages for micas sampled within the same area shows that under the sameP-T conditions some systems were open while others remained closed. This can be closely related to the mineralogical behaviour: chemically active systems are isotopically active, whereby the reverse is not necessarily true. Thus, although temperature exceeded by far the usually assumed sealing-temperature of white micas, many systems have remained unaffected during the late Eocene event. Therefore, temperature cannot be the determining parameter for the opening of a system. Chemical reactivity, starting mineralogy and, primarily, pervasive deformation and the related fluid behaviour appear to be the effective controls.This implies that thermally activated diffusion processes (volume diffusion...) cannot be geologically significant. Consequently, the blocking temperature concept which rests on the opposite assumption now appears questionable. The fact that a mica does not necessarily behave as open above its blocking temperature necessitates at least a clear distinction between opening- and sealing-temperatures.     

Latest Pleistocene and Holocene glacier variations in the European Alps

In the Alps, climatic conditions reflected in glacier and rock glacier activity in the earliest Holocene show a strong affinity to conditions in the latest Pleistocene (Younger Dryas). Glacier advances in the Alps related to Younger Dryas cooling led to the deposition of Egesen stadial moraines. Egesen stadial moraines can be divided into three or in some cases even more phases (sub-stadials). Moraines of the earliest and most extended advance, the Egesen maximum, stabilized at 12.2 ± 1.0 ka based on ¹⁰Be exposure dating at the Schönferwall (Tyrol, Austria) and the Julier Pass-outer moraine (Switzerland). Final stabilization of moraines at the end of the Egesen stadial was at 11.3 ± 0.9 ka as shown by ¹⁰Be data from four sites across the Alps. From west to east the sites are Piano del Praiet (northwestern Italy), Grosser Aletschgletscher (central Switzerland), Julier Pass-inner moraine (eastern Switzerland), and Val Viola (northeastern Italy). There is excellent agreement of the ¹⁰Be ages from the four sites. In the earliest Holocene, glaciers in the northernmost mountain ranges advanced at around 10.8 ± 1.1 ka as shown by ¹⁰Be data from the Kartell site (northern Tyrol, Austria). In more sheltered, drier regions rock glacier activity dominated as shown, for example, at Julier Pass and Larstig valley (Tyrol, Austria). New ¹⁰Be dates presented here for two rock glaciers in Larstig valley indicate final stabilization no later than 10.5 ± 0.8 ka. Based on this data, we conclude the earliest Holocene (between 11.6 and about 10.5 ka) was still strongly affected by the cold climatic conditions of the Younger Dryas and the Preboreal oscillation, with the intervening warming phase having had the effect of rapid downwasting of Egesen glaciers. At or slightly before 10.5 ka rapid shrinkage of glaciers to a size smaller than their late 20th century size reflects markedly warmer and possibly also drier climate. Between about 10.5 ka and 3.3 ka conditions in the Alps were not conducive to significant glacier expansion except possibly during rare brief intervals. Past tree-line data from Kaunertal (Tyrol, Austria) in concert with radiocarbon and dendrochronologically dated wood fragments found recently in the glacier forefields in both the Swiss and Austrian Alps points to long periods during the Holocene when glaciers were smaller than they were during the late 20th century. Equilibrium line altitudes (ELA) were about 200 m higher than they are today and about 300 m higher in comparison to Little Ice Age (LIA) ELAs. The Larstig rock glacier site we dated with ¹⁰Be is the type area for a postulated mid-Holocene cold period called the Larstig oscillation (presumed age about 7.0 ka). Our data point to final stabilization of those rock glaciers in the earliest Holocene and not in the middle Holocene. The combined data indicate there was no time window in the middle Holocene long enough for rock glaciers of the size and at the elevation of the Larstig site to have formed. During the short infrequent cold oscillations between 10.5 and 3.3 ka small glaciers (less than several km²) may have advanced to close to their LIA dimensions. Overall, the cold periods were just too short for large glaciers to advance. After 3.3 ka, climate conditions became generally colder and warm periods were brief and less frequent. Large glaciers (for example Grosser Aletschgletscher) advanced markedly at 3.0–2.6 ka, around 600 AD and during the LIA. Glaciers in the Alps attained their LIA maximum extents in the 14th, 17th, and 19th centuries, with most reaching their greatest LIA extent in the final 1850/1860 AD advance.     

Chemical composition and iron oxidation state of amorphous matrix silicates in the carbonaceous chondrite Acfer 094

Nanoscale amorphous silicates are a major component in primitive carbonaceous chondrite matrices and anhydrous interplanetary dust particles. Owing to their metastability and sensitive response to reactions with water, this material is of particular interest in understanding nebular and parent body processes in the early solar system. Here we investigated the amorphous silicate matrix (ASM) in the ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite Acfer 094 regarding its texture, chemical composition, and Fe oxidation state. We applied transmission electron microscopy techniques on six, focused ion beam technique-prepared, electron-transparent lamellae of Acfer 094 to determine the textures of this material. Furthermore, we used energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and electron energy loss spectroscopy to quantify the Fe content and the Fe oxidation state of the ASM. Textural investigations reveal differences in sulfide content, porosity, and distribution of the ASM among the samples, as well as evidence for rare recrystallization of phyllosilicate fibers. The chemical composition reveals mobilization of Fe. Furthermore, the determined Fe³⁺/ΣFe ratios of the ASM in the six samples display a homogeneously high oxidation state (0.66–0.73). This high and homogeneous Fe oxidation state in the ASM of Acfer 094 disagrees with its formation as a primary phase in a reduced solar gas and must have been induced in a later stage process. Most likely, this process was aqueous alteration on the Acfer 094 parent body, which led to hydration and oxidation of the ASM, which is supported by textural and chemical evidence of aqueous alteration.     

Alpine Evidence for Atmospheric Circulation Patterns in Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum

The configuration of Alpine accumulation areas during the last glacial maximum (LGM) has been reconstructed using glacial–geological mapping. The results indicate that the LGM ice surface consisted of at least three major ice domes, all located south of the principal weather divide of the Alps. This implies that the buildup of the main Alpine ice cover during oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 2 was related to precipitation by dominant southerly atmospheric circulation, in contrast to today's prevalent westerly airflow. Such a reorganization of the atmospheric circulation is consistent with a southward displacement of the Oceanic Polar Front in the North Atlantic and of the associated storm track to the south of the Alps. These results, combined with additional paleoclimate records from western and southern Europe, allow an interpretation of the asynchronous evolution of the different European ice caps during the last glaciation. δ¹⁸O stages (OIS) 4 and 3 were characterized by location of the Polar Front north of 46°N (Gulf of Biscay). This affected prevailing westerly circulation and, thus, ice buildup in western Scandinavia, the Pyrénées, Vosges, and northern Alps. At the LGM, however, the Polar Front lay at 44°N, causing dominating southerly circulation and reduced precipitation in central and northern Europe.     

European floods during the winter 1783/1784: scenarios of an extreme event during the ‘Little Ice Age’

The Lakagígar eruption in Iceland during 1783 was followed by the severe winter of 1783/1784, which was characterised by low temperatures, frozen soils, ice-bound watercourses and high rates of snow accumulation across much of Europe. Sudden warming coupled with rainfall led to rapid snowmelt, resulting in a series of flooding phases across much of Europe. The first phase of flooding occurred in late December 1783–early January 1784 in England, France, the Low Countries and historical Hungary. The second phase at the turn of February–March 1784 was of greater extent, generated by the melting of an unusually large accumulation of snow and river ice, affecting catchments across France and Central Europe (where it is still considered as one of the most disastrous known floods), throughout the Danube catchment and in southeast Central Europe. The third and final phase of flooding occurred mainly in historical Hungary during late March and early April 1784. The different impacts and consequences of the above floods on both local and regional scales were reflected in the economic and societal responses, material damage and human losses. The winter of 1783/1784 can be considered as typical, if severe, for the Little Ice Age period across much of Europe.     

Geology, geochemistry and petrogenesis of intrusive rocks of the Wallagga area, western Ethiopia

Crystalline rocks from the western Ethiopian Precambrian terrain comprise two major rock groups: (1) the often migmatised eastern and western high-grade gneisses; and (2) the central low-grade metavolcanosedimentary rocks. Granitoid bodies of different ages and compositions intrude these rocks. Field observations, petrographic investigations, and geochemical features support a two-fold classification of the granitoid rocks. The volcanic arc granitoids (VAG) are most common and include the Ujjukka granite and granodiorite, and the Dhagaa Booqa and Guttin K-feldspar megacrystic granites. The second and geographically more restricted group represents within-plate or anorogenic (A-type) granitoids, typified by the Tullu Kapii syenite. Geochemically, the Tullu Kapii syenite is characterised by moderate to high contents of SiO₂, total alkalis, Y, Nb, Ta, Hf, Zn, Zr, Ga, ΣREE, higher ratios of Fe₂O_3(total)/MgO, , , and lower contents of CaO, MgO, Sr, and Ba, compared to the other granitoids. The VAG group shows chondrite-normalised REE patterns with slightly enriched LREE and flat HREE patterns without significant Eu anomalies. In contrast, the Tullu Kapii A-type granitoid is characterised by a nearly horizontal REE pattern with variable negative Eu anomalies. The Ujjukka granite and granodiorite; and the Dhagaa Booqa and Guttin K-feldspar megacrystic granites originated in a two-step process, which involves batch equilibrium melting of basaltic or andesitic material producing tonalitic magma, followed by fractional crystallisation. The Tullu Kapii syenite was the product of partial melting of source rocks enriched in high field strength elements.     

The Holocene–Anthropocene transition in lakes of western Spitsbergen,Svalbard (Norwegian High Arctic): climate change and nitrogen deposition

Lake sediments from four small lakes on western Spitsbergen (Svalbard Archipelago, Norwegian High Arctic) preserve biostratigraphic and isotopic evidence for a complex suite of twentieth century environmental changes. At Lake Skardtjørna and Lake Tjørnskardet on Nordenskiöldkysten, there is a marked diatom floristic change coupled to increased diatom concentrations beginning around 1920. At Lake Istjørna and Lake Istjørnelva, 25 km southwest of Longyearbyen, both diatom total valve and chrysophyte stomatocyst concentrations have increased dramatically since the beginning of the 1900s. The early twentieth century changes are probably related to climate warming after the Little Ice Age. However, the most pronounced changes in diatom assemblages seem to have occurred in the last few decades. At the same time, nitrogen stable isotopes in sediment organic matter in two of the lakes became progressively depleted by ~2‰, which is consistent with diffuse atmospheric inputs from anthropogenic sources and attendant fertilization. These data suggest that climate change and nitrogen deposition may be acting together in driving these lakes towards new ecological states that are unique in the context of the Holocene.