Facies distribution and dissolution depths of surface sediment components from the Vema channel and the Rio Grande rise (southwest Atlantic Ocean)

Surface sediments from the Vema channel and from the Rio Grande rise (western extremity) contain less calcareous fossils with increasing water depth. The pteropodal (aragonite) lysocline corresponds to the 3200-m isobath. The pteropodal compensation depth is found above the lower boundary of the North Atlantic Deep Water: 3500 m. The planktonic foraminiferal lysocline (4050 m) seems to be very close to the abyssal thermocline and is therefore here the upper limit of the Antarctic Bottom Water. The foraminiferal and the coccolith compensation depths seem to coincide: 4500 m. Distribution and dissolution of calcareous sediment components are the same all around the western extremity of the Rio Grande rise (southern, western and northern flanks).     

Combined three-dimensional electric and seismic tomography study on the Åknes rockslide in western Norway

We present a combined 3-D geoelectric and seismic tomography study conducted on the large Åknes rockslide in western Norway. Movements on the slope are strongly influenced by water infiltration, such that the hydrogeological regime is considered as a critical factor affecting the slope stability. The aim of our combined geophysical study was to identify and visualize the main shallow tension fractures and to determine their effect on hydraulic processes by comparing the geophysical results with information from borehole logging and tracer tests. To resolve the complex subsurface conditions of the highly fractured rock mass, a three-dimensional set-up was chosen for our seismic survey. To map the water distribution within the rock mass, a pattern of nine intersecting 2-D geoelectric profiles covered the complete unstable slope. Six of them that crossed the seismic survey area were considered as a single data set in a 3-D inversion. For both methods, smoothing-constraint inversion algorithms were used, and the forward calculations and parameterizations were based on unstructured triangular meshes. A pair of parallel shallow low-velocity anomalies (< 1400 m/s) observed in the final seismic tomogram was immediately underlain by two anomalies with resistivities <13 kΩm in the resistivity tomogram. In combination with borehole logging results, the low-velocity and resistivity anomalies could be associated with the drained and water-filled part of the tension fractures, respectively. There were indications from impeller flowmeter measurements and tracer tests that such tension fractures intersected several other water-filled fractures and were responsible for distinct changes of the main groundwater flow paths.     

Little Ice Age advance and retreat sediment budgets for an outlet glacier in western Norway

Burki, V., Hansen, L., Fredin, O., Andersen, T. A., Beylich, A. A., Jaboyedoff, M., Larsen, E. & Tønnesen, J.‐ F. 2009: Little Ice Age advance and retreat sediment budgets for an outlet glacier in western Norway. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 551–566. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00133.x. ISSN 0300‐9483 Bødalsbreen is an outlet glacier of the Jostedalsbreen Ice Field in western Norway. Nine moraine ridges formed during and after the maximum extent of the Little Ice Age (LIA). The stratigraphy of proglacial sediments in the Bødalen basin inside the LIA moraines is examined, and corresponding sediment volumes are calculated based on georadar surveys and seismic profiling. The total erosion rates (e_tot) by the glacier are determined for the periods AD 1650–1930 and AD 1930–2005 as 0.8 ± 0.4 mm/yr and 0.7 ± 0.3 mm/yr, respectively. These rates are based on the total amount of sediment delivered to the glacier margin. The values are almost one order of magnitude higher than total erosion rates previously calculated for Norwegian glaciers. This is explained by the large amount of pre‐existing sediment that was recycled by Bødalsbreen. Thus, the total erosion rate must be considered as a composite of eroded bedrock and of removed pre‐existing sediments. The total erosion rate is likely to vary with time owing to a decreasing volume of easily erodible, unconsolidated sediment and till under the glacier. A slight increase in the subglacial bedrock erosion is expected owing to the gradually increasing bedrock surface area exposed to subglacial erosion.     

The Black Forest Observatory, Schiltach

The purpose of the geoscientific Observatory at Schiltach in the Black Forest in SW-Germany is to measure and monitor motions and deformations of the earth in a frequency band as broad as possible. The spectrum of geodynamic signal contains

&#x02022; - the short period waves (up to 40 Hz) of near earthquakes,

&#x02022; - the longer period body and surface waves from teleseismic events,

&#x02022; - the free oscillations of the earth excited by giant earthquakes,

&#x02022; - the earth tide deformations caused by the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun having periods of 12 h and longer,

&#x02022; - deformations of the earth in a wide period range from other sources (e.g. atmosphere).

Besides providing high quality data with some continuity using ‘standard’ sensors, the observatory must be considered as an experimental station and research facility where new instruments and techniques can be tested.     

The challenge of integrating the environment into policy-making: Part 2: The Norwegian Governmental view

The paper briefly discusses the view and actions of the Norwegian Government in relation to environmental protection and development and the minimization of the effects of industry. Governments and supra-national bodies, industry, municipal bodies, science and training bodies and voluntary and non-governmental organizations all have a major and integrated role in protecting the environment. It is emphasized that as many of the problems are transboundary and trans-sectoral their solution requires an intersectoral approach.     

Petrology of Peter I Øy (Peter I Island), West Antarctica

Peter I Øy is located in the Bellinghausen Sea, 400 km NE of Thurston Island, West Antarctica. It is a Pleistocene volcanic island situated adjacent to a former tranform fault on the continental rise of the presently passive margin between the Pacific and Antarctica. New K-Ar age determinations ranging from 0.1 to 0.35 Ma show that the volcanism responsible for this island took place at the same time as post-subduction, rift-related volcanism occurred in the nearby Marie Byrd Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The rocks of the island are alkalic basalt and hawaiite, benmoreite and trachyte. The basic tocks typically contain phenocrysts of olivine (Fo_61–84), diopsidic augite, and plagioclase (ca. An₆₀). Small xenoliths are present and consist of mantle-type spinel lherzolite, cumulate clinopyroxenite and gabbro and felsic inclusions that consist of medium-grained strained quartz, plagioclase, and abundant colorless glass. Chemically, the basic rocks are characterized by rather high MgO (7.8–10.2 wt.%) and TiO₂ (3.1–3.7 wt.%) and relatively low CaO (8.4–9.5 wt.%) contents. They have steep REE patterns, [(La/Yb)_N = 20] with HREE only 5 x chrondrite. Y and Sc are almost constant at relatively low levels. Compatible trace elements such as Ni and Cr show considerable variation (190–300 and 150–470 ppm, respectively.), whereas V shows only little variation. Sr and Nd isotope ratios vary slightly with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr averaging 0.70388 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd 0.512782, both typical for ocean island volcanism. Lead isotope ratios are consistently high in basalts; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 19.194, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.728 and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 39.290, whereas benmoreïte is somewhat less radiogenic. Oxygen isotope analyses average δ¹⁸O = +6.0‰. Incompatible trace elements vary by a factor of 1.5–2.0 within the range of the basic rocks. It is proposed that the incompatible trace-element variations represent different degrees (<10%) of partial melting, and that these melts were later modified by minor (<15‰) olivine and spinel fractionation. The very small variation in Y (and Sc) and the very fractionated REE pattern indicate that the source had an Y- and HREE-rich residual phase, most probably garnet. Furthermore, it is suggested that the source was slightly hydrous and that melting took place at 18–20 kbar. Trachyte was derived by multiphase fractionation of ne-normative basalts, and benmoreite from hy-normative parental liquids. The rocks of Peter I Øy are generally of the same type and age as those outcropping in extensional regimes on the nearby continent, and therefore, these occurrences may be related to each other in some way. However, the Peter I Øy rocks are considerably more radiogenic in strontium and less radiogenic in neodymium than the rocks of the Antarctic Peninsula and Marie Byrd Land. Possible explanations are that Peter I Øy represent asthenospheric hot spot activity, or transtensional rifting as subduction ceased.     

The physical state of pore water of na smectite used as barrier component

The molecules constituting the first hydrate layers on montmorillonite crystal platelets appear to be characterized by preferred orientation and, depending on the exchangeable cation, by an ice-like configuration. Such organized interlamellar water is concluded to contribute to the high swelling pressure and shear resistance, as well as to the very low hydraulic conductivity at high clay bulk densities. At low densities the parallel arrangement of the lamellae alters to edge-to-face associations and the fraction of free water increases. However, even at very low densities the homogeneity of the clay gel still offers very tortuous passages to flowing water, which is manifested by a very low hydraulic conductivity.     

Factors influencing the salinity regime of Lake Pontchartrain,Lousiana, a shallow coastal lagoon: Analysis of a long-term data set

Lake Pontchartrain., Louisiana is a 1,630 km² shallow brackish lagoon with a mean salinity from 1.2‰ in the west to 5.4‰ in the east., The construction of a 120 km long deep-water connection to the Gulf of Mexico in 1963, was expected to cause a 5‰ increase in lagoon salinity. However, the actual increase was everywhere in the lagoon less than 2‰ Analysis of 31 years of daily salinity and discharge records indicates that discharge is the most important factor controlling salinity variations in Lake Pontchartrain., Seventy-four percent of low-frequency salinity variations are explained by freshwater discharge and the completion of the deep-water canal. Lake Pont.-chartrain experiences annual variations of salinity as high as 8‰ This salinity signal has remained constant since the beginning of the salinity records in 1946. It appears that the deep-water canal is not responsible for observed die-back of freshwater swamps and retreat of lagoon shorelines.     

The structural state of iron in oxidized vs. reduced glasses at 1 atm: A57Fe Mössbauer study

A general model for the structural state of iron in a variety of silicate and aluminosilicate glass compositions in the systems Na₂O-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-Fe-O, CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-Fe-O, and MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-Fe-O is proposed. Quenched melts with variable Al/Si and NBO/T (average number of nonbridging oxygens per tetrahedrally coordinated cation), synthesized over a range of temperatures and values of oxygen fugacity, are analyzed with⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. For oxidized glasses with Fe³⁺/∑Fe>0.50, the isomer shift for Fe³⁺ is in the range ～0.22–0.33 mm/s and ～0.36 mm/s at 298 K and 77 K, respectively. These values are indicative of tetrahedrally coordinated Fe^3?. This assignment is in agreement with the interpretation of Raman, luminescence, and X-ray,K-edge absorption spectra. The values of the quadrupole splitting are ～0.90 mm/s (298 K and 77 K) in the Na-aluminosilicate glasses and compare with the values of 1.3 mm/s and 1.5 mm/s for the analogous Ca- and Mg-aluminosilicate compositions. The variations in quadrupole splittings for Fe³⁺ are due to differences in the degree of distortion of the tetrahedrally coordinated site in each of the systems. The values of the isomer shifts for Fe²⁺ ions in glasses irrespective of Fe³⁺/∑Fe are in the range 0.90–1.06 mm/s at 298 K and 1.0–1.15 mm/s at 77 K. The corresponding range of values of the quadrupole splitting is 1.75–2.10 mm/s at 298 K and 2.00–2.35 mm/s at 77 K. The temperature dependence of the hyperfine parameters for Fe²⁺ is indicative of noninteracting ions, but the values of the isomer shift are intermediate between those values normally attributable to tetrahedrally and octahedrally coordinated Fe²⁺. The assignment of the isomer-shift values of Fe²⁺ to octahedral coordination is in agreement with the results of other spectral studies. For reduced glasses (Fe³⁺/∑Fe≈<0.50), the value of the isomer shift for Fe³⁺ at both 298 K and 77 K increases and is linearly correlated with decreasing Fe³⁺/∑Fe in the range of \(f_{O_2 } \) between 10^?3 and 10^?6 atm when a single quadrupole-split doublet is assumed to represent the absorption due to ferric iron. The increase in value of the isomer shift with decreasing \(f_{O_2 } \) is consistent with an increase in the proportion of Fe³⁺ ions that are octahedrally coordinated. The concentration of octahedral Fe³⁺ is dependent on the \(T - f_{O_2 } \) conditions, and in the range of log \(f_{O_2 } \) between 10^?2.0 and 10^?5 a significant proportion of the iron may occur as iron-rich structural units with stoichiometry similar to that of inverse spinels such as Fe₃O₄, in addition to isolated Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions.     

Magnetic susceptibility used in mapping of amphibolite facies recrystallisation in basic dykes

The dense tholeiitic Koster dyke swarm, west Sweden, has undergone progressive deformation under amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions. The varying influence of this event on the dyke rock forms the basis for a regional division of the swarm into three sectors: the sectors of igneous dolerites, partly recrystallised metadolerites, and lineated amphibolites, respectively. Systematic measurements of the magnetic susceptibility in the dykes have demonstrated a correlation between the regional pattern of recrystallisation and the pattern of mean susceptibility given as mean susceptibility per 0.5 km². The transformation of dolerites to metadolerites and finally to lineated amphibolites is accompanied by a marked decrease in the susceptibility, which is related essentially to the degree of alteration of titanomagnetite to sphene + Fe-ions incorporated in the silicates.