The sinkhole enigma in the Alpine Foreland, Southeast Germany: Evidence of impact-induced rock liquefaction processes

Sudden collapse of the Quaternary soil to form sinkholes on the order of meters and tens of meters has been a geologic phenomenon within living memory in a localized area north of Lake Chiemsee in Southeast Germany. Failing a satisfying explanation, a relation with an undefined glaciation process has always been proposed. Excavations and geophysical measurements at three newly affected sites show underground features such as prominent sandy-gravelly intrusions and extrusions typical of rock liquefaction processes well known to occur during strong earthquakes. Since strong earthquakes can reasonably be excluded to have affected the area under discussion, it has been suggested that the observed widespread liquefaction is related with the recently proposed Holocene Chiemgau meteorite impact event. Except for one earlier proposed but unassertive relation between impact and liquefaction, the obviously direct association of both processes in the Chiemgau area emphasizes that observed paleoliquefaction features need not necessarily have originated solely from paleoseismicity but can provide a recognizable regional impact signature.     

Late orogenic extension in the Bohemian Massif: petrostructural evidence in the Hlinsko region

Abstract

The tectonic contact between low-grade metase-dimentary series and high-grade rocks in the Hlinsko region (Bohemian Massif) is commonly interpreted as a thrust of the Barrandian sediments over the upper Moldanubian nappe.

The sediments occur in an E-facing synform that contains a tonalitic laccolith on its eastern boundary with the Moldanubian, and is truncated by a granodiorite pluton to the west. The synform represents a late deformational folding event related to the granodiorite intrusion. NW-oriented normal shear in the tonalite is indicated by S-C microstructures. Kinematic criteria associated with the major foliation and lineation development in the metasediments also indicate a north-westward, normal shear. In addition, Moldanubian gneiss display late shear bands due to north-westward, normal shear. Consequently, the presumed thrust is a low-angle, normal shear zone.

Low-pressure type metamorphism (3 < P < 4 x 10² MPa) coeval with the major deformational phase in pelites of the Hlinsko synform is attributed to both the tonalite aureole and the extensive HT metamorphism (under P > 6 x 10² MPa) that has affected the underlying Moldanubian.

The possibly polyphase normal fault is consistent with the meta-morphic pressure jump between the metasediments and the Moldanubian.

We suggest that the tonalite intruded syntectonically within the normal ductile shear zone active during waning stages of the Variscan orogeny.     

极地冰层回转钻进切削热量测试装置的研制

极地冰盖深部“暖冰”层钻进时,由于冰层的温度较高,接近甚至达到冰的压力熔点,回转钻进时产生的切削热量极易使冰屑融化,导致机械钻速慢、取心率低、卡钻事故频发。钻压、转速、切削具结构等参数均对切削热量有一定的影响,有必要设计一套实验装置对切削热量进行测试,从而为设计切削具结构、优化钻进参数组合提供理论依据。以XY-1型岩心钻机钻进系统为平台,利用无线信号传输原理设计了冰层回转钻进切削热量测试实验台。初步测试结果表明,该实验装置能够准确测量钻压、扭矩、切削温度等参数,可用来进行相关的实验研究。     

Shallow site archaeology: Artifact dispersal,stratigraphy, and radiocarbon dating at the Barger Gulch locality B Folsom Site,Middle Park,Colorado

Shallowly buried archaeological sites are particularly susceptible to surface and subsurface disturbance processes. Yet, because cultural deposition often operates on short time scales relative to geologic deposition, vertical artifact distributions can be used to clarify questions of site formation. In particular, patterns in artifact distributions that cannot be explained by occupation histories must be explained by natural processes that have affected sites. Buried only 10–50 cm beneath the ground surface for 10,450 ¹⁴C yr, the Folsom component at Barger Gulch Locality B (Middle Park, Colorado) exhibits many signs of post‐depositional disturbance. Through examination of variation in the vertical distribution of the artifact assemblage, we are able to establish that only a Folsom component is present. Using vertical artifact distributions, stratigraphy, and radiocarbon dating, we are able to reconstruct the series of events that have impacted the site. The Folsom occupation (˜10,450 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) was likely initially buried in a late‐Pleistocene eolian silt loam. Erosion brought the artifacts to rest on a deflation surface at some time prior to 9400 ¹⁴C yr B.P. A mollic epipedon formed in sediments that accumulated between 9400 and 7000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Some time after 5200 ¹⁴C yr B.P., this soil was partially truncated, and artifacts that had previously dispersed upward created a secondary lag at its upper contact. This surface was buried again and artifact dispersal continued. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Electrical structure of the upper mantle beneath Central Europe: Results of the CEMES project

In the years 2001–2003, we accomplished the experimental phase of the project CEMES by collecting long-period magnetotelluric data at positions of eleven permanent geomagnetic observatories situated within few hundreds kilometers along the south-west margin of the East European Craton. Five teams were engaged in estimating independently the magnetotelluric responses by using different data processing procedures. The conductance distributions at the depths of the upper mantle have been derived individually beneath each observatory. By averaging the individual cross-sections, we have designed the final model of the geoelectrical structure of the upper mantle beneath the CEMES region. The results indicate systematic trends in the deep electrical structure of the two European tectonic plates and give evidence that the electrical structure of the upper mantle differs between the East European Craton and the Phanerozoic plate of west Europe, with a separating transition zone that generally coincides with the Trans-European Suture Zone.     

Nitrogen uptake and denitrification in restored and unrestored streams in urban Maryland, USA

There is growing interest in rates of nitrate uptake and denitrification in restored streams to better understand the effects of restoration on nitrogen processing. This study quantified nitrate uptake in two restored and two unrestored streams in Baltimore, Maryland, USA using nitrate additions, denitrification enzyme assays, and a ¹⁵N isotope tracer addition in one of the urban restored streams, Minebank Run. Restoration included either incorporation of stormwater ponds below a storm drain and catch basins to attenuate flow or hydrologic “reconnection” of a stream channel to its floodplain. Stream restoration was conducted for restoring aging sanitary and bridge infrastructure and introducing some stormwater management in watersheds developed prior to current regulations. Denitrification potential in sediments was variable across streams, whereas nitrate uptake length appeared to be significantly correlated to surface water velocity, which was low in the restored streams during summer baseflow conditions. Uptake length of NO₃ ⁻–N in Minebank Run estimated by ¹⁵N tracer addition was 556 m. Whole stream denitrification rates in Minebank Run were 153 mg NO₃ ⁻–N m⁻² day⁻¹, and approximately 40% of the daily load of nitrate was estimated to be removed via denitrification over a distance of 220.5 m in a stream reach designed to be hydrologically “connected” to its floodplain. Increased hydrologic residence time in Minebank Run during baseflow likely influenced rates of whole stream denitrification, suggesting that hydrologic residence time may be a key factor influencing N uptake and denitrification. Restoration approaches that increase hydrologic “connectivity” with hyporheic sediments and increase hydrologic residence time may be useful for stimulating denitrification. More work is necessary, however, to examine changes in denitrification rates in restored streams across different seasons, variable N loads, and in response to the “flashy” hydrologic flow conditions during storms common in urban streams.     

Isotopic and geochemical characterization of salinization in the shallow aquifers of a reclaimed subsiding zone: The southern Venice Lagoon coastland

The coastal plain bordering the southern Venice Lagoon is a reclaimed lowland characterized by high subsidence rate, and ground level and water-table depth below sea level. In this agricultural region, where the surface hydrologic network is entirely artificially controlled by irrigation/drainage canals, salinization problems have long been encountered in soils and groundwaters. Here we use isotopic and geochemical tracers to improve our understanding of the origin of salinization and mineralization of the semi-confined aquifer (0–40 m), and the freshwater inputs to this hydrological system. Water samples have been collected at different seasons in the coastal Adriatic Sea, lagoon, rivers and irrigation canals, as well as in the semi-confined aquifer at depths between 12 and 35 m (14 boreholes), and in the first confined aquifer (three boreholes drilled between 40 and 80 m depth). Stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δD) and conductivity profiles show that direct saline intrusion from the sea or the lagoon is observed only in a restricted coastal strip, while brackish groundwaters are found over the entire topographic and piezometric depression in the centre of the study area. Fresh groundwaters are found only in the most western zone. The sharp isotopic contrast between the western and central regions suggests disconnected hydrological circulations between these two parts of the shallow aquifer. The border between these two regions also corresponds to the limits of the most strongly subsiding zone.Our results can be interpreted in terms of a four end-member mixing scheme, involving (1) marine water from the lagoon or the open sea, (2) alpine and pre-alpine regional recharge waters carried either by the main rivers Adige, Bacchiglione and Brenta (irrigation waters) or by the regional groundwater circulation, (3) local precipitation, and (4) evaporated waters infiltrated from the surface. Infiltration from the surface is also revealed by the stratification of the electrical conductivity profiles, showing that the brackish groundwaters are overlain by a shallow layer of less saline water all over the central depression. In the first confined aquifer, the groundwaters have isotopic compositions similar to the deep groundwaters of the Venetian confined aquifers (40–400 m depth). The isotopic data and the Br/Cl ratio show that the origin of the salinization of the phreatic aquifer can be ascribed to seawater intrusion alone, with no indication of the involvement of deep brines (identified at 450 m depth) in the process.The chemical composition of the saline and brackish groundwaters is characterized by an excess of sodium and a deficit of calcium compared to conservative mixing between fresh groundwaters and seawater. This suggests that the phreatic aquifer is progressively freshening, as a consequence of the beneficial influence of the extensive irrigation/drainage network, including raised canals acting as a hydraulic barrier along the coast. This freshening tendency may have been lasting since the reclamation in the mid-twentieth century, and has probably been accelerated by the ban on groundwater abstraction since the 1970s.     

Microtopographic evolution of mineral surfaces as a tool to identify and date young fault scarps in bedrock

Faulting that results in surface ruptures through bedrock can be particularly difficult to date. For example, stratigraphic control on the age of faulting, based on the age of the bedrock, often leaves unacceptably large uncertainty on the age of the faulting. From a paleoseismological perspective, there is a clear need to determine if a bedrock fault scarp is actually a young feature. For young fault ruptures that create fresh mineral surfaces, analysis of microtopography developed by weathering of the mineral surface may provide a quantifiable method for determining the fault age. The direct quantitative measurement of mineral surface microtopography using Atomic Force Microscopy affords a novel method to study the rupture ages of active faults. The method for using microtopographic evolution of mineral surfaces depends on three conditions. The first condition is that freshly exposed mineral cleavage surfaces, which can be described geometrically as planes, are formed during a rupture event. The formation of these fresh surfaces is analogous to the initiation of a weathering ‘clock’ that defines time t=0. Following cleavage formation dissolution of the planar mineral surface occurs. The rate of dissolution for a mineral species under given climatic conditions, governs the rate of mineral surface alteration. Thus as dissolution proceeds, the roughness of the mineral surface increases. We suggest that the progression of microtopographic roughness over time, which can be estimated by computing quantitative statistics derived from digital mineral surface topography, will systematically vary until a steady state surface topography is reached. The fractal dimension, D_f, is one such measure of surface roughness where, D_f at time t=0 is 2. The dissolution of the mineral surface increases the fractal dimension as the removal of material proceeds. We posit that somewhere between D_f=2 and D_f=3, the microtopography reaches a steady state. Therefore, in the pre-steady state stage of surface roughness, the quantitative measure of roughness of the mineral may serve as a measure of time elapsed since faulting. The period of time this initial stage of surface roughening represents is dependent on the mineral and as a consequence, its dissolution rate, in a specific set of environmental conditions. The time elapsed since fault rupture and grain cleavage can also be estimated from the measurement of the volume of material removed through dissolution. If part of the original cleavage surface remains and can be identified then AFM measurements of the surface microtopography can be used to calculate the dissolved volume per unit area.     

Abundance and distribution of PGE and Au in the island-arc mantle: implications for sub-arc metasomatism

Ultramafic xenoliths from a veined mantle wedge beneath the Kamchatka arc have non-chondritic, fractionated chondrite-normalized platinum-group element (PGE) patterns. Depleted (e.g., low bulk-rock Al₂O₃ and CaO contents) mantle harzburgites show clear enrichment in the Pd group relative to the Ir group PGEs and, in most samples, Pt relative to Rh and Pd. These PGE signatures most likely reflect multi-stage melting which selectively concentrates Pt in Pt–Fe alloys while strongly depleting the sub-arc mantle wedge in incompatible elements. Elevated gold concentrations and enrichment of strongly incompatible enrichment (e.g., Ba and Th) in some harzburgites suggest a late-stage metasomatism by slab-derived, saline hydrous fluids. Positive Pt, Pd, and Au anomalies coupled with Ir depletions in heavily metasomatized pyroxenite xenoliths probably reflect the relative mobility of the Pd and Ir groups (especially Os) during sub-arc metasomatism which is consistent with Os systematics in arc mantle nodules. Positive correlations between Pt, Pd, and Au and various incompatible elements (Hf, U, Ta, and Sr) also suggest that both slab-derived hydrous fluids and siliceous melts were involved in the sub-arc mantle metasomatism beneath the Kamchatka arc.