Population Dynamics and Settlement Systems

The paper uses five broad classes of settlement in the Waikato as a base for exploring age and gender specific changes to population distributions. The trends are assessed over the period 1981 to 1991, an era of significant change to the economic and social fabric of the region. Links between this change and the inferred patterns of movement are suggested. Notable patterns include migration deficits in the youthful and elderly age classes in sparsely settled rural areas, and more substantial numbers of elderly in other non metropolitan settlements than expected. The policy implications of these distributions are considered in the concluding section of the paper.     

Evidence from Xenoliths for a Dynamic Lower Crust, Eastern Mojave Desert, California

Garnet-rich xenoliths in a Tertiary dike in the eastern MojaveDesert, California, preserve information about the nature andhistory of the lower crust. These xenoliths record pressuresof 10–12 kbar and temperatures of 750–800C. Approximately25% have mafic compositions and bear hornblende + plagioclase+ clinopyroxene + quartz in addition to garnet. The remainder,all of which contain quartz, include quartzose, quartzofeldspathic,and aluminous (kyanitesillimanite-bearing) varieties. Mostxenoliths have identifiable protoliths—mafic from intermediateor mafic igneous rocks, quartzose from quartz-rich sedimentaryrocks, aluminous from Al-rich graywackes or pelites, and quartzofeldspathicfrom feldspathic sediments and/or intermediate to felsic igneousrocks. However, many have unusual chemical compositions characterizedby high FeO(t), FeO(t)/MgO, Al₂O₃, and Al₂O₃/CaO, which correspondto high garnet abundance. The mineralogy and major-and trace-elementcompositions are consistent with the interpretation that thexenoliths are the garnet-rich residues of high-pressure crustalmelting, from which granitic melt was extracted. High ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Srand low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd, together with highly discordant zirconsfrom a single sample with Pb/Pb ages of 1.7 Ga, demonstratethat the crustal material represented by the xenoliths is atleast as old as Early Proterozoic. This supracrustal-bearinglithologic assemblage may have been emplaced in the lower crustduring either Proterozoic or Mesozoic orogenesis, but Sr andNd model ages> 4 Ga require late Phanerozoic modificationof parent/daughter ratios, presumably during the anatectic event.Pressures of equilibration indicate that peak metamorphism andmelting occurred before the Mojave crust had thinned to itscurrent thickness of <30 km. The compositions of the xenolithssuggest that the lower crust here is grossly similar to estimatedworld-wide lower-crustal compositions in terms of silica andmafic content; however, it is considerably more peraluminous,has a lower mg-number, and is distinctive in some trace elementconcentrations, reflecting its strong metasedimentary and restiticheritage. ^* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Present address: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Troy, New York 12180, USA. Fax: 518–276–8627; email: hanchj{at}rpi.edu.     

Geochemistry of an Island-Arc Plutonic Suite: the Uasilau-Yau Yau Intrusive Complex, New Britain, P.N.G

In the Uasilau-Yau Yau intrusive complex of central New Britain,Papua New Guinea, there is a compositional continuum in intrusiverock-types from gabbro to granodiorite and K-Ar mineral agesof the most mafic and most felsic components are not significantlydifferent (29?0.6 Ma versus 28.3?0.5 Ma, respectively). Tonaliteporphyry, the progenitor of porphyry copper mineralization inthe complex, represents a significantly younger intrusive eventat 24 Ma. Relatively calcic (An_95—50) plagioclase coresand salite to augite composition clinopyroxene are texturallyearly phases in the intrusive rocks. The main mafic mineral,calcic amphibole, generally has corroded clinopyroxene coresand may, like biotite, K-feldspar and quartz, generally be alate-stage, not a primary liquidus phase. Petrographic featuresindicate that the mafic minerals in the plutonic rocks crystallizedfrom melt, rather than being restite phases. The intrusive rocks cover an extensive silica range (45–75wt. per cent), do not exhibit simple straight-line variationon Harker diagrams for many elements (e.g. TiO₂, FeO, P₂O₅ andSr), and most are relatively depleted in incompatible traceelements (Rb, Zr, and REE). Major and trace element modellingsupports derivation of the complex by shallow level fractionalcrystallization dominated by removal of the phases calcic plagioclase,clinopyroxene, and magnetite from a parental magma closely resemblingrecent basaltic rocks in New Britain. The fact that the plutonicrocks are almost chemically indistinguishable from late Cainozoiccalc-alkaline volcanic rocks of New Britain supports fractionalcrystallization as a viable mechanism for generating these island-arcvolcanic rocks and indicates an analogous origin for the initialmagma. Granites, such as those of the Uasilau-Yau Yau intrusive complex,which are probably generated by partial melting of subductedoceanic crust or the overlying mantle, may be termed mantleor M-type granites. Documentation of the characteristics ofM-type versus normal I-type granites may enable the recognitionof M-type plutonic rocks in older, possibly more deeply erodedgeologic terrains. This would, by analogy to their volcanicequivalents, be very helpful in tectonic interpretations. Also,such plutonic rocks have known potential for Cu-Au mineralization.     

TESTING LAKE SEDIMENT AND DENDROGEOMORPHIC PROXIES FOR LITTLE ICE AGE ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN THE UPPER FRASER RIVER AREA,BRITISH COLUMBIA,CANADA

This study assesses Little Ice Age (LIA) lake sediment morphological and geochemical records and moraine chronologies in the upper Fraser River watershed, British Columbia, Canada, to resolve differences in paleoenvironmental interpretation and to clarify sediment production and sediment delivery processes within alpine geomorphic systems. Moose Lake (13.9 km²), situated at 1032 m a.s.l., contains a partially varved record indicating variable rates of accumulation during the last millennium that, in general, coincide with previously documented LIA glacial advances in the region and locally. Dendrochronological assessment of forefield surfaces in the headwaters of the catchment (Reef Icefield) shows that periods of moraine construction occurred just prior to ad 1770, ad 1839 and ad 1883, and some time before ad 1570. Taken collectively, increases in varve thickness within eight Moose Lake sediment cores coincide with documented glacier advances over the twelfth through fourteenth centuries, the eighteenth century, and nineteenth through twentieth centuries. Glacial activity during the sixteenth century is also indicated. While varve thickness variations in proximal and distal sediments clearly reflect glacial activity upstream of Moose Lake, the intermediate varve record is relatively insensitive to these decadal and longer‐term catchment processes. Variations in Ca and related elements derived from glaciated carbonate terrain within the Moose River sub‐catchment (including Reef Icefield) indicate gradually increasing delivery from these sources from the twelfth through twentieth centuries even where the varve thickness record is unresponsive. Elevated carbonate concentrations confirm glacial activity c. ad 1200, ad 1500, ad 1750, and ad 1900.