Magma Mixing and Intraplutonic Quenching in the Wingellina Hills Intrusion, Giles Complex, Central Australia

The Wingellina Hills intrusion is a small composite gabbroic/ultramaficintrusion and forms a tectonically dismembered segment of theUpper Proterozoic Giles complex in central Australia. Its 1600m of exposed magmatic stratigraphy formed in a continuouslyfractionating, periodically replenished magma chamber. Olivinegabbro and gabbronorite units alternate with lenticular strataboundintercalations of ultramafic (peridotite and pyroxenite) cumulates.A well-developed hybrid footwall zone of intermingled gabbroand pyroxenite underlies each ultramafic unit and demonstratesthe intrusive relationships of ultramafics into gabbroic cumulatemembers. The limited range of mg-number [100 ? Mg/(Mg+Fe)] of ferromagnesiansilicates indicates that the magmatic sequence covers a rathersmall spectrum in chemical fractionation and that the WingellinaHills intrusion represents the basal portion of a formerly largerlayered complex. The mg-number of olivine ranges from 89 to77, below which olivine is replaced by cumulus orthopyroxene.Clinopyroxene covers a wider mg-number range from 91 to 77 andis systematically enriched in MgO relative to coexisting orthopyroxeneand olivine. Anorthite content in plagioclase generally correlatespositively with mg-number changes of coexisting ferromagnesiansilicates. Interstitial plagioclase in clinopyroxenites containsexsolution lamellae of pure orthoclase. These antiperthitesare among the most calcic recorded, with plagioclase hosts betweenAn₆₀ and An₈₀. Bulk antiperthite compositions range around An₆₅–Ab₁₅–Or₂₀and straddle a high-temperature (Or₂₀) solvus in the plagioclasetriangle. The extent of former solid solution between calcicplagioclase and orthoclase indicates crystallization and coolingof the cumulates under moderate pressure and anhydrous conditions. Cryptic mg-number variations show that the intrusion experiencedweak iron enrichment with stratigraphic height. Normal fractionationis confined to the gabbroic members of the sequence, whereasultramafic intercalations are associated with sharp chemicalreversals toward more refractory mineral compositions. Reversalsof mg-number are considerably displaced into the underlyinggabbroic units by up to 50 m relative to the basis of ultramaficintercalations, which indicates extensive postcumulus infiltrationmetasomatism following the emplacement of fresh magma. The trivalentoxides in clinopyroxene have retained their pristine stratigraphicvariation patterns through later metasomatic events and stillcoincide with the cumulus layering. Macroscopic and cryptic layering in the Wingellina Hills intrusionare consistent with a continuously fractionating magma chamberwhose differentiation path was repeatedly reset by periodicinfluxes of primitive parent melt. Ultramafic and gabbroic cumulatemembers can be derived from a single olivine-saturated parentmelt by sequential separation of olivine, olivine-clinopyroxene,and finally olivine/orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene-plagioclase.A series of orthopyroxene-rich cumulates in the mixing zonesof the two melts crystallized from hybrids of the most primitiveand most evolved end-member compositions. Liquidus temperatures calculated for the resident and replenishingmelt components yield 1250 and 1350?C, respectively. As a resultof this temperature difference, fresh influxes of hot parentliquid crystallized rapidly under strongly undercooled conditionsas they ponded on, and quenched against,the chamber floor. Rapidcooling caused a temporary acceleration of the crystallizationfront and formation of impure cumulates with high trapped meltproportions, which resulted in a close coincidence of orthocumulateunits with stratigraphic levels of primitive melt addition.Grain sizes in orthocumulates vary with the cooling rate andpass through a maximum as the degree of undercooling increases.High cooling rates also influenced the composition of some cumulusphases. Clinopyroxenes from ultramafics in the mixing zonesare enriched in iron and aluminium (despite a more primitiveparent melt) and fall outside the fractionation path, especiallyif the batch of new hot magma was small compared with the poolof cooler resident liquid. Aluminous cumulus spinel is partof a metastable crystallization sequence and only crystallizedin the most magnesian ultramafics after episodes of intraplutonicquenching.     

Relative sea-level change in the Beauly Firth, Scotland

Relative sea-level changes in the Beauly Firth have been inferred from stratigraphy, pollen and diatom analyses and by radiocarbon dating of former coastal reedswamp deposits. Using lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic arguments for establishing the changes in coastal environment at the site, a preliminary scheme of positive and negative tendencies of sea-level is produced. This may be related to changes in relative sea-level. Two periods of falling relative sea-level have been identified: (1) between c . 9,600 B.P. and c . 8,800 B.P. and (2) post c . 6,400 B.P. The period of rising relative sea-level between c . 8,800 B.P. and c . 6,400 B.P. was interrupted briefly by a possible storm surge event which took place between c . 7,200 B.P. and c . 7,300 B.P.     

Re‐dating the Pilgrimstad Interstadial with OSL: a warmer climate and a smaller ice sheet during the Swedish Middle Weichselian (MIS 3)?

Alexanderson, H., Johnsen, T. & Murray, A. S. 2009: Re‐dating the Pilgrimstad Interstadial with OSL: a warmer climate and a smaller ice sheet during the Swedish Middle Weichselian (MIS 3)? Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00130.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Pilgrimstad in central Sweden is an important locality for reconstructing environmental changes during the last glacial period (the Weichselian). Its central location has implications for the Scandinavian Ice Sheet as a whole. The site has been assigned an Early Weichselian age (marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 a/c; >74 ka), based on pollen stratigraphic correlations with type sections in continental Europe, but the few absolute dating attempts so far have given uncertain results. We re‐excavated the site and collected 10 samples for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating from mineral‐ and organic‐rich sediments within the new Pilgrimstad section. Single aliquots of quartz were analysed using a post‐IR blue single aliquot regenerative‐dose (SAR) protocol. Dose recovery tests were satisfactory and OSL ages are internally consistent. All, except one from an underlying unit that is older, lie in the range 52–36 ka, which places the interstadial sediments in the Middle Weichselian (MIS 3); this is compatible with existing radiocarbon ages, including two measured with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The mean of the OSL ages is 44±6 ka (n=9). The OSL ages cannot be assigned to the Early Weichselian for all reasonable adjustments to water content estimates and other parameters. The new ages suggest that climate was relatively mild and that the Scandinavian Ice Sheet was absent or restricted to the mountains for at least parts of MIS 3. These results are supported by other recent studies completed in Fennoscandia.     

Modelling of late Quaternary climate over Asia: a synthesis

Through the late Quaternary, the global climate system ranged from full glacial to temperate interglacial conditions. On a smaller spatial scale, regional climates of the late Quaternary exhibited fluctuations that were at times asynchronous to these global changes. For example, glacier expansion in the Himalayas during the mid-Holocene appears to be at odds with the notion of increased global temperature. A clear understanding of the dynamical processes governing regional climate is therefore essential to the correct interpretation of proxy climate data. We summarize results from numerical simulations of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the mid-Holocene, and focus on the multiple processes that control regional climate of the Himalaya and surrounding areas, with emphasis on monsoon dynamics and variability. It is shown that changes in the south Asian monsoon (caused by fluctuations in Earth's orbital parameters, by tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures, or by exposure of the Sunda shelf) alter the hydrological balance in regions bordering the Tibetan Plateau, a balance for which there are extensive continental proxy records. Numerical results correlate with the expansion/contraction cycles of deserts near the Chinese Loess Plateau. In addition, the LGM monsoon exhibits significant snow accumulation in the eastern Himalaya, whereas the mid-Holocene monsoon exhibits increased accumulation in the northwestern Himalaya. Simulated changes are therefore in accord with field data and demonstrate that numerical simulations can be a useful tool in the interpretation of regional proxy data, particularly when those data are asynchronous to global records.     

Calcretes,fluviolacustrine sediments and subsidence patterns in Permo‐Triassic salt‐walled minibasins of the south Urals,Russia

The south Uralian foreland basin forms part of the giant, yet sparsely documented, PreCaspian salt tectonic province. The basin can potentially add much to the understanding of fluviolacustrine sedimentation within salt‐walled minibasins, where the literature has been highly reliant on only a few examples (such as the Paradox Basin of Utah). This paper describes the Late Permian terrestrial fill of the Kul’chumovo salt minibasin near Orenburg in the south Urals in which sediments were deposited in a range of channel, overbank and lacustrine environments. Palaeomagnetic stratigraphy shows that, during the Late Permian, the basin had a relatively slow and uniform subsidence pattern with widespread pedogenesis and calcrete development. Angular unconformities or halokinetic sequence boundaries cannot be recognized within the relatively fine‐grained fill, and stratigraphic and spatial variations in facies are therefore critical to understanding the subsidence history of the salt minibasin. Coarse‐grained channel belts show evidence for lateral relocation within the minibasin while the development of a thick stack of calcrete hardpans indicates that opposing parts of the minibasin became largely inactive for prolonged periods (possibly in the order of one million years). The regular vertical stacking of calcrete hardpans within floodplain mudstones provides further evidence that halokinetic minibasin growth is inherently episodic and cyclical.     

Influence of benthic sediment transport on cold‐water coral bank morphology and growth: the example of the Darwin Mounds,north‐east Atlantic

The Darwin Mounds are small (up to 70 m in diameter), discrete cold‐water coral banks found at c. 950 m water depth in the northern Rockall Trough, north‐east Atlantic. Formerly described in terms of their genesis, the Darwin Mounds are re‐evaluated here in terms of mound growth processes based on 100 and 410 kHz side‐scan sonar data. The side‐scan sonar coverage is divided into a series of acoustic facies representing increasing current speed and sediment transport/erosion from south to north: pockmark facies, ‘mounds within depressions’ facies, Darwin Mound facies, stippled seabed facies and sand wave facies. Mound morphometric changes are quantified and show a south‐to‐north divergence from an inherited morphology, reflecting the outline of coral‐colonized fluid escape structures, to developed, downstream elongated, elevated mound forms. It is postulated that increasing current speeds and bedload sand transport favour mound growth and development by a process of enhanced sand sedimentation within mounds due to current deceleration by frictional drag around coral colonies. Comparisons are made with similar growth processes attributed to comparably sized cold‐water coral mounds in the Porcupine Seabight, offshore Ireland.     

Evidence for plant-arthropod interactions in the fossil record

From a study of extant arthropods (particularly insects) and plants it is clear that there are many close interactions between the two groups, which must have co-evolved over a considerable period of time. Surprisingly, the fossil record of such interactions has hardly been studied and has therefore often been assumed to be non-existent. Interactions include feeding (e.g. leaf and spore/pollen feeding, leaf mining and wood boring), shelter (e.g. the formation of galls), transport, and reproduction (flower pollination). There is fossil evidence for all of these interactions from the time that arthropods and plants first colonized the land. The shortage of data results from lack of study rather than a real absence of interactions.