Cyclicity in the nearshore marine to coastal, Lower Permian, Pebbley Beach Formation, southern Sydney Basin, Australia: a record of relative sea-level fluctuations at the close of the Late Palaeozoic Gondwanan ice age

The Lower Permian (Artinskian to Sakmarian) Pebbley Beach Formation (PBF) of the southernmost Sydney Basin in New South Wales, Australia, records sediment accumulation in shallow marine to coastal environments at the close of the Late Palaeozoic Gondwanan ice age. This paper presents a sequence stratigraphic re‐evaluation of the upper half of the unit based on the integration of sedimentology and ichnology. Ten facies are recognized, separated into two facies associations. Facies Association A (seven facies) comprises variably bioturbated siltstones and sandstones with marine body fossils, interpreted as recording sediment accumulation in open marine environments ranging from lower offshore to middle shoreface water depths. Evidence of deltaic influence is seen in several Association A facies. Facies Association B (three facies) comprises mainly heterolithic, interlaminated and thinly interbedded sandstone and siltstone with some thicker intervals of dark grey, organic‐rich mudstone, some units clearly filling incised channel forms. These facies are interpreted as the deposits of estuarine channels and basins. Throughout the upper half of the formation, erosion surfaces with several metres relief abruptly separate open marine facies of Association A (below) from estuarine facies of Association B (above). Vertical facies changes imply significant basinward shift of environment across these surfaces, and lowering of relative sea level in the order of 50 m. These surfaces can be traced over several kilometres along depositional strike, and are defined as sequence boundaries. On this basis, at least nine sequences have been recognized in the upper half of the formation, each of which is < 10 m thick, condensed, incomplete and top‐truncated. Sequences contain little if any record of the lowstand systems tract, a more substantial transgressive systems tract and a highstand systems tract that is erosionally truncated (or in some cases, missing). This distinctive stacking pattern (which suggests a dominance of retrogradation and progradation over aggradation) and the implied relative sea‐level drop across sequence boundaries of tens of metres are remarkably similar to some other studies of continental margin successions formed under the Neogene icehouse climatic regime. Accordingly, it is suggested that the stratigraphic architecture of the PBF was a result of an Icehouse climate regime characterized by repeated, high‐amplitude cycles of relative sea‐level change.     

Evolution of a Holocene delta driven by episodic sediment delivery and coseismic deformation, Puget Sound, Washington, USA

Episodic, large‐volume pulses of volcaniclastic sediment and coseismic subsidence of the coast have influenced the development of a late Holocene delta at southern Puget Sound. Multibeam bathymetry, ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and vibracores were used to investigate the morphologic and stratigraphic evolution of the Nisqually River delta. Two fluvial–deltaic facies are recognized on the basis of GPR data and sedimentary characteristics in cores, which suggest partial emplacement from sediment‐rich floods that originated on Mount Rainier. Facies S consists of stacked, sheet‐like deposits of andesitic sand up to 4 m thick that are continuous across the entire width of the delta. Flat‐lying, highly reflective surfaces separate the sand sheets and comprise important facies boundaries. Beds of massive, pumice‐ and charcoal‐rich sand overlie one of the buried surfaces. Organic‐rich material from that surface, beneath the massive sand, yielded a radiocarbon age that is time‐correlative with a series of known eruptive events that generated lahars in the upper Nisqually River valley. Facies CF consists of linear sandbodies or palaeochannels incised into facies S on the lower delta plain. Radiocarbon ages of wood fragments in the sandy channel‐fill deposits also correlate in time to lahar deposits in upstream areas. Intrusive, sand‐filled dikes and sills indicate liquefaction caused by post‐depositional ground shaking related to earthquakes. Continued progradation of the delta into Puget Sound is currently balanced by tidal‐current reworking, which redistributes sediment into large fields of ebb‐ and flood‐oriented bedforms.     

Performance evaluation and work-load estimation for geographic information systems

Abstract

Agencies acquiring GIS hardware and software are faced with uncertainty at two levels: over the degree to which the proposed system will perform the functions required, and over the degree to which it is capable of doing so within proposed production schedules. As the field matures the second concern is becoming more significant. A formal model of the process of acquiring a GIS is presented, based on the conceptual level of defining GIS sub-tasks. The appropriateness of the approach is illustrated using performance data from the Canada Land Data System. It is possible to construct reasonably accurate models of system resource utilization using simple predictors and least squares techniques, and a combination of inductive and deductive reasoning. The model has been implemented in an interactive package for MS-DOS systems.     

Sedimentology and Chronology of Paleogene Coarse Clastic Rocks in East-Central Tibet and Their Relationship to Early Tectonic Uplift

A systematic sedimentological and chronological study of typical Paleogene basins in eastcentral Tibet suggests that the depositional characteristics of extensively developed huge-bedded, purplish-red coarse clastic rocks formed in a tectonic setting of regional thrusting and strike-slipping represent a typical dry and hot subaerial alluvial fan environment formed in a proximal and rapidaccumulating sediment body in debris flows and a fan-surface braided river. Combining results from basin-fill sequences, sequences of coarse clastic rocks, fauna and sporo-pollen associations and thermochronological data, it is conduded that the coarse clastic rocks formed in the period of 54.2- 24.1 Ma, nearly coeval with the formation of Paleogene basins in the northern （Nangqen-Yushu thrust belt）, middle （Batang-Lijiang fault belt）, and disintegration of large basins in the southern （LanpingSimao fold belt） segments of Tibet. The widespread massive-bedded coarse clastic rocks, fold thrusting and strike-slip, thrust shortening, and igneous activities in the Paleogene basins of eastcentral Tibet indicate that an early diachronous tectonic uplift might have occurred in the Tibetan Plateau from Middle Eocene to Oligocene, related to the initial stage of collision of the Indian and Asian plates.     

Impact of lake‐level changes on the formation of thermogene travertine in continental rifts: Evidence from Lake Bogoria,Kenya Rift Valley

Travertine is present at 20% of the ca 60 hot springs that discharge on Loburu delta plain on the western margin of saline, alkaline Lake Bogoria in the Kenya Rift. Much of the travertine, which forms mounds, low terraces and pool‐rim dams, is sub‐fossil (relict) and undergoing erosion, but calcite‐encrusted artefacts show that carbonate is actively precipitating at several springs. Most of the springs discharge alkaline (pH: 8·3 to 8·9), Na‐HCO₃ waters containing little Ca (<2 mg l^?1) at temperatures of 94 to 97·5°C. These travertines are unusual because most probably precipitated at temperatures of >80°C. The travertines are composed mainly of dendritic and platy calcite, with minor Mg‐silicates, aragonite, fluorite and opaline silica. Calcite precipitation is attributed mainly to rapid CO₂ degassing, which led to high‐disequilibrium crystal morphologies. Stratigraphic evidence shows that the travertine formed during several stages separated by intervals of non‐deposition. Radiometric ages imply that the main phase of travertine formation occurred during the late Pleistocene (ca 32 to 35 ka). Periods of precipitation were influenced strongly by fluctuations in lake level, mostly under climate control, and by related changes in the depth of boiling. During relatively arid phases, meteoric recharge of ground water declines, the lake is low and becomes hypersaline, and the reduced hydrostatic pressure lowers the level of boiling in the plumbing system of the hot springs. Any carbonate precipitation then occurs below the land surface. During humid phases, the dilute meteoric recharge increases, enhancing geothermal circulation, but the rising lake waters, which become relatively dilute, flood most spring vents. Much of the aqueous Ca²⁺ then precipitates as lacustrine stromatolites on shallow firm substrates, including submerged older travertines. Optimal conditions for subaerial travertine precipitation at Loburu occur when the lake is at intermediate levels, and may be favoured during transitions from humid to drier conditions.     

Microstructural changes accompanying the opal-A to opal-CT transition: new evidence from the siliceous sinters of Geysir, Haukadalur, Iceland

Opaline silica (opal-A) has formed in marine, lacustrine and geothermal environments throughout geological time. During diagenesis opal-A normally changes to opal-CT, then opal-C, and finally to quartz. Such changes commonly destroy the original fabrics and any fossils that opal-A contained. The physical changes that accompany the opal-A to opal-CT transition, however, are known poorly. X-ray diffraction analyses, electron microprobe analyses and high-resolution, high-magnification scanning electron microscope imagery of siliceous sinters from the Geysir geothermal area in Iceland show that opal-A is formed of heterometric arrays of randomly packed microspheres (up to 5  μ m diameter) with neighbouring spheres commonly being joined by small connection pads. In contrast, enlarged spheres, lepispheres, inverse opal (two types) and spindle frameworks with hexagonal motifs characterize opal-CT. The textures in opal-CT, which vary on a microscale, reflect the complex interplay between dissolution (e.g. inverse opal) and precipitation (e.g. enlarged spheres, spindle frameworks) that probably was mediated by groundwater in a near-surface environment. The processes deciphered from these young rocks should, however, be applicable to sedimentary opal-A and opal-CT of all ages, irrespective of their origin.     

Tectono-sedimentary analysis of alternate-polarity half-graben basin-fill successions: Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous Horton Group, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Abstract The Devono-Carboniferous Horton Group of Cape Breton Island was mostly deposited in two fault-bounded asymmetric sub-basins which were part of a large intracontinental rift system. This system lay at a palaeolatitude of about 10–15^o S–a warm, semi-arid climate. The half-graben sub-basins had opposed polarity, were approximately 100 times 50 km in size and were separated by a narrow zone of elevated Acadian basement. These features are common to the adjacent structural segments of known rifts, and are unlike those of transtensive pull-apart systems. Sedimentation occurred in four successive depositional systems which reflect a tectonic evolution of increased and then decreased extensional subsidence through the 8–12 Myr interval represented. Post-Acadian sedimentation began with System 1 bimodal volcanics and grey distal braided fluvial sediments deposited in a slowly subsiding broad linear sag basin. System 2 consists of reddened braidplain sediments near fault-bounded margins and mudflat/playa sediments in sub-basin centres, deposited in two discrete asymmetric sub-basins with a general upward-fining trend. Gradual expansion of the mudflat setting and confinement of coarse marginal fades is interpreted as a response to increasingly rapid and deep fault-bounded subsidence. Depositional System 3, is a complex of grey lacustrine offshore, shoreline and fan delta facies deposited in two adjacent half-graben segments with opposed polarity of asymmetry. An increased rate of tectonic subsidence allowed a large standing body of water to accumulate lacustrine sediments along the axis of each sub-basin during this phase of maximum subsidence. System 4 consists of reddened proximal alluvial fan, medial fluvial and distal grey meandering fluvial/floodplain sediments which accumulated in sub-basins with fault-bounded margins and asymmetry identical to those of earlier systems, indicating a continuation of tectonic style. However, an overall coarsening-upward trend indicates waning of active fault-related subsidence and consequent progradation of marginal coarse wedges to fill the sub-basins. Rapid marine transgression and deposition of Windsor Group carbonates, evaporites and elastics continued within a more extensive rift basin during renewed fault-bounded subsidence.     

Relative dating of moraines using moraine morphometric and boulder weathering criteria, Kigluaik Mountains, Alaska

Six measurements of surface-boulder weathering and seven measures of moraine morphometrics were taken at 57 sites in the Kigluaik Mountains, Alaska, to test the morphostratigraphic division of five Quaternary glacial units, to test a threefold subdivision of the late Pleistocene glacial unit, and to estimate the timing of glacial advances. Group means from 70% of the relative-age measures exhibit a positive relationship with relative age of the glacial units. The measures most effective at differentiating between moraine groups were: boulder frequency, tall-boulder frequency, boulder height, distal slope, and boulder angularity. Results of dixriminant analysis indicate that moraine-morphometric measures provided slightly better classification results than those of boulder weathering. Discriminant analysis correctly classified 89% of the a priori grouped sites. Multivariate analysis supports the attempted threefold subdivision of the latest Pleistocene Mount Osborn moraines at the 0.056 level of significance. Estimated ages of 60,000 BP for the Salmon Lake and 165,000 BP for the Stewart River glacial units were interpolated by using the relative-age data and ages of 18,000 BP for the Mount Osborn and 810,000 BP for the Nome River units.