Reconciling discrepant chronologies for the geomagnetic excursion in the Mono Basin,California: Insights from new 40Ar/39Ar dating experiments and a revised relative paleointensity correlation

Lacustrine sediments of the Wilson Creek Formation in the Mono Basin, California, record a paleomagnetic field excursion constrained by ¹⁴C and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology to have occurred within the last 50 ka. However, ¹⁴C and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages are discordant, making it difficult to distinguish which of two possible excursions during this period, the Mono Lake or Laschamp, is recorded in the Mono Basin. New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determinations from sanidine, as well as the first biotite and obsidian ages, for three of the nineteen rhyolitic ashes intercalated with these sediments are presented and compared to previous ¹⁴C and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data sets. Although the sanidine ages of the three ashes are stratigraphically consistent with each other and previously determined ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for other ashes in the Wilson Creek Formation, each is significantly older than ¹⁴C ages obtained from stratigraphically equivalent beds, relative paleointensity field correlations, oxygen isotope records, and glacial histories. These data indicate an absence of juvenile, eruptive crystals and most likely reflect the incorporation of crystals from older volcanic centers or underlying sediment. We examine the strengths and weaknesses of all available geochronologic data for the section exposed at Wilson Creek to arrive at an internally consistent set of age constraints. Using these constraints we propose two new relative paleointensity correlations for the section, both of which indicate that the excursion recorded in the Mono Basin occurred at ～30–34 ka on the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) ice core time scale.     

Data reporting norms for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology

Data reported in ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology studies are commonly insufficient to allow computation of ages. This deficiency renders it difficult to compare ages based on different standards or constants, and often hinders critical evaluation of the results. Herein are presented an enumeration of the data that should be reported in all ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar studies, including a discussion in support of these requirements. The minimum required data are identified and distinguished from parameters that are useful but may be derived from them by calculation. Finally, recommendations are made for metadata needed to document age calculations (e.g., from age spectrum or isochron analyses).     

Emplacement age and thermal footprint of the diamondiferous Ellendale E9 lamproite pipe, Western Australia

The diamondiferous Ellendale 9 (E9) pipe is a funnel-shaped maar-diatreme volcano consisting of inward-dipping tuff sequences intruded by lamproite plugs and dykes. The host rocks for the E9 pipe are Permian sandstones. The multiple lithological contacts exposed within the mined maar volcano provide a natural laboratory in which to study the effect of volcanic processes on U–Th–Pb–He systematics. Zircon from the regional sandstone and E9 lamproite display a bimodal distribution of ages on (U–Th)/He–U/Pb plots. The zircon U/Pb ages for the E9 pipe (n?=?52) range from 440 to 2,725 Ma, while the cluster of (U–Th)/He ages for the lamproite dyke zircon indicate that dyke emplacement occurred at 20.6?±?2.8 Ma, concordant with a maximum emplacement age of about ≤22 Ma from phlogopite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar. These ages indicate a xenocrystic origin for the zircon entrained in the E9 dyke. The U/Pb ages of detrital zircon from the regional sandstone host (373–3,248 Ma; n?=?41) are indistinguishable from those of the lamproite zircon xenocrysts, whereas the detrital zircon in the host sandstone yield (U–Th)/He ages from 260 to 1,500 Ma. A thermochronology traverse across the E9 lamproite dyke reveals that the zircon (U–Th)/He ages in the host sandstone have not been significantly thermally reset during dyke emplacement, even at the contact. The capability of the zircon (U–Th)/He method to distinguish deep, mantle source lithologies from upper crustal source lithologies could be used in geochemical exploration for diamonds. Pre-screening of detrital samples using etching and helium assay methods will improve the efficiency and decrease the cost of greenfields exploration.     

"龙王"(LONGWANG)台风过程湿位涡的诊断分析

本文应用MM5V3中尺度数值模式对0519号台风“龙王”过程进行了数值模拟,利用模拟结果计算了台风过程湿位涡(Moist Potential Vorticity,MPV)的演变,从湿位涡的角度研究了台风过程大暴雨的产生机制。结果表明:倾斜涡度发展是“龙王”台风在福建沿海产生大暴雨的重要机制之一,湿位涡能够对暴雨落区的预报有较强的指示性作用,暴雨产生在θse线陡立的对流层中低层MPV1等值线密集带中零线附近,对流层中高层的MPV2负值区可以作为暖湿气流或涡旋活动的示踪;另外,对流层中高层中高纬度冷空气扩散南下与台风的东南暖湿空气在福建沿海交汇,加剧了气旋性涡度发展,对暴雨的发生发展也有巨大的作用。     

The Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition： characterization and proposed guide for the defining boundary

The mid-Pleistocene transition （MPT, c. 1.2 to 0.5 Ma） records fundamental changes in Earth＇s climate state, where low-amplitude 41-kyr obliquity-dominated cycles gave way progressively to the high-amplitude, quasiperiodic （c. 100-kyr） fluctuations that characterize the later Pleistocene and Holocene. We use wavelet analysis on the LR04 δ^l8O benthic foraminiferal stack to confirm low-frequency power as early as 1.25-1.20 Ma, determine the persistence of obliquity-dominated cyclicity through and beyond the MPT, and reveal new levels of complexity in climate evolution.