Synsedimentary dolospar cementation: a possible Devonian example in the Camsell Formation, Northwest Territories, Canada1

A unique association of beds containing fenestral pore-filling medium crystalline dolomite with beds of dolospar and quartz sandstone occurs in the Lower Devonian Camsell Formation. Many of these sandstones consist almost entirely of dolospar sand. Sedimentological, petrographic, cathodoluminescent and chemical data indicate that the dolospar sands consist of grains that have been eroded and reworked during Camsell deposition from fenestral dolostone beds that directly underlie these sandstones. Erosional truncation of individual dolomite crystals and of intracrystalline cathodoluminescent zonations along the edges of sand grains indicates that either dolomitization, or dolomite cementation of the pore-filling carbonate cements within fenestrae of the fenestral fabrics, occurred before erosion and deposition of dolospar sand. The fine details of the cathodoluminescent zonations suggest that the pore-filling fenestral dolomite originated as primary cements that underwent some annealing recrystallization under the influence of high subsurface temperatures. This unique occurrence may document synsedimentary Devonian cementation by medium to coarsely crystalline dolomite.     

Facies-controlled shrinkage-crack assemblages in Middle Proterozoic mudstones from Montana, USA

Shrinkage-crack morphotypes in the Libby Formation (upper Belt Supergroup) are confined to distinct environmental facies. The lower facies is characterized by flat rip-up clasts, stromatolites, oolites, small-scale symmetrical ripples, and fenestral fabric. These rocks were deposited above fair-weather wave base on a periodically exposed mudflat. Shrinkage cracks in this facies are predominantly branching, incompletely connected features in plan view, except for local examples of completely connected polygonal cracks on purple argillite bed tops and rare, long spindle-shaped cracks on bed tops of dark grey argillite. The upper facies was deposited below fair-weather wave base and contains mainly unconnected, short spindle-shaped shrinkage cracks, and rare slightly branching cracks. Restriction of some crack types to certain facies better constrains interpretation of the origin of these shrinkage cracks. The cracks in the upper facies were strongly influenced by sediment loading, and may have formed by compaction-induced expulsion of water from pore space, resulting in synaeresis cracks. In the underlying shallower facies, polygonal cracks formed by desiccation. Elsewhere in this facies, incomplete, partially connected cracks and long spindle-shaped cracks on the same bedding plane are interpreted as having formed by desiccation. Shrinkage cracks are an under-used source of environmental information, but confusion as to their origin sometimes restricts their potential. More intensive analysis of properties of host sediment and crack fills may further our understanding of depositional and diagenetic influence on crack morphology. Crack cross-sections, which are often more commonly exposed than bedding plane cracks, may provide critical additional information on crack genesis. Better understanding of crack genesis will strengthen our ability to interpret unfossiliferous muddy sequences common in Precambrian and lacustrine settings.     

Petrology of Ultramafic Xenoliths from Loihi Seamount, Hawaii

Ultramafic xenoliths were recovered in four alkalic lava flowsfrom Loihi Seamount at depths between 2200 and 1400m. No xenolithbearing flows were sampled near the summit despite a concentrateddredge program. The flows, three of alkalic basalt and one ofbasanite, contain common olivine megacrysts and small xenolithsof dunite, rarer harzburgite, and a single wehrlite. Olivinemegacrysts as large as 8 mm are Fo_{84–88 6} and containmagnesiochromite inclusions with 1?1–3?5 wt.% TiO₂ Dunitecontains Fo_{83 5–88?5} olivine, magnesiochromite with l?5–6?9wt.% TiO₂ (avg. 3?2 wt.%), and extremely rare chrome-rich diopside.The wehrlite contains euhedral Fo_{85 9} olivine and magnesiochromitewith 1?9–4?7 wt.% TiO₂ poikilitically enclosed in chrome-richdiopside (Wo_{45 4}En_{48 0}Fs_6?6).Most of the olivine megacrysts,dunite, and the wehrlite are cumulates of Loihi alkalic lavasthat accumulated in a magma storage zone located at least 16kmbelow sea level. The rarity of dunite related to tholeiiticmagmas supports the interpretation that the alkalic lavas atLoihi generally predate the tholeiitic lavas. The harzburgitexenoliths have cataclastic textures and contain Fo_{89 5–926} olivine, enstatite (Wo_{2 0–2?7}En_{90?0–88 7}Fe_8?0–8?6),Cr-rich endiopside (Wo_{43 4–44 5}En_{52 0–50 0}Fs_{4 6–45}), and translucent red-brown magnesiochromite. The harzburgitexenoliths, which have 2-pyroxene temperatures of 1066 ? 35?C,originated in the uppermost mantle in a region of high strainrate, probably near the boundary between the mantle and theoverlying ocean crust. The presence of upper mantle xenolithsindicates that the magma storage zone is located below the baseof the ocean crust within the uppermost mantle.     

Quaternary coastal lithofacies,sequence development and stratigraphy in a passive margin setting,North Carolina and Virginia,USA

Lithofacies analysis is fundamental to unravelling the succession of depositional environments associated with sea‐level fluctuations. These successions and their timing are often poorly understood. This report defines lithofacies encountered within the north‐eastern North Carolina and south‐eastern Virginia Quaternary section, interprets their depositional environments, presents a model for coastal depositional sequence development in a passive margin setting and uses this understanding to develop the stratigraphy and Quaternary evolutionary history of the region. Data were obtained from numerous drill cores and outcrops. Chronology was based on age estimates acquired using optically stimulated luminescence, amino acid racemization, Uranium series and radiocarbon dating techniques. Geomorphic patterns were identified and interpreted using light detection and ranging imagery. Since lithofacies occurrence, distribution and stratigraphic patterns are different on interfluves than in palaeo‐valleys, this study focused on interfluves to obtain a record of highstand sea‐level cycles with minimal alteration by fluvial processes during subsequent lowstands. Nine primary lithofacies and four diagenetic facies were identified in outcrops and cores. The uppermost depositional sequence on interfluves exhibits an upward succession from shelly marine lithofacies to tidal estuarine lithofacies and is bounded below by a marine ravinement surface and above by the modern land surface. Older depositional sequences in the subsurface are typically bounded above and below by marine ravinement surfaces. Portions of seven depositional sequences were recognized and interpreted to represent deposition from late middle Pleistocene to present. Erosional processes associated with each successive depositional sequence removed portions of older depositional sequences. The stratigraphic record of the most recent sea‐level highstands (Marine Isotope Stage 5a and Marine Isotope Stage 3) is best preserved. Glacio‐isostatic adjustment has influenced depositional patterns so that deposits associated with late Quaternary sea‐level highstands (Marine Isotope Stages 5c, 5a and 3), which did not reach as high as present sea‐level according to equatorial eustatic records, are uplifted and emergent within the study area.     

A syllabus for teaching geographical information systems

The problems in teaching a course on geographical information systems in higher education are reviewed and a possible syllabus that will be most relevant to needs in the United Kingdom is suggested. The syllabus is divided into six major sections relating to the context, cartographic and spatial analytical concepts, their realization in a computing environment, operations, applications and institutional issues. A particular feature is an attempt to maintain a rigid distribution between underlying theory which is relatively stable and its more volatile operationalization on computers. The paper results from a symposium held in Leicester (U.K.) late in 1988 that brought together nine specialists in the held.     

The use of land and property information systems

Abstract

This paper examines the use of land and property information systems by local authorities in England and Wales. A number of important lessons for the future are discussed. There is much evidence which suggests that the primary use of land and property information systems is to support administrative tasks. This is an important conclusion when it is borne in mind that, in early days of discussions on the design of land and property information systems, it was envisaged that most of the output from such systems would be for management     

WAVE-EQUATION MULTIPLE SUPPRESSION USING CONSTRAINED GROSS-EQUALIZATION1

A method for improving the attenuation of water-layer multiple energy is suggested. The improvement is achieved using wave-equation extrapolation to generate an initial model of the multiple energy, and then constraining the way in which this model is modified to fit the observed multiple energy. Reconciling the initial multiple model with the input data is a critical part of this process and several techniques have been suggested previously by other authors. The approach used here is to fit the time, amplitude and phase of the wavelets by adapting the initial model trace using a weighted sum of four traces which can each be derived from the initial multiple model trace. Results on real data suggest that attenuation of primary energy is minimized using this technique, without diminishing the level of multiple attenuation.     

Integrated micro- and macro-scale analyses of Last Glacial Maximum Irish Sea Diamicts from Abermawr and Traeth y Mwnt, Wales, UK

This study is part of a basin-wide re-evaluation of Irish Sea glacigenic deposits which aims to test whether diamicts, collectively known as Irish Sea Tills, represent in situ glacimarine sediments or sediments that have been reworked or deformed by the Last Glacial Maximum Irish Sea Glacier. New results are presented for two key localities at Abermawr and Traeth y Mwnt in Wales. Unlike previous studies in the Irish Sea region that have focused on macro-scale sedimentology and structural analyses, this study combines macro-scale and micro-scale sedimentary analyses. This approach reveals that the dominant diamict facies at Abermawr are subglacially deformed primary (glaci)marine deposits, emplaced by the Irish Sea Glacier. An inland glacial source is unlikely. The Traeth y Mwnt diamicts are likely to be subaqueous in origin, possibly formed in an ice-dammed lake in the Mwnt embayment. There are no indications of subglacial deformation or shearing at Mwnt; deformation structures are related to gravity-driven or density-driven mechanisms.