Sedimentation in ice-covered Lake Hoare, Antarctica

The sedimentation mechanisms that occur in ice-covered Lake Hoare, Antarctica are examined, to determine how sediment enters the lake, and how the sedimentation pattern affects blue-green algal growth at the lake bottom. The 3 m-thick ice cover contains pebbly sand as much as 2 m below the surface. Sediment with similar texture and mineralogy is found at the lake bottom. This evidence, together with the lack of sediment in the inflowing stream and the markedly different texture of sediment from the other terrains around the lake suggest that most of the sediment at the lake bottom comes in through the ice cover. Sand grains intermittently migrate through porous ice on the surface, water-filled vertical gas-channels penetrating two-thirds of the ice cover, and possibly through cracks in the ice that act as conduits. The algae at the lake bottom are able to survive in part because sediment that comes through the ice cover does not obliterate them.     

Lichenometry in dating recent glacial landforms and deposits, southeast Iceland

Lichenometry curves were derived for the glacier forelands of Breidamerkurjokull and Skalafellsjökull using measurements of the collective species, Rhizocarpon geographicum , from independently dated surfaces deglaciated during the period since the late-19th century ice maximum episode in the area. The form of the curves appears to be linear. Several methods of predicting the ages of undated surfaces were compared for specific test examples, including single lichenometry curves, families of curves and multiple curves based on randomly selected largest lichens. The last method provided a useful means of assessing the reproducibility of predicted ages. Where substrate conditions were highly variable, a lichenometry curve based on single largest lichens provided a preferred result.     

Trace Element and Platinum Group Element Distributions and the Genesis of the Merensky Reef, Western Bushveld Complex, South Africa

The Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex is one of the world'slargest resources of platinum group elements (PGE); however,mechanisms for its formation remain poorly understood, and manycontradictory theories have been proposed. We present precisecompositional data [major elements, trace elements, and platinumgroup elements (PGE)] for 370 samples from four borehole coresections of the Merensky Reef in one area of the western BushveldComplex. Trace element patterns (incompatible elements and rareearth elements) exhibit systematic variations, including small-scalecyclic changes indicative of the presence of cumulus crystalsand intercumulus liquid derived from different magmas. Ratiosof highly incompatible elements for the different sections areintermediate to those of the proposed parental magmas (CriticalZone and Main Zone types) that gave rise to the Bushveld Complex.Mingling, but not complete mixing of different magmas is suggestedto have occurred during the formation of the Merensky Reef.The trace element patterns are indicative of transient associationsbetween distinct magma layers. The porosity of the cumulatesis shown to affect significantly the distribution of sulphidesand PGE. A genetic link is made between the thickness of theMerensky pyroxenite, the total PGE and sulphide content, petrologicaland textural features, and the trace element signatures in thesections studied. The rare earth elements reveal the importantrole of plagioclase in the formation of the Merensky pyroxenite,and the distribution of sulphide. KEY WORDS: Merensky Reef; platinum group elements; trace elements