Glacial tectonics and deposition of stratified drift during formation of tills beneath an active glacier – examples from Skåne, southern Sweden

Åmark, Max 1986 06 01: Glacial tectonics and deposition of stratified drift during formation of tills beneath an active glacier – examples from Skåne, southern Sweden. Boreas , Vol. 15, pp. 155–171. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
Three exposures in till have been investigated in Skåne, southern Sweden. The tills were deposited at the base of an active glacier, and are largely made up of subglacially deposited stratified drift. Deformation of the till took place syndepositionally, resulting in high-angle fractures, clastic dikes, shear planes and folds, and in irregular deformational structures. The stratified drift was transformed into a more or less diamicton-like material by the deformation. The orientation of clasts was influenced by the action of the subglacial meltwater and the shearing from the overriding glacier. The tills accumulated at most 100 km inside the margin of the receding glacier.     

The Physico-Chemical Properties of a Subducted Slab from Garnet Zonation Patterns (Sesia Zone, Western Alps)

Garnets in continentally derived high-pressure (HP) rocks ofthe Sesia Zone (Western Alps) exhibit three different chemicalzonation patterns, depending on sample locality. Comparisonof observed garnet zonation patterns with thermodynamicallymodelled patterns shows that the different patterns are causedby differences in the water content of the subducted protolithsduring prograde metamorphism. Zonation patterns of garnets inwater-saturated host rocks show typical prograde chemical zonationswith steadily increasing pyrope content and increasing XMg,together with bell-shaped spessartine patterns. In contrast,garnets in water-undersaturated rocks have more complex zonationpatterns with a characteristic decrease in pyrope and XMg betweencore and inner rim. In some cases, garnets show an abrupt compositionalchange in core-to-rim profiles, possibly due to water-undersaturationprior to HP metamorphism. Garnets from both water-saturatedand water-undersaturated rocks show signs of intervening growthinterruptions and core resorption. This growth interruptionresults from bulk-rock depletion caused by fractional garnetcrystallization. The water content during burial influences significantly thephysical properties of the subducted rocks. Due to enhancedgarnet crystallization, water-undersaturated rocks, i.e. thoselacking a free fluid phase, become denser than their water-saturatedequivalents, facilitating the subduction of continental material.Although water-bearing phases such as phengite and epidote arestable up to eclogite-facies conditions in these rocks, dehydrationreactions during subduction are lacking in water-undersaturatedrocks up to the transition to the eclogite facies, due to thethermodynamic stability of such hydrous phases at high P–Tconditions. Our calculations show that garnet zonation patternsstrongly depend on the mineral parageneses stable during garnetgrowth and that certain co-genetic mineral assemblages causedistinct garnet zonation patterns. This observation enablesinterpretation of complex garnet growth zonation patterns interms of garnet-forming reactions and water content during HPmetamorphism, as well determination of detailed P–T paths. KEY WORDS: dehydration; high-pressure metamorphism; Sesia Zone; subduction; thermodynamic modelling     

Tectonic versus chemical-weathering controls on the composition of fluvial sands in tropical environments

The compositions of fluvial sands collected in mountainous regions along the volcanic front in Central America and along the Andean front in Venezuela and Colombia correlate with the tectonic setting of their source terrains. The sands derived from the Central American volcanic arc are compositionally distinct from those derived from the Andean terrains, and minor variations in tectonic style can also be discriminated. Subtle differences in tectonic setting and source rock composition are recognizable only when modification by chemical weathering is slight; they are strongest in sands from low-order streams draining mountainous areas with modest alluvial-plain development. Sands that have been exposed to weathering for extended periods during alluvial storage are progressively enriched in chemically stable phases. With increased weathering, sands from continental terrains converge toward a supermature quartz arenite end member, and the imprint left by source rock composition and tectonic setting is obscured. In intraoceanic terrains, a similar but much less pronounced enrichment in stable phases relative to less-stable phases is observed, similarly overprinting the tectonic signal. Although detailed tectonic information is easily lost, sands derived from intraoceanic terrains are distinguishable from those derived from continental terrains even after long exposure to intense chemical-weathering conditions.     

The shelf sand-plume model: a critique

In recent years, a new model for deposition of sand bodies in a shelf environment has appeared. This model, known as the shelf sand-plume model, is hypothesized to result from storm-driven currents that are deflected around a deltaic headland, stripping sand from the headland and redepositing it in a downcurrent ‘plume’ on the inner shelf. The modern analogue for this model is considered to be an arcuate shelf sand body located off the Damietta branch of the Nile Delta. However, the distribution of older deltaic and shoreline sands probably controls the arcuate outline of the sand body. The present current system has certainly reworked these sands into ridges and large-scale bedforms but is not responsible for the overall outline of the sand body. Grain-size range and distribution of sand on the shelf demonstrate that the source of sand in the Nile shelf sand body is not the modern Damietta headland as postulated by the shelf sandplume model. In our view, the shelf sand-plume model is presently unsubstantiated and has orginated as a misapplication of the original Nile example. As a geological model, the shelf sand-plume model lacks a set of observable, consistently applicable criteria. The only common denominator to the model is the ‘plume’ geometry of a sand body located off a deltaic promontory. However, workers postulating the existence of shelf sand-plumes have neither clearly established a ‘plume’ geometry nor shown the juxtaposition of these bodies with respect to coeval deltaic headlands in their outcrop or subsurface examples. The model does not provide criteria to distinguish a ‘shelf sand-plume’ from other classes of shelf sand bodies, notably sand ridges and storm-generated sheet-like sands. Its application to the rock record should be re-evaluated.     

Sustainable development policies and measures: institutional issues and electrical efficiency in South Africa

An innovative approach is introduced for helping developing countries to make their development more sustainable, and also to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a co-benefit. Such an approach is proposed as part of the multilateral framework on climate change. The concept of sustainable development policies and measures (SD-PAMs) is outlined, making clear that it is distinct from many other approaches in starting from development rather than explicit climate targets. The potential of SD-PAMs is illustrated with a case-study of energy efficiency in South Africa, drawing on energy modelling for the use of electricity in industry. The results show multiple benefits both for local sustainable development and for mitigating global climate change. The benefits of industrial energy efficiency in South Africa include significant reductions in local air pollutants; improved environmental health; creation of additional jobs; reduced electricity demand; and delays in new investments in electricity generation. The co-benefit of reducing GHG emissions could result in a reduction of as much as 5% of SA's total projected energy CO₂ emissions by 2020. Institutional support and policy guidance is needed at both the international and national level to realize the potential of SD-PAMs. This analysis demonstrates that if countries begin to act early to move towards greater sustainability, they will also start to bend the curve of their emissions path.