The geology of Howth and Ireland's Eye,Co. Dublin

The Cambrian sediments in Howth and Ireland's Eye to the northeast of Dublin have been mapped and the submarine deltaic Censure Group and the overlying Nose of Howth Group, which consists of interbedded turbidites and olistostromes, have been distinguished. Large scale sedimentary disruption has accompanied detachment of quartzitic sandstone beds in the Censure Group, where the bases of detached blocks have slump features while their tops generally do not. This contrasts with the chaotic sedimentary breccias in the olistostromes of the Nose of Howth Group. Blocks in the Censure and Nose of Howth Groups are up to 450 m and 700 m across respectively. The turbidies have come from the southeast and east whereas the slumping appears to have been generated from the southwest. Slumping during sedimentation was followed closely by large-scale folding and sliding of sedimentary or tectono-sedimentary origin, and the bulk appearance of the sediments is due to these sedimentary and tectono-sedimentary mechanisms. The main structure is an easterly facing, steep plunging syncline which locally is associated with a poorly preserved cleavage. This structure predated the main penetrative cleavage which is not axial planar to it.     

阿拉斯加北极地区的工程设计和施工经验及教训

阿拉斯加北极地区位于布鲁克斯山以北, 白令海峡以东的北坡地区, 属北极海洋性气候区. 区内寒冷( -10 ～ -6 ℃)、连续多年冻土厚度多在200～300 m, 局部达700 m. 地表湖塘和冰楔多边形广泛分布. 阿拉斯加北极地区的工程建筑活动主要为海军部和商业石油勘探、开发和运输服务. 从20世纪40年代以来, 尽管有不少的曲折和教训, 但成功和可以借鉴的经验很多. 最成功的例子当数普如道湾油气田开发、阿里亚斯卡输油管道工程及其相应的环境保护措施. 工程师为了成功和经济地在北极地区修筑和运行工程设施, 必须从"冷"处着想, 并付诸计划和行动. 设计和施工的工程师必须保持实事求是、不断创新精神, 而不拘泥于中纬度地区的教育、培训, 或行业传统. 从工程勘察、设计到施工阶段, 工程师和从事环境研究的科学家必须密切合作. 工程师需要知道环境参数, 制约因素和可利用的机会; 环境科学家需要知道工程师的施工设计和问题, 理解工程限制条件、设备工作能力, 以及备选方案的经济学问题. 这些相互理解只能在密切合作中形成, 并能创造工程经济效益和奇迹.     

Magnetic crustal character in Central Ireland

The simplest magnetic model for the upper 20 km of crust in central Ireland is of two layers. A thin, weakly magnetic upper layer carrying a number of magnetic bodies that can be related to surface geology overlies a magnetic crustal zone whose gross magnetization increases towards the north. The deeper trace of the lapetus Suture in central Ireland forms the boundary between a more magnetic northern crustal area and a less magnetic southern area. A pre-Carboniferous major dextral offset of this suture boundary occurs in the Limerick area. The suture is traced beneath the Dingle peninsula in the far south-west of Ireland. In east-central Ireland, between the Iapetus Suture and Southern Upland Line, the crust contains a large, south-dipping magnetic body with no surface expression, which produces the Virginia magnetic anomaly. The development of magnetic bodies — in particular, volcanic rocks of Carboniferous age — has been controlled by regional stress patterns. The major volcanic centre at Limerick lies at the intersection of two major Caledonian block fault systems just to the north of the surface trace of the Hercynian Front.     

Insights into Holocene relative sea-level changes in the southern North Sea using an improved microfauna-based transfer function

In light of global warming and rising relative sea level (RSL), detailed reconstructions of RSL histories and their controlling processes are essential in order to manage coastal-protection challenges. This study contributes to unravelling Holocene RSL change on the East Frisian North Sea coast in high resolution and with a new approach for the German Bight. For the first time, a transfer function (vertical error: 29.7 cm ? ~11% of the mean tidal range) for RSL change based on a combined training set of benthic foraminifers and ostracods from the back-barrier tidal basin of Spiekeroog is applied to the Holocene record of the back-barrier tidal basin of Norderney. The resulting RSL curve for the Norderney tidal basin is corrected for decompaction and shows a deceleration in RSL rise between 6000 and 5000 cal bp. The smallest possible error envelope (~1 m) results from the good suitability of salt-marsh layers between 5000 and 4000 cal bp. The RSL curve provides an approach towards the closure of the common data gap of peat-based curves for the southern North Sea related to a lack of basal peats in the youngest age range, and verifies regional differences in glacial isostatic adjustment.