Palsa and peat plateau development in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, Canada: timing, pathways and causes

The Holocene development of a treed palsa bog and a peat plateau bog, located near the railroad to Churchill in the Hudson Bay Lowlands of northeastern Manitoba, was traced using peat macrofossil and radiocarbon analyses. Both sites first developed as wet rich fens through paludification of forested uplands around 6800 cal. yr BP. Results show a 20th-century age for the palsa formation and repeated periods of permafrost aggradation and collapse at the peat plateau site during the late Holocene. This timing of permafrost dynamics corroborates well with that inferred from previous studies on other permafrost peatlands in the same region. The developmental history of the palsa and peat plateau bogs is similar to that of adjacent permafrost-free fens, except for the specific frost heave and collapse features associated with permafrost dynamics. Permafrost aggradation and degradation is ascribed to regional climatic, local autogenic and other factors. Particularly the very recent palsa development can be assessed in terms of climatic changes as inferred from meteorological data and surface hydrological changes related to construction of the railroad. The results indicate that cold years with limited snowfall as well as altered drainage patterns associated with infrastructure development may have contributed to the recent palsa formation.     

Timing of the last deglaciation in Lithuania

Boulders from the Grūda Moraine, which is associated with the maximum extent of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) during the last glaciation, and the Baltija (also referred to as the South Lithuanian), the Middle and North Lithuanian moraines, which are associated with recessional stages of the SIS, were sampled for surface exposure dating using ¹⁰Be. By combining these data with existing radiocarbon ages, we developed a chronology for the retreat of the SIS margin in Lithuania. Our new ¹⁰Be ages suggest that the SIS margin began to retreat from its maximum extent at 18.3 ± 0.8 ¹⁰Be kyr. Based on a probable correlation of the Baltija Moraine with the Pomeranian Moraine in Poland, we infer that the Baltija Moraine was formed following a re-advance of the SIS margin. The ice margin retreated from the Baltija position at 14.0 ± 0.4 ¹⁰Be kyr. The SIS-margin retreat paused at least two more times to form the Middle Lithuanian Moraine at 13.5 ± 0.6 ¹⁰Be kyr and the North Lithuanian Moraine (tentatively correlated to the Pajūris Moraine) at 13.3 ± 0.7 ¹⁰Be kyr. Subsequent ice-margin retreat from the North Lithuanian Moraine represented the final deglaciation of Lithuania. Direct dating of these moraines better constrains the relation of ice-margin positions in Lithuania to those in adjacent countries as well as the SIS response to climate change.     

Petrogenesis of Evolved Basalts and Rhyolites at Austurhorn, Southeastern Iceland: the Role of Fractional Crystallization

The Austurhorn intrusive complex in southeastern Iceland representsthe evolved hypabyssal remains of an eroded Tertiary (6–7Ma) central volcano. The complex consists of a layered gabbrointrusion, a composite granophyric stock, and abundant maficand felsic dikes. Mineralogical and geochemical trends amongcontemporaneous, compositionally diverse liquids from the complexprovide insight into the genesis of evolved basalts and rhyolitesin Iceland that are difficult to infer from studies of onlylavas. Mafic and felsic samples have comparable ranges in incompatibletrace element ratios (Ba/La and P/Ce) and Sr- and Pb-isotopes(O'Nions and Pankhurst, 1973; B. Hanan, pers. comm., 1988),suggesting derivation from a common parental composition. Majorand trace element variations throughout the Austurhorn suiteare consistent with fractional crystallization of the observedphenocrysts. Quartz-normative basalts were derived from parentalbasalt containing 7.8 wt.% MgO by extensive low-pressure crystallizationof olivine, augite, plagioclase, magnetite, and ilmenite. Thefractionating assemblage is consistent with the observed mineralogyof associated gabbro. Moreover, the cumulus mineralogy of thegabbro provides evidence for fractionation processes in a compositionalinterval not represented by dikes and sills (i.e., 54–63wt.% SiO₂).Diversity among the mafic dikes reflects severaladditional factors: (1) crystallization under conditions ofvariable oxygen fugacity; (2) separate mantle melting eventsthat produce different Ce/Yb values; (3) contamination of somemafic dikes at depth, presumably by interaction with felsicmagmas. Major and trace element trends among most felsic samples canbe modeled by fractionation of the observed mineral phases:plagioclase, K-feldspar, clinopyroxene, ilmenite, apatite, allanite,and zircon. Although crustal melting has been proposed for generatingIcelandic rhyolites, most Austurhorn felsic samples are unlikeliquids derived by melting of hydrated basalts. In particular,apatite and zircon have controlled the abundances of Zr, Hf,and the REE in the felsic rocks, but they are unlikely to beresidual phases during partial melting of basalt. One felsicdike, interpreted as a melt of an evolved source, shows petrographicevidence of in situ anatexis and also has anomalous trace elementabundances and unusually high ₂₀₆Pb/₂₀₄Pb.     

A SIMULATED ANNEALING APPROACH TO SEISMIC MODEL OPTIMIZATION WITH SPARSE PRIOR INFORMATION1

It is well known that seismic inversion based on local model optimization methods, such as iterative use of linear optimization, may fail when prior information is sparse. Where the seismic events corresponding to reflectors of interest remain to be identified, a global optimization technique is required. We investigate the use of a global, stochastic optimization method, that of simulated annealing, to solve the seismic trace inversion problem, in which the two-way traveltimes and reflection coefficients are to be determined. The simulated annealing method is based on an analogy between the model-algorithm system and a statistical mechanical system. We exploit this analogy to produce improved annealing schedules. It is shown that even in cases of virtually no prior information about two-way traveltimes and reflection coefficients, the method is capable of producing reliable results.     

Evolution of the Kap Edvard Holm Complex: a Mafic Intrusion at a Rifted Continental Margin

The Kap Edvard Holm Layered Series forms part of the East GreenlandTertiary Province, and was emplaced at shallow crustal level(at depths corresponding to a pressure of 1–2 kbar) duringcontinental break-up. It consists of two suites: a gabbro suitecomprising olivine and oxide gabbros, leucocratic olivine gabbrosand anorthosites, and a suite of wehrlites that formed fromthe intrusion of the gabbros during their solidification bya hydrous, high-MgO magma. Ion microprobe analyses of clinopyroxenereveal chemical contrasts between the parental melt of the wehrlitesuite and that of the gabbro suite. Thin sills (1–2 mthick) of the wehrlite suite, however, have clinopyroxene compositionssimilar to the gabbro suite, and were formed by interactionwith interstitial melts from the host layered gabbros. All evolvedmembers of the gabbro suite have elevated Nd, Zr and Sr concentrationsand Nd/Yb ratios, relative to the melt parental to the gabbrosuite. These characteristics are attributed to establishmentof a magma chamber at depths corresponding to a pressure of10 kbar, where melts evolved before injection into the low-pressuremagma chamber. Anorthosites of the gabbro suite are believedto have crystallized from such injections. The melts becamesupersaturated in plagioclase by the pressure release that followedtransportation to the low-pressure magma chamber after initialfractionation at 10 kbar. The most evolved gabbros formed bysubsequent fractionation within the low-pressure magma chamber.Our results indicate that high-pressure fractionation may beimportant in generating some of the lithological variationsin layered intrusions. KEY WORDS: fractionation; ion microprobe; layered intrusions; rift processes; trace elements ^*Corresponding author.     

AN E – ε – ℓ TURBULENCE CLOSURE SCHEME FOR PLANETARY BOUNDARY-LAYER MODELS: THE NEUTRALLY STRATIFIED CASE

The standard E – model generates aplanetary boundary layerthat appears to be much too deep. The cause of theproblem is traced to the equation for the dissipationrate () of turbulent kinetic energy (E), specifically theparameterization of dissipation production anddestruction. In the context of atmosphericboundary-layer modelling, we argue that a part of thedissipation production should be modelled as the inputto the spectral cascade from the energy-containingpart of the spectrum, with a characteristic length , while the equilibrium imbalancebetween local production and destruction ofdissipation is modelled as proportional toE2/E, as in the standard model. Wepropose an E – – turbulence closurescheme, in which both the mixing length, m, and are prescribed. The importance ofthe equation is diminished, though itstill determines the dissipation rate in the Eequation.     

SCHMIDT‐HAMMER EXPOSURE AGES FROM PERIGLACIAL PATTERNED GROUND (SORTED CIRCLES) IN JOTUNHEIMEN,NORWAY, AND THEIR INTERPRETATIVE PROBLEMS

Periglacial patterned ground (sorted circles and polygons) along an altitudinal profile at Juvflya in central Jotunheimen, southern Norway, is investigated using Schmidt‐hammer exposure‐age dating (SHD). The patterned ground surfaces exhibit R‐value distributions with platycurtic modes, broad plateaus, narrow tails, and a negative skew. Sample sites located between 1500 and 1925 m a.s.l. indicate a distinct altitudinal gradient of increasing mean R‐values towards higher altitudes interpreted as a chronological function. An established regional SHD calibration curve for Jotunheimen yielded mean boulder exposure ages in the range 6910 ± 510 to 8240 ± 495 years ago. These SHD ages are indicative of the timing of patterned ground formation, representing minimum ages for active boulder upfreezing and maximum ages for the stabilization of boulders in the encircling gutters. Despite uncertainties associated with the calibration curve and the age distribution of the boulders, the early‐Holocene age of the patterned ground surfaces, the apparent cessation of major activity during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) and continuing lack of late‐Holocene activity clarify existing understanding of the process dynamics and palaeoclimatic significance of large‐scale sorted patterned ground as an indicator of a permafrost environment. The interpretation of SHD ages from patterned ground surfaces remains challenging, however, owing to their diachronous nature, the potential for a complex history of formation, and the influence of local, non‐climatic factors.