Melting of a Hydrous Mantle: I. Phase Relations of Natural Peridotite at High Pressures and Temperatures with Controlled Activities of Water, Carbon Dioxide, and Hydrogen

Four natural peridotite nodules ranging from chemically depletedto Fe-rich, alkaline and calcic (SiO₂ = 43.7–45.7 wt.per cent, A1₂O₃ = 1.6O–8.21 wt. per cent, CaO = 0.70–8.12wt. per cent, alk = 0.10–0.90 wt. per cent and Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺)= 0.94–0.85) have been investigated in the hypersolidusregion from 800? to 1250?C with variable activities of H₂O,CO₂, and H₂. The vapor-saturated peridotite solidi are 50–200?Cbelow those previously published. The temperature of the beginningof melting of peridotite decreases markedly with decreasingMg/(Mg+SFe) of the starting material at constant CaO/Al₂O₃.Conversely, lowering CaO/Al₂O₃ reduces the temperature at constantMg/(Mg+Fe) of the starting material. Temperature differencesbetween the solidi up to 200?C are observed. All solidi displaya temperature minimum reflecting the appearance of garnet. Thisminimum shifts to lower pressure with decreasing Mg/(Mg + Fe)of the starting material. The temperature of the beginning ofmelting decreases isobarically as approximately a linear functionof the mol fraction of H₂O in the vapor (X_H2O^v). The data alsoshow that some CO₂ may dissolve in silicate melts formed bypartial melting of peridotite. Amphibole (pargasitic hornblende) is a hypersolidus mineralin all compositions, although its P/T stability field dependson bulk rock chemistry. The upper pressure stability of amphiboleis marked by the appearance of garnet. The vapor-saturated (H₂O) liquidus curve for one peridotiteis between 1250? and 1300?C between 10 and 30 kb. Olivine, spinel,and orthopyroxene are either liquidus phases or co-exist immediatelybelow the temperature of the peridotite liquidus. The data suggest considerable mineralogical heterogeneity inthe oceanic upper mantle because the oceanic geotherm passesthrough the P/T band covering the appearance of garnet in variousperidotites. The variable depth to the low-velocity zone is explained byvariable aHjo conditions in the upper mantle and possibly alsoby variations in the composition of the peridotite itself. Itis suggested that komatiite in Precambrian terrane could formby direct melting of hydrous peridotite. Such melting requiresabout 1250?C compared with 1600?C which is required for drymelting. The genesis of kimberlite can be related to partial meltingof peridotite under conditions of X_H2O^v = 0.5–0.25 (X_CO2^v= 0.5–0.75). Such activities of H₂O result in meltingat depths ranging between 125 and 175 km in the mantle. Thisrange is within the minimum depth generally accepted for theformation of kimberlite.     

The deglaciation of Norway after 10,000 B.P.

Several distinctive marginal moraines of Preboreal age have been observed in Norway. They are grouped into three major morainal zones that are radiocarbon dated at about 9900±100, 9600±100 and 9300±100 B.P. respectively. The following deglaciation of central Norway was rapid and most likely completed about 8500 B.P. Evidence of glacier fluctuations up to recent time is discussed. The results are based partly on observations by the field parties of the I.G.C.P. project 'Quaternary Glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere'.     

Near-shore Baltic Ice Lake deposits in Fakse Bugt, southeast Denmark

Shallow seismic, sedimentological and macrofossil data and AMS radiocarbon dates on terrestrial plant remains from submarine deposits in Fakse Bugt in the southwestern part of the Baltic Sea are presented. The sediments were deposited near the shore of the Baltic Ice Lake, mostly in barrier-lagoon environments, during two highstand episodes dated to around 12.5–12.2 ¹⁴C ka BP and 10.6–10.3 ka BP. Coastal sediments from the highstands indicate maximum water levels of 13–15 m and 13 m below present sea level, respectively. During the first episode Salix polaris was widespread in the land area, and during the second episode Dryas octopetala and Betula nana were the most common woody plants. During the lowstand episode Betula pubescens woods dominated. The flora and fauna of the Baltic Ice Lake were rather diverse, reflecting the long and increasing distance to the margin of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet. Calcium-carbonate-rich, mesotrophic water characterized the Baltic Ice Lake in Fakse Bugt.     

Dose dependent effects of plumage-oiling on thermoregulation of Common Eiders Somateria mollissima residing in water

Thermoregulatory effects which occur during the first hours after plumage-oiling were studied under laboratory conditions by measuring the metabolic heat production of Common Eiders ( Somateria mollissima ) which were resting in water for up to three hours. The ducks were exposed to 10-70 mL Statfjord A crude oil while residing in water inside a respiration chamber at 5.5°C. The study demonstrated a dose-and time-dependent effect of plumage oiling on metabolic heat production during the first three hours after contact with the oil. The results indicate that the immediate, short-term effects following initial contact with oil at sea are lesser in scale than those which occur after the birds have preened the oil into a greater part of their plumage. After plumage contamination with 70 mL crude oil, the rate of heat loss exceeded the thermoregulatory heat production capacity and the Eiders became hypothermic within 70 minutes after contamination.     

Quantitative study of the distributary braidplain of the Preboreal ice-contact Gardermoen delta complex, southeastern Norway

This raised delta structure is an ice-contact deltaic complex with a volume of c. 4.4.10⁹ m³, deposited c . 9500 yr BP in a shallow wide 'fjord' during the retreat of the Scandinavian ice cap. The delta plain lies at an altitude of 200–223 m. It aggraded c . 20 m above the contemporaneous sea level during a regional marine regression. The braidplain palaeochannel characteristics indicate a peak meltwater discharge of 7–9 10³ m³/s. Calculations based on a glacial ablation model indicate a mid-summer discharge of c . 5.5 10³ m³/s. However, the fluvial topset of the delta has an erosive base whose altitude decreases upstream and indicates stream incision by more the 6 m below the contemporaneous sea level. The deep scour is ascribed to episodic floods over the relatively short delta plain, which exceeded direct ablation-associated discharges. The depositional time-span of the delta is assessed to have been 70 years, calculated from coastal gradient and shoreline displacement curves. The average sedimentation rate of the delta is thereby inferred to have been extremely high, c . 6. 10⁷ m³/yr. The sedimentation is thought to reflect 'extreme' ice-margin conditions, where the sediment and water discharge was maximized by full-scale ablation, with simultaneous subglacial, englacial and supraglacial sediment and water supply. These conditions might further coincide with an abundant rainfall in the catchment area or the drainage of dammed waters, initiating episodic floods which eroded deep beneath sea level. As a whole, the study illustrates the hydrological conditions of proglacial sedimentation at the front of the rapidly retreating last Scandinavian ice cap.     

Weichselian before 15,000 years B.P. at Jæren-Karmø in southwestern Normay

On the basis of studies of many stratigraphical profiles, together with radiocarbon dates, Thorium-Uranium dates and amino-acid dates, the following preliminary stratigraphy is proposed: (1)Late Weichselian. Stavanger Stadial. The glacier covered the coast and deposited the upper drift sheet. - (2) Middle Weichselian.(a)Sandnes Interstadial (30,000?-39,000 years B.P.). Thick units of marine deposits underlie the Stavanger Stadial drift. The lithology, the foraminiferal fauna, the molluscan fauna and the pollen flora all record cold, partly near-ice environment during their deposition. Elements of a boreal type foraminiferal fauna suggest that certain phases of the Sandnes Interstadial could have been slightly warmer. The shore level was very high. (b) Jæren Stadial (40,000? 1000 years B.P.). Tills and glaciomarine deposits at several locailites are correlated with a Jæren Stadial. (c) Nygaard Interstadial (41,000–50,000? years B.P.). Marine deposits representing a low shore-level phase, record cool to cold conditions. - (3)Early Weichselian. (a) Karmøy Stadial (older than 47,000 years B.P.). Gravelly and very bouldery tills at low stratigraphical levels in several prifles are correlated with a Karmøy Staidial.(b) Older deposits. Marine deposits which lie below the Karmøy Stadial till and on top of Eemian deposits at Bø II on Karmøy are being studies.