Radiocarbon redating of contaminated samples from a tropical volcano: the Mansion ‘Series’ of St Kitts,West Indies

Heavy rainfall and dense vegetation on tropical volcanoes produce abundant carbonized wood in pyroclastic deposits, in addition to easy contamination of this wood by root systems and soluble humic material. Because the physical nature of the charcoal varies, some samples are more prone to contamination. Two independent studies of the same volcano, Mt Liamuiga on St Kitts in the Lesser Antilles, sometimes using samples from the same carbonized tree, yielded a systematic difference in radiocarbon ages. An exchange of samples and a re-investigation of three physically distinct types of charcoal yielded the following results. Rare, hard, dense charcoal, lacking contamination, which had yielded a spurious age of 2860 years bp, was redated at 1845±58 years bp. Common soft, friable charcoal with good cellular structure proved to be susceptible to contamination. A field decontamination technique utilized by one group seems significant as it yields older ages than when only routine laboratory pre-treatment was used, indicating that the latter technique only partly removes the dried and hard residue produced by the decomposition of modern plant rootlets. A previous date of 24870 years bp obtained from powdery charcoal in a horizon beneath the Mansion Series contradicted ages older than 41000 years bp from common friable charcoal in the lower Mansion Series. The soft powdery charcoal was re-investigated using a sample collected a few centimeters from the original, although field decontamination of this sample was not possible, more extensive laboratory treatment yielded an age of ca. 43000 years bp, again proving that routine laboratory pretreatments are inadequate. A revised geochronology for the Mansion Series is described and a cautionary discussion is presented for the benefit of investigators using radiocarbon ages to date volcanic deposits.     

Subarcsec 10μm imaging of bipolar flow sources

We have started a program of high-resolution (0.4/pixel) 10m imaging of bipolar outflow sources using the 10m camera CAMIRAS. We present recent results obtained at the Canada France Hawaii Telescope which reveal extended emission or IR companions in several luminous objects. The extended emission we detected probably arises from transiently heated very small grains, while the newly discovered companions could contribute significantly to the outflow activity and extended far-IR emission usually attributed to the main optical source.     

Sub-arcsec 10 μm imaging of β pictoris and other star disk candidates

We have used the ESO 10 m camera, TIMMI, to image with a very high angular resolution (PFoV: 0.3; FWHM:0.9) several main-sequence star disk candidates. Information on the -Pictoris dust disk has been obtained in a region largely inaccessible to previous observations: 0–80 AU, with a resolution of about 5 AU after deconvolution. Another promising target for 10 m imaging, 51 Ophiuchi, appears point-like.based on data collected at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), La Silla, Chile     

The age of the Kagenfels granite (northern Vosges) and its bearing on the intrusion scheme of late Variscan granitoids

In the Saxothuringian part of the Vosges (France), a first series of Variscan plutonic rocks (diorites to granites) has been intruded by several younger granites. Rocks of both the older generations have been cross-cut by the late orogenic Kagenfels granite. The averages of the hitherto published mineral ages of the earlier rock generations are 331 and 334 Ma, respectively, whereas Rb-Sr and K-Ar dates around 290 Ma have been reported for the Kagenfels granite. Because of the unlikely large age hiatus, a redetermination of the intrusion age of the Kagenfels granite formation appeared to be irrevocable. The newly obtained mineral ages on the Kagenfels granite (K-Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar biotite ages as well as single zircon radiogenic ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb data: 331 ± 5 Ma) are about 40 Ma older than the previous results. They are interpreted as giving the time of emplacement of the Kagenfels granite during the latest Visan. The mineral ages of the earlier plutonic rocks in this part of the Variscan Orogeny in all probability are not significantly different from their ages of intrusion. Therefore the age concordance of all three granitoid generations constrains a rather narrow time interval of orogenic magmatism close to the Lower-Upper Carboniferous boundary.     

Comparison between a radiative wind model for be stars and high angular resolution data from the GI2T interferometer

I present theoretical line profiles and intensity maps from an axi-symmetric radiative wind model from a rapidly rotating Be star. The introduction of a viscosity parameter in the latitude-dependent hydrodynamic code enables us to consider the effects of the viscous force in the azimuthal component of momentum equations (Araújo et al. 1994). Both velocity field and density law derived from the hydrodynamic equations have been used for solving the statistical equilibrium equations. By adopting the Sobolev approximation, we could easily obtain a good estimate of both electronic density and hydrogen level populations throughout the envelope. The numerical calculation was performed for parameters characterisic of the Be star Cassiopeiae.     

Exposure ages from relict lateral moraines overridden by the Fennoscandian ice sheet

Lateral moraines constructed along west to east sloping outlet glaciers from mountain centred, pre-last glacial maximum (LGM) ice fields of limited extent remain largely preserved in the northern Swedish landscape despite overriding by continental ice sheets, most recently during the last glacial. From field evidence, including geomorphological relationships and a detailed weathering profile including a buried soil, we have identified seven such lateral moraines that were overridden by the expansion and growth of the Fennoscandian ice sheet. Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al exposure ages of 19 boulders from the crests of these moraines, combined with the field evidence, are correlated to episodes of moraine stabilisation, Pleistocene surface weathering, and glacial overriding. The last deglaciation event dominates the exposure ages, with ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al data derived from 15 moraine boulders indicating regional deglaciation 9600 ± 200 yr ago. This is the most robust numerical age for the final deglaciation of the Fennoscandian ice sheet. The older apparent exposure ages of the remaining boulders (14,600-26,400 yr) can be explained by cosmogenic nuclide inheritance from previous exposure of the moraine crests during the last glacial cycle. Their potential exposure history, based on local glacial chronologies, indicates that the current moraine morphologies formed at the latest during marine oxygen isotope stage 5. Although numerous deglaciation ages were obtained, this study demonstrates that numerical ages need to be treated with caution and assessed in light of the geomorphological evidence indicating moraines are not necessarily formed by the event that dominates the cosmogenic nuclide data.     

Temperature–composition–time (T–X–t) data from authigenic K-feldspar: An integrated methodology for dating fluid flow events

Integration of fluid inclusion analysis with high spatial resolution Ar–Ar dating of K-feldspar cements has been used to resolve and reconstruct palaeo-fluid flow. Fluid inclusion analysis allows discrimination of distinct cement phases, thereby identifying discrete episodes of fluid flow. Ar–Ar dating of the same cements via high spatial resolution laserprobe establishes absolute age constraints on the framework previously constructed. Integration of these two datasets yields temperature–composition–time data.     

Stratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of a Quaternary sequence along the Dong Nai River, southern Vietnam

The pre-Holocene Cenozoic sequence outcrops in the terrestrial part of the eastern margin of the Mekong Basin. However, the stratigraphy of the sequence is still unclear. Its detailed stratigraphy and chronology were therefore studied along the Dong Nai River, southern Vietnam, and the lithofacies and the relations among the formations were investigated from the outcrops. The ages of the deposits were determined by using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating.The Ba Mieu Formation was deposited about 176±52 ka during marine isotope stage (MIS) 7–6. The Thu Duc Formation was deposited about 97±27 ka during MIS 5. Both the Ba Mieu and Thu Duc formations are composed of fluvial and tidally influenced coastal deposits. The newly proposed Nhon Trach Formation was originally an eolian (blanket) deposit, but it has been partly reworked by fluvial processes. The Nhon Trach Formation was deposited about 10.9±4.7 ka, in the last part of the Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. The OSL ages for the Ba Mieu, Thu Duc, and Nhon Trach formations are younger than the ages previously assigned to these formations.     

Timing of the late-glacial climate reversal in the Southern Hemisphere using high-resolution radiocarbon chronology for Kaipo bog, New Zealand

The pattern of climate change in the Southern Hemisphere during the Younger Dryas (YD) chronozone provides essential constraint on mechanisms of abrupt climate change only if accurate, high-precision chronologies are obtained. A climate reversal reported previously at Kaipo bog, New Zealand, had been dated between 13,600 and 12,600 cal yr B.P. and appeared to asynchronously overlap the YD chron, but the chronology, based on conventionally radiocarbon-dated bulk sediment samples, left the precise timing questionable. We report a new high-resolution AMS ¹⁴C chronology for the Kaipo record that confirms the original chronology and provides further evidence for a mid-latitude Southern Ocean cooling event dated between 13,800 and 12,400 cal yr B.P. (2σ range), roughly equivalent to the Antarctic Cold Reversal.     

Two-stage metamorphic evolution of the Bemarivo Belt of northern Madagascar: constraints from reaction textures and in situ monazite dating

New results on the pressure–temperature–time evolution, deduced from conventional geothermobarometry and in situ U‐Th‐total Pb dating of monazite, are presented for the Bemarivo Belt in northern Madagascar. The belt is subdivided into a northern part consisting of low‐grade metamorphic epicontinental series and a southern part made up of granulite facies metapelites. The prograde metamorphic stage of the latter unit is preserved by kyanite inclusions in garnet, which is in agreement with results of the garnet (core)‐alumosilicate‐quartz‐plagioclase (inclusions in garnet; GASP) equilibrium. The peak metamorphic stage is characterized by ultrahigh temperatures of ～900–950 °C and pressures of ～9 kbar, deduced from GASP equilibria and feldspar thermometry. In proximity to charnockite bodies, garnet‐sillimanite‐bearing metapelites contain aluminous orthopyroxene (max. 8.0 wt% Al₂O₃) pointing to even higher temperatures of ～970 °C. Peak metamorphism is followed by near‐isothermal decompression to pressures of 5–7 kbar and subsequent near‐isobaric cooling, which is demonstrated by the extensive late‐stage formation of cordierite around garnet. Internal textures and differences in chemistry of metapelitic monazite point to a polyphasic growth history. Monazite with magmatically zoned cores is rarely preserved, and gives an age of c. 737 ± 19 Ma, interpreted as the maximum age of sedimentation. Two metamorphic stages are dated: M1 monazite cores range from 563 ± 28 Ma to 532 ± 23 Ma, representing the collisional event, and M2 monazite rims (521 ± 25 Ma to 513 ± 14 Ma), interpreted as grown during peak metamorphic temperatures. These are among the youngest ages reported for high‐grade metamorphism in Madagascar, and are supposed to reflect the Pan‐African attachment of the Bemarivo Belt to the Gondwana supercontinent during its final amalgamation stage. In the course of this, the southern Bemarivo Belt was buried to a depth of >25 km. Approximately 25–30 Myr later, the rocks underwent heating, interpreted to be due to magmatic underplating, and uplift. Presumably, the northern part of the belt was also affected by this tectonism, but buried to a lower depth, and therefore metamorphosed to lower grades.