Drainage response to Arabia–Eurasia collision: Insights from provenance examination of the Cyprian Kythrea flysch (Eastern Mediterranean Basin)

The Cenozoic geodynamics of the north‐eastern Mediterranean Basin have been dominated by the subduction of the African Plate under Eurasia. A trench‐parallel crustal‐scale thrust system (Misis–Kyrenia Thrust System) dissects the southern margin of the overriding plate and forms the structural grain and surface expression of northern Cyprus. Late Eocene to Miocene flysch of the Kythrea (De?irmenlik) Group is exposed throughout northern Cyprus, both at the hanging‐wall and foot‐wall of the thrust system, permitting access to an extensive Cenozoic sedimentary record of the basin. We report the results of a combined examination of detrital zircon and rutile U–Pb geochronology (572 concordant ages), coupled with Th/U ratios, Hf isotopic data and quantitative assessment of grain morphology of detrital zircon from four formations (5 samples) from the Kythrea flysch. These data provide a line of independent evidence for the existence of two different sediment transportation systems that discharged detritus into the basin between the late Eocene and late Miocene. Unique characteristics of each transport system are defined and a sediment unmixing calculation is demonstrated and explained. The first system transported almost exclusively North Gondwana‐type, Precambrian‐aged detrital zircon sourced from siliciclastic rock units in southern Anatolia. A different drainage system is revealed by the middle to late Miocene flysch sequence that is dominated by Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic‐aged detrital zircon, whose age range is consistent with the magmatic episodicity of southeast Anatolia, along the Arabia–Eurasia suture zone. Deposition of these late Miocene strata took place thereupon closure of the Tethyan Seaway and African–Eurasian faunal exchange, and overlap in time with a pronounced uplift of eastern Anatolia. Our analytical data indicate the onset of prominent suture‐parallel sediment transport from the collision zone of south‐eastern Anatolia into the Kyrenia Range of northern Cyprus, marking the drainage response to the continental collision between Arabia and Eurasia.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene glaciation of the Fish Lake valley,northeastern Alaska Range,Alaska

We reconstructed a chronology of glaciation spanning from the Late Pleistocene through the late Holocene for Fish Lake valley in the north‐eastern Alaska Range using ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating and lichenometry. After it attained its maximum late Wisconsin extent, the Fish Lake valley glacier began to retreat ca. 16.5 ka, and then experienced a readvance or standstill at 11.6 ± 0.3 ka. Evidence of the earliest Holocene glacial activity in the valley is a moraine immediately in front of Little Ice Age (LIA) moraines and is dated to 3.3–3.0 ka. A subsequent advance culminated at ca. AD 610–900 and several LIA moraine crests date to AD 1290, 1640, 1860 and 1910. Our results indicate that ¹⁰Be dating from high‐elevation sites can be used to help constrain late Holocene glacial histories in Alaska, even when other dating techniques are unavailable. Close agreement between ¹⁰Be and lichenometric ages reveal that ¹⁰Be ages on late Holocene moraines may be as accurate as other dating methods. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pb–Nd isotopic constraints on sedimentary input into the Lesser Antilles arc system

The Lesser Antilles arc is a particularly interesting island arc because it is presently very active, it is located perpendicular to the South American continent and its chemical and isotopic compositions display a strong north–south gradient. While the presence in the south of a thick pile of sedimentary material coming from the old South American continent has long been suspected to explain the geochemical gradient, previous studies failed to demonstrate unambiguously a direct link between the arc lava compositions and the subducted sediment compositions.Here, we present new Nd, Sm, Th, U and Pb concentrations and Nd–Pb isotopic data for over 60 sediments from three sites located in the fore arc region of the Lesser Antilles arc. New data for DSDP Site 543 drill core located east of Dominica Island complement the data published by White et al. [White, W.M., Dupré, B. and Vidal, P., 1985. Isotope and trace element geochemistry of sediments from the Barbados Ridge–Demerara Plain region, Atlantic Ocean. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 49: 1875–1886.] and confirm their relatively uniform isotopic compositions (i.e., ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb between 19.13 and 19.53). In contrast, data obtained on DSDP Site 144 located further south, on the edge of the South American Rise and on sediments from Barbados Island are much more variable (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ranges from 18.81 to 27.69). The very radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions are found in a 60 m thick black shale unit, which has no age equivalent in the Site 543 drill core. We interpret the peculiar composition of the southern sediments as being due to two factors, (a) the proximity of the South American craton, which contributes coarse grain old detrital material that does not travel far from the continental shelf, and (b) the presence of older sediments including the thick black shale unit formed during Oceanic Anoxic events 2 and 3.The north–south isotopic change known along the Lesser Antilles arc can be explained by the observed geographical changes in the composition of the subducted sediments. About 1% contamination of the mantle wedge by Site 543 sediments explains the composition of the northern islands while up to 10% sediments like those of Site 144 is required in the source of the southern island lavas. The presence of black shales in the subducted pile provides a satisfactory explanation for the very low Δ8/4 values that characterize the Lesser Antilles arc.     

Crustal anisotropy of Taihang Mountain Range using azimuthal variation of receiver functions

We discussed the possibility of studying crust anisotropy by analyzing azimuthal variation of the receiver functions and presented a technique for computing the transmission response of a flat-layered medium with arbitrarily ori-ented hexagonally symmetric anisotropy using the reflectivity algorithm. Using this method we investigated the crust anisotropy of Taihang Mountain Range (TMR). Our result shows that there is significant anisotropy with a slow symmetry axis in the upper crust and a fast symmetry axis in the lower crust. The anisotropy magnitude of about 8%~15% is found in the upper crust and a smaller magnitude of about 3%~5% in the lower crust. Orienta-tion of the symmetry axes and the depth of anisotropy appearance as deduced from the seismic records of four individual seismic stations are different from each other. The crust anisotropy beneath the four stations may be associated with the local crustal fabrics in a small area.     

Radiometric dating of three large volume flank collapses in the Lesser Antilles Arc

It is now recognised that flank collapses are a recurrent process in the evolution of the Lesser Antilles Arc volcanoes. Large magnitude debris-avalanche deposits have been identified off the coast of Dominica, Martinique and St. Lucia, with associated volumes up to 20 km³ [Deplus, C., Le Friant, A., Boudon, G., Komorowski, J.-C., Villemant, B., Harford, C., Ségoufin, J., Cheminée, J.-L., 2001. Submarine evidence for large-scale debris avalanches in the Lesser Antilles Arc. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 192: 145–157.]. We present new radiometric dating of three major events using the K–Ar Cassignol–Gillot technique. In the Qualibou depression of St. Lucia, a collapse has been constrained by dome emplacement prior to 95 ± 2 ka. In Dominica, where repetitive flank collapse events have occurred [Le Friant, A., Boudon, G., Komorowski, J.-C., Deplus, C., 2002. L'île de la Dominique, à l'origine des avalanches de débris les plus volumineuses de l'arc des Petites Antilles. C.R. Geoscience, 334: 235–243], the Plat Pays event probably occurred after 96 ± 2 ka. Inside the depression caused by this event, Scotts Head, which is interpreted as a proximal megabloc from the subsequent Soufriere avalanche event has been dated at 14 ± 1 ka, providing an older bound for this event. On Martinique three different domes within the Carbets structure dated at 337 ± 5 ka constrain the age of this high magnitude event. Finally, these results obtained from three of the most voluminous flank collapses provide constraints to estimate the recurrence of these events, which represent one of the major hazards associated with volcanoes of the Lesser Antilles Arc.     

Zircon U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry of the intrusions associated with the Jiawula Ag-Pb-Zn deposit in the Great Xing’an Range,NE China and their implications for mineralization

Located in the eastern section of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, the Jiawula Ag-Pb-Zn deposit is classified as a volcanic to subvolcanic related vein-type ore deposit. New U-Pb zircon geochronology, whole-rock geochemistry, mineral chemistry, and Sr-Nd isotope data are presented for the intrusions in the Jiawula deposit in order to evaluate the timing, petrogenetic type of the granitoid rocks, origin and evolution of magmatism, geodynamics, and to establish its relationship with lead-zinc mineralization. Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb analyses yield weighted mean ages of 150.1 ± 1.8 Ma for quartz porphyry, 148.8 ± 2.2 Ma for syenite porphyry, and 145.3 ± 1.9 Ma for monzonite porphyry, indicating a Late Jurassic (Yanshanian) magmatic event. An earlier magmatic event (Indosinian) occurred during the Late Permian to Early Triassic from ca. 254 Ma to ca. 247 Ma and is represented by granodiorite (254 ± 2 Ma), dacite porphyry (252.9 ± 4.8 Ma), and diorite porphyry (278 ± 4.1 Ma). Both the Indosinian and Yanshanian igneous rocks are classified as I-type granitoids. The late Jurassic intrusions are highly fractionated and characterized by negative anomalies of Eu, Sr, P, and Ti. The hypabyssal intrusions have initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values between 0.70458 and 0.70522, and ε_Nd(t) values of −3.4 to −0.2, indicating relatively older crust in Jiawula among more juvenile crust in this area. Magma generation in Jiawula is linked to juvenile lower crustal and slightly enriched mantle sources. The ∼250 Ma magmatic episode in Jiawula might be related to the subduction of the Mongol-Okhotsk oceanic plate towards the south beneath the Erguna massif. The ∼150 Ma magmatic event occurred after the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean followed by the change in subduction direction of the Paleo-Pacific plate. Varying temperature, stronger fractionation and higher oxygen fugacity related to the magmatic-hydrothermal transition caused Pb-Zn mineralization.     

Paleomagnetism and U–Pb geochronology of the Black Range dykes,Pilbara Craton,Western Australia: a Neoarchean crossing of the polar circle

We report a new paleomagnetic pole for the Black Range Dolerite Suite of dykes, Pilbara craton, Western Australia. We replicate previous paleomagnetic results from the Black Range Dyke itself, but find that its magnetic remanence direction lies at the margin of a distribution of nine dyke mean directions. We also report two new minimum ID-TIMS ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb baddeleyite ages from the swarm, one from the Black Range Dyke itself (>2769 ± 1 Ma) and another from a parallel dyke whose remanence direction lies near the centre of the dataset (>2764 ± 3 Ma). Both ages are slightly younger than a previous combined SHRIMP ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb baddeleyite weighted mean date from the same swarm, with slight discordance interpreted as being caused by thin metamorphic zircon overgrowths. The updated Black Range suite mean remanence direction (D = 031.5°, I = 78.7°, k = 40, α₉₅ = 8.3°) corresponds to a paleomagnetic pole calculated from the mean of nine virtual geomagnetic poles at 03.8°S, 130.4°E, K = 13 and A₉₅ = 15.0°. The pole's reliability is bolstered by a positive inverse baked-contact test on a younger Round Hummock dyke, a tentatively positive phreatomagmatic conglomerate test, and dissimilarity to all younger paleomagnetic poles from the Pilbara region and contiguous portions of Australia. The Black Range pole is distinct from that of the Mt Roe Basalt (or so-called ‘Package 1’ of the Fortescue Group), which had previously been correlated with the Black Range dykes based on regional stratigraphy and imprecise SHRIMP U–Pb ages. We suggest that the Mt Roe Basalt is penecontemporaneous to the Black Range dykes, but with a slight age difference resolvable by paleomagnetic directions through a time of rapid drift of the Pilbara craton across the Neoarchean polar circle.     

Wood-mediated geomorphic effects of a jökulhlaup in the Wind River Mountains, Wyoming

A jökulhlaup burst from the head of Grasshopper Glacier in Wyoming's Wind River Mountains during early September 2003. Five reaches with distinct sedimentation patterns were delineated along the Dinwoody Creek drainage. This paper focuses on a portion of the jökulhlaup route where erosion of the forested banks created 16 large logjams spaced at longitudinal intervals of tens to hundreds of meters. Aggradation within the main channel upstream from each logjam created local sediment wedges, and the jams facilitated overbank deposition during the jökulhlaup. Field surveys during 2004 and 2006 documented logjam characteristics and associated erosional and depositional features, as well as initial modification of the logjams and flood deposits within the normal seasonal high-flow channel. Overbank deposits have not been altered by flows occurring since 2003. Field measurements supported three hypotheses that (i) logjams present along the forested portions of the jökulhlaup route are larger and more closely spaced than those along adjacent, otherwise comparable stream channels that have not recently experienced a jökulhlaup; (ii) logjams are not randomly located along the jökulhlaup route, but instead reflect specific conditions of channel and valley geometry and flood hydraulics; and (iii) the presence of logjams facilitated significant erosional and depositional effects. This paper documents a sequence of events in which outburst floodwaters enhance bank erosion and recruitment of wood into the channel, and thus the formation of large logjams. These logjams sufficiently deflect flow to create substantial overbank deposition in areas of the valley bottom not commonly accessed by normal snowmelt peak discharges, and through this process promote valley-bottom aggradation and sediment storage. Changes in the occurrence of glacier outburst floods thus have the potential to alter the rate and magnitude of valley-bottom dynamics in these environments, which is particularly relevant given predictions of worldwide global warming and glacial retreat. Processes observed at this field site likely occur in other forested catchments with headwater glaciers.     

Predictive modelling of rainfall-induced landslide hazard in the Lesser Himalaya of Nepal based on weights-of-evidence

Landslide hazard mapping is a fundamental tool for disaster management activities in mountainous terrains. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the predictive power of weights-of-evidence modelling in landslide hazard assessment in the Lesser Himalaya of Nepal. The modelling was performed within a geographical information system (GIS), to derive a landslide hazard map of the south-western marginal hills of the Kathmandu Valley. Thematic maps representing various factors (e.g., slope, aspect, relief, flow accumulation, distance to drainage, soil depth, engineering soil type, landuse, geology, distance to road and extreme one-day rainfall) that are related to landslide activity were generated, using field data and GIS techniques, at a scale of 1:10,000. Landslide events of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s were used to assess the Bayesian probability of landslides in each cell unit with respect to the causative factors. To assess the accuracy of the resulting landslide hazard map, it was correlated with a map of landslides triggered by the 2002 extreme rainfall events. The accuracy of the map was evaluated by various techniques, including the area under the curve, success rate and prediction rate. The resulting landslide hazard value calculated from the old landslide data showed a prediction accuracy of > 80%. The analysis suggests that geomorphological and human-related factors play significant roles in determining the probability value, while geological factors play only minor roles. Finally, after the rectification of the landslide hazard values of the new landslides using those of the old landslides, a landslide hazard map with > 88% prediction accuracy was prepared. The methodology appears to have extensive applicability to the Lesser Himalaya of Nepal, with the limitation that the model's performance is contingent on the availability of data from past landslides.     

Using In Situ Trace-Element Determinations to Monitor Partial-Melting Processes in Metabasites

Peak metamorphism (800–850°C, 8–10 kbar) inthe Harts Range Meta-Igneous Complex (Harts Range, central Australia)was associated with localized partial melting by the reactionhornblende + plagioclase + quartz + H₂O = garnet + clinopyroxene+ titanite + melt. In situ trace-element determinations of prograde,peak and retrograde minerals in migmatitic metabasites and associatedtonalitic melts using laser-ablation ICP–MS has allowedmonitoring of a range of partial-melting processes (melting,melt segregation and back-reaction between crystallizing meltand restitic minerals). Mass balance calculations indicate thattitanite is a major carrier of trace elements such as Ti, Nb,Ta, Sm, U and Th, and therefore may be an important accessoryphase to control the redistribution of these elements duringthe partial melting of amphibolites. Titanite preferentiallyincorporates Ta over Nb and, hence, residual titanite mightassist in the formation of melts with high Nb/Ta. The fact thatsingle minerals record different rare earth element (REE) patterns,from prograde to peak to retrograde conditions, demonstratesthat REE diffusion is not significant up to 800°C. Therefore,trace-element analysis in minerals can be a powerful tool toinvestigate high-grade metamorphic processes beyond the limitsgiven by major elements. KEY WORDS: Harts Range; laser-ablation ICP–MS; metabasites; partial melting; trace elements