Multiple interpretive errors? Indeed. Reply to: Climate effects of the 74 ka Toba super-eruption: Multiple interpretive errors in ‘A high-precision 40Ar/39Ar age for the Young Toba Tuff and dating of ultra-distal tephra’ by Michael Haslam

We would like to thank Michael Haslam (Haslam et al., 2013) for his interest in our recent contribution on the dating of the Young Toba Tuff/Tephra (YTT) (Mark et al., 2013). However, we point out errors made by Haslam, using this opportunity to clarify and expand on our discussion while also re-emphasising the important points from our study that have been overlooked.     

Metamorphism and metasomatism at king Island Scheelite Mine 1

The King Island Scheelite Mine lies in the contact aureole of a granodiorite stock. Its open cut and numerous drill cores expose a contact metamorphosed and metasomatized series of finely interbedded argillaceous and calcareous sediments, with interleaved flows of picrite‐basalt and basic pyroclastics, the scheelite ore being limited to two limestone horizons. The range and gradation in composition of the original rocks has resulted in an unusual variety of metamorphic rocks, including forsterite‐phlogopite‐spinel‐tremolite hornfels, antho‐phyllite‐cordierite hornfels, biotite hornfels, actinolite hornfels, a variety of calc‐flinta, and marbles. The original sedimentation gave rise to a rapid alternation of limestone and shale, many times repeated, and during metamorphism these rocks reacted with each other to produce narrow bands of calc‐flinta.

Subsequent pyrometasomatism selectively converted the greater part of the marble beds to scheelite‐bearing andradite skarn, leaving the various hornfels and calc‐flinta very little affected. The replacement of the marble was a volume for volume process, and the conversion of 1,000,000 tons of marble to average grade ore involved the introduction of about 350,000 tons of SiO2, 250,000 tons of Fe2O3, 55,000 tons A12O3, 30,000 tons of H2O and 82,500 tons of CaO.

The temperature of the contact metamorphism attained over 500° C., and the rocks cooled to about 400° C. before the pyrometasomatism occurred. The rocks giving rise to the various hornfels underwent varying degrees of contraction during metamorphism, whereas the limestones probably expanded during metamorphism, and became more permeable to solutions.     

西藏昌都妥坝煤田沉积环境与聚煤规律

通过对妥坝煤田内沉积剖面的系统研究分析,对妥坝煤田的沉积相进行总结,判断煤田的沉积环境,恢复了妥坝煤田二叠世构造一岩相古地理格局。在认真研究妥坝煤田控煤因素,特别是控煤沉积环境及控煤构造样式基础上,研究后期地质事件所诱发的主要构造活动对煤层的影响,剖析了该煤田的主要聚煤规律。     

苏门答腊外海13.5万年来的火山灰记录:来自深海沉积物岩心IR-GC1的证据

Three volcanic ash layers were identified in a deep-sea Core IR-GC1 from the north-eastern Indian Ocean, adjacent to western Indonesian arc. They were dominated by glass shards with minor mineral crystals, such as plagioclase, biotite, and hornblende. According to the morphology and major element compositions of the representative glass shards, combined with the δ18O-based age, it is suggested that ash Layer A is correlated to the youngest Toba tuff(YTT), Layer B is supposed to be associated with a new eruption of Toba caldera in an age of 98 to 100 ka. Ash Layer C is different the geochemistry characteristics than those of Layer A and Layer B, suggesting that Layer C was not originated from Toba but registered another volcanic eruption event.     

Records of Toba eruptions in the South China Sea

Three layers of volcanic tephra, sampled from ODP 1143 Site in the South China Sea, were observed at the mcd depth of 5.55 m, 42.66 m, and 48.25 m, and named, in this paper, layers of A, B, and C, respectively. All of these tephra layers have an average thickness of ca. 2 cm. They were constrained in age of ca. 0.070 Ma, ca. 0.80 Ma, and ca. 1.00 Ma, respectively, by the microbiostratigraphy data. These tephra layers were predominated by volcanic glass shards with a median grain size of 70–75 μm in diameter. Major chemical compositions analyzed by EMPA and comparison with the previous data from other scatter areas suggest that these three layers of tephra can correspond to the three layers of Toba tephra, YTT, OTT, and HDT, respectively, erupting during the Quaternary. The occurrence of these tephra layers in the South China Sea implies that the Toba eruptions often occurred in the summer monsoon seasons of the South China Sea during the Quaternary, and that the strength of eruptions was probably stronger than that previously estimated.     

贵州盘县地区峨眉山玄武岩铜矿的成矿地质条件

以峨眉山玄武岩底部与中二叠统茅口组灰岩接触界面上赋存的黄见坑-哈树富铜矿带为例，论述了这一新类型玄武岩铜矿的成矿地质条件及峨眉山玄武岩浆喷-溢对Cu(Au、Pb、zn、Pt、Pd、Sb、F等)元素的富集和后期热液改造成矿作用，以扩大找矿思路。     

承德市乾隆泉饮用天然矿泉水特征

乾隆泉饮用天然矿泉水产于著名的承德避暑山庄之南的崔梨沟。该泉水受ＮＮＷ向大南沟断裂控制。赋存岩层为上株罗系张家口组、鸡冠山组火山碎屑岩。降水入渗过程中，淋滤了火山凝灰岩中的多种成分，形成了重碳酸钙－钠型、低矿化度矿泉水，水中含偏硅酸４９．５ｍｇ／Ｌ，氟１．０ｍｇ／Ｌ，锶０．１３６ｍｇ／Ｌ，锌０．００４ｍｇ／Ｌ，锂０．００１ｍｇ／Ｌ，对人类具有很高的医疗保健价值。     

Effect of variations in net basin supply on lake levels and outflows

Starting from a simplified version of the water balance equation, it is shown how the levels and outflows from a open lake can be related to the magnitude and statistical characteristics of the annual net basin supply series, which is defined as the net inflow arising from tributary inflows, rainfall on the lake surface and the lake evaporation. Using the models, estimates are derived for the response time for several large open lakes in Africa and Asia. Also, the observed net basin supply series for three major lakes (Victoria, Malawi and Toba) are investigated in detail. It is suggested that, on an annual basis, the assumption of a random normally distributed series of net basin supply can provide a reasonable first guess for the equilibrium response of a lake and for the likely range of variation of levels. These estimates are likely to be useful in water resources assessments and for investigations of the effects of land use and climate change on lake levels. The effects of departures from this simplified approach are discussed and are illustrated with some practical examples. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Methodological studies on luminescence dating of volcanic ashes

We report here the results of a feasibility study of luminescence dating of polymineralic volcanic ash. Of the several possible protocols that used different emission bands and different IR stimulation regimes, the post infrared-infrared stimulated luminescence (pIR-IRSL) signal (detected using a violet-blue emission window with stimulation temperature in the region 260–320 °C) provided the most stable signal. This involved, i) identification of the most suitable temperature for pIR-IRSL read out, ii) determination of alpha efficiency and, iii) estimation of anomalous (athermal) fading rate. Anomalous fading rate (g-value in %/decade) of pIR-IRSL signal at 300 °C was 0.0–1.6%/decade and it ranged from 2.4 to 5.2%/decade for IRSL at 50 °C, both preheated to 320 °C. Thus, though more stable, pIR-IRSL signals may fade in nature, and even during laboratory extended irradiation. Of the models for fading correction by Huntley and Lamothe (2001) and Kars et al. (2008), the Kars et al. (2008) model performed better as the natural luminescence intensity was closer to the onset of saturation in the luminescence dose response curve. Our measurements suggest that alpha efficiencies of the pIR-IRSL signals are higher than that of IRSL. Fading corrected pIR-IRSL single aliquot regeneration (SAR) protocol based ages on three of the five volcanic ash beds are in agreement with the expected ages of ∼74 ka, based on geochemical association of the present samples to be the Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT). Other ash samples that gave ages of <24 ka and <37 ka, were inferred to have been in their secondary context, reworked from their original depositional sites. The onset of saturation dose of the pIR-IRSL signal (D₀) was ∼330 Gy and this implied a maximum measurable equivalent dose of 660 Gy. The minimum detectable dose was ∼5 Gy. These dose limits correspond to a typical age range of 1–150 ka using the pIR-IRSL signal for volcanic ashes.     

Distinction between the Youngest Toba Tuff and Oldest Toba Tuff from northern Sumatra based on the area density of spontaneous fission tracks in their glass shards

Determination of the area density of spontaneous fission tracks (ρ_s) in glass shards of Toba tephra is a reliable way to distinguish between the Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT) and the Oldest Toba Tuff (OTT). The ρ_s values for YTT, uncorrected for partial track fading, range from 70 to 181 tracks/cm² with a weighted mean of 108 ± 5 tracks/cm², based on 15 samples. Corrected ρ_s values for YTT are in the range of 77–140 tracks/cm² with a weighted mean of 113 ± 8 tracks/cm², within the range of uncorrected ρ_s values. No significant difference in ρ_s exists between YTT samples collected from marine and continental depositional settings. The uncorrected ρ_s for OTT is 1567 ± 114 tracks/cm² so that confusion with YTT is unlikely.