Re-exposed basement landforms in the Disko region, West Greenland — disregarded data for estimation of glacial erosion and uplift modelling

Classifications of large-scale landscapes in Greenland have traditionally been based on type and intensity of glacial erosion, with the general idea that present landforms are mainly the result of erosion from ice sheets and glaciers. However, on southern Disko and in areas offshore in Disko Bugt, a basement surface has preserved remnants of weathered gneiss and pre-Paleocene landforms, recently exhumed from Paleocene basalt. Isolated hills and lineaments have been mapped in a digital terrain model and aerial photographs. Offshore have hills been mapped from seismic lines. The medium size bedrock forms on southern Disko as tors, clefts and roche moutonées have been studied in the field. Remnant saprolites were inventoried, sampled and analysed according to grain size and clay mineralogy. The basement surface retains saprolites up to 8 m thick in close relation to the cover rocks. The landforms in the basement rocks belong essentially to an etched surface only slightly remodelled by glacial erosion and, below the highest coastline, also by wave action. The outline of hills is governed by two lineament directions, ENE–WSW representing the schistocity of the gneiss and NW–SE fracture zones. These structures are thus interpreted to have been exploited by the deep weathering while the frequent N–S lineaments have not and thus might be younger. Main ice-flow has been from the NE and has resulted in plucking of SW facing lee sides, however the resulting bedrock forms are mainly controlled by structures and orientation of joints. The identification of re-exposed sub-Paleocene etch forms on Disko and the hills of similar size offshore, forming a hilly relief, have implications for identification of a hilly relief south of Disko Bugt, its relation to younger planation surfaces as well as for conclusions of uplift events.     

Use of fallout 137Cs for documenting the chronology of overbank sediments from the river Sava, Croatia, and interpreting their geochemical patterns

This paper attempts to determine the impact of former Pb-Zn-Ba mining activities in Slovenian drainage basin on overbank sediments of the Sava river (West Croatia). Among the four studied sequences (S7, S8, S9, S10), the most upstream profile S7 showed the most pronounced impact of ore mining. Mercury was enriched more than 100-fold; Pb and Zn had a strong positive correlation (r > 0.99). Two factor models clearly revealed the Pb-Ba-Hg association in the lower-lying carbonate (CA) population of all four profiles, but only in the overlying silicate (SI) population of profile S7. Factor analysis confirmed this association in the total sediment (90 samples) as well as separately in the CA (33 samples) and SI (57 samples) populations. Based on a comparison with an undisturbed soil profile, the vertical distribution of ¹³⁷Cs in profile S7 was interpreted to be the combination of caesium deposition caused by a flood in 1964 and by post-depositional redistribution.     

‘Boundary’ in Ancient Persian Tradition of Statehood

It is universally accepted that the need for defining precise lines of separation and points of contacts between states is the byproduct of the emergence of nation-states and ‘world economy’ in the 19th century Europe. Nevertheless, it is hard to overlook the fact that these modern notions are rooted in periods prior to the emergence in Europe of nation-states. There are indications that ancient civilizations were familiar with the notion of ‘state’ in connection with the concepts of territory and boundary. Ancient texts reveal that this basic principle existed in ancient Persian literature in respect of matters of state, territory, and boundary. Similarly, the likelihood exists that these Persian notions could have influenced Roman civilization. It is widely believed that a combination of ancient Greco-Roman and Persian civilizations is a major contributor to what culturally constitutes ‘West’. Later in the Sassanid period the inter-linked notions of state, territory, and boundary developed substantially, coming quite close to their contemporary forms. On the other hand, considering that ‘justice’ was the corner stone of ancient Persian Political philosophy, the idea that ancient Persian spatial arrangement might have contributed to the evolution of the concept of democracy in the West may not be too difficult to contemplate.     

Flow processes and sedimentation in unidirectionally migrating deep‐water channels: From a three‐dimensional seismic perspective

Three‐dimensional seismic data were used to infer how bottom currents control unidirectional channel migration. Bottom currents flowing towards the steep bank would deflect the upper part of sediment gravity flows at an orientation of 1° to 11° to the steep bank, yielding a helical flow circulation consisting of a faster near‐surface flow towards the steep bank and a slower basal return flow towards the gentle bank. This helical flow model is evidenced by the occurrence of bigger, muddier (suggested by low‐amplitude seismic reflections) lateral accretion deposits and gentle channel wall with downlap terminations on the gentle bank and by smaller, sandier (indicated by high‐amplitude seismic reflectors) channel fills and steep channel walls with truncation terminations on the steep bank. This helical flow circulation promotes asymmetrical depositional patterns with dipping accretion sets restricted to the gentle bank, which restricts the development of sinuosity and yields unidirectional channel migration. These results aid in obtaining a complete picture of flow processes and sedimentation in submarine channels.     

Planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils record in the upper Campanian-Maastrichtian pelagic deposits of the Malatya Basin in the Hekimhan area (NW Malatya,eastern Anatolia)

The uppermost Cretaceous (upper Campanian-Maastrichtian) pelagic successions from the Malatya Basin (NW Malatya, eastern Anatolia) were studied by 688 samples, which were collected from five stratigraphic sections in the Hekimhan area. The pelagic deposits conformably overlie rudist bearing shallow-water limestones and are overlain conformably by Maastrichtian dolomites and unconformably by Paleocene-Eocene deposits, respectively.The pelagic successions in the Hekimhan area comprise the Kösehasan Formation at the base and the Zorbehan Formation at the top and reach up to 1100 m in thickness. The Kösehasan Formation rests over the neritic rudist-bearing limestones of the Güzelyurt Formation along a sharp contact and consists mainly of flysch-type sandstone-mudstone alternation with complete and partial Bouma sequences. The carbonate content of abundant planktonic foraminifera and nannoplankton-bearing 980-m-thick succession increases upwards and the formation passes gradually to the clayey limestones and marlstones of the Zorbehan Formation to the top. Occurrences of nannoplankton Lithraphidites quadratus Bramlette and Martini and Micula praemurus (Bukry) in the first beds of the Kösehasan Formation indicate that the age of the Kösehasan Formation and overlying Zorbehan Formation is of late Maasthrichtian. Another late Maastrichtian taxa Cribrosphaerella daniae Perch-Nielsen and Arkhangelskiella maastrichtiana Burnett are observed from the lowermost part of the succession. Maastrichtian planktonic foraminifera such as Contusotruncana walfischensis (Todd) and Globotruncanita pettersi (Gandolfi) were recorded through the successions. Although planktonic foraminifera are diverse and abundant particularly in the Kösehesan Formation, index late Maasthrichtian species were not encountered. Campanian and Santonian-Campanian planktonic foraminifera, e.g. Radotruncana calcarata (Cushman) and Globotruncanita elevata (Brotzen), obtained particularly from the lower part of the succession and calcareous nannofossils such as Broinsonia parca parca Bukry, Reinhardtites anthophorus (Deflanre) and Eiffellithus eximius (Stover) are interpreted as reworked from older strata. Trace fossils are common throughout the succession.Rareness of planktonic foraminifera and nannoplankton in the uppermost part of the succession (Zorbehan Formation) indicates maximum shallowing of the latest Maastrichtian sea in this part of the basin. Rare echinoids, bivalves and ammonites are observed in that part of the sequence.The obtained data indicate that sediment accumulation rate of the pelagic deposits is rather high and about 27.5 cm/ky for this part of the basin. Changes in thickness of the formations along short distances in the five stratigraphic sections analysed in this study should be related to the diachroneity of the depositional and erosional events.     

新疆西天山松湖铁矿床火山岩年代学和岩石地球化学

新疆西天山阿吾拉勒铁成矿带内众多铁矿床的围岩火山岩时代、岩石成因和构造背景迄今尚未得到很好地约束。文章对该铁成矿带内的松湖铁矿床围岩粗面英安岩和流纹岩进行了锆石LA_ICP_MS U_Pb测年和地球化学研究。粗面英安岩和流纹岩的锆石206Pb/238U加权平均年龄分别为(326.8±2.7)Ma和(327.3±1.7)Ma。粗面英安岩和流纹岩准铝质,均富集轻稀土元素、Rb、K、Zr、Hf,显示中等Eu负异常,亏损Ba、Sr、P、Ta、Nb和Ti。锆石饱和温度计算结果显示,粗面英安岩的母岩浆温度较高(774~812℃,平均792℃),流纹岩母岩浆的温度较低(713~790℃,平均750℃)。粗面英安岩具有非常低Sr高Yb的特征,Nb/Ta比值为10.8~11.4,具有较高的w(Th)(≥8.1×10-6)和高的Th/Ce比值(≥0.31);流纹岩具有低Sr低Yb特征,Nb/Ta比值为8.5~9.7,w(Th)(≥5.3×10-6)较高,Th/Ce比值为0.14~0.75,据此推测粗面英安岩母岩浆可能是上地壳部分熔融的产物,流纹岩母岩浆可能源于比粗面英安岩母岩浆更深的地壳的部分熔融。松湖铁矿区粗面英安岩和流纹岩具有弧火山岩的地球化学特征,结合构造环境判别图解和区域地质情况,推断其形成于大陆弧环境。     

Field evidence for normal fault linkage and relay ramp evolution: the Kırkağaç Fault Zone,western Anatolia (Turkey)

Linking of normal faults forms at all scales as a relay ramp during growth stages and represents the most efficient way for faults to lengthen during their progressive formation. Here, I study the linking of normal faulting along the active K?rka?aç Fault Zone within the west Anatolian extensional system to reconstruct fault interaction in time and space using both field- and computer-based data. I find that (i) connecting of the relay zone/ramp occurred with two breaching faults of different generations and that (ii) the propagation was facilitated by the presence of pre-existing structures, inherited from the ?zmir-Bal?kesir transfer zone. Hence, the linkage cannot be compared directly to a simple fault growth model. Therefore, I propose a combined scenario of both hangingwall and footwall fault propagation mechanisms that explain the present-day geometry of the composite fault line. The computer-based analyses show that the approximate slip rate is 0.38 mm/year during the Quaternary, and a NE–SW-directed extension is mainly responsible for the recent faulting along the K?rka?aç Fault Zone. The proposed structural scenario also highlights the active fault termination and should be considered in future seismic hazard assessments for the region that includes densely populated settlements.