Subaqueous artesian springs and associated spring pits in a Himalayan pond

Subaqueous, bowl-shaped depressions found in a Himalayan pond formed in an abandoned river channel in the Lingti Valley (Spiti, NW India) are spring pits (Quirke 1930 ). The occurrence of the spring pits is restricted to the western end of the pond, where coarse-grained, highly permeable alluvial fan material continues below lacustrine mud deposits. The spring pits formed by active vertical discharge of ground water from an underlying artesian alluvial fan aquifer, confined by the overlying fine-grained lacustrine sediments. The aquifer is continuously recharged by down-slope ground-water flow in the alluvial fan. These small artesian springs are comparable with much larger artesian springs described in the literature and a similar mechanism of formation is proposed. Some similarities in their shapes and mechanisms of formation may indicate that spring pits represent small, nearshore examples of pockmarks. The differences of these features, formed by persistent fluidization from short-lived seismic liquefaction processes, are discussed and the utility of the structures for palaeo-environmental and palaeo-ground-water interpretation is evaluated.     

Authigenic aluminium phosphate-sulphates in sandstones of the Mitterberg Formation, Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria

Complex aluminium phosphate-sulphate minerals of the hinsdalite group have been identified as early diagenetic precipitates in Late Permian sandstones of the Northern Calcareous Alps, western Austria. According to their chemical composition they can be regarded as solid solutions between woodhouseite, svanbergite, crandallite and goyazite. The model proposed for their origin involves the dissolution of detrital apatite in a low-pH environment and subsequent precipitation of aluminium phosphate-sulphate minerals, which clearly pre-date syntaxial quartz cementation of the sediment. Their occurrence probably has been overlooked in other sandstones showing diagenetic apatite dissolution. The recognition of such minerals could provide a significant insight into early phosphate diagenesis.     

10Be chronology of the last deglaciation of County Donegal, northwestern Ireland

A well-preserved moraine on the northern coast of County Donegal, Ireland, has played a critical role in our understanding of the glacial history of this sector of the Irish Ice Sheet (IIS). Because of a lack of numerical dating of the moraine, however, previous interpretations of its age and significance to the glacial history of this region have varied widely. Here we report eight in situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be ages on boulders sampled from the moraine. Two of these ages are outliers, with the remaining six ranging from 18.8±1.0 ¹⁰Be kyr to 20.9±1.3 ¹⁰Be kyr, with an uncertainty-weighted mean age of 19.4±0.3 ¹⁰Be kyr (19.4±1.2 kyr accounting for production rate uncertainty). Our results confirm one previous ¹⁰Be age obtained from the moraine, with the combined data ( n =7) constraining the age of initial deglaciation of the IIS from its LGM position on the continental shelf to be 19.3±0.3 ¹⁰Be kyr (19.3±1.2 kyr accounting for production rate uncertainty). These ages are in excellent agreement with calibrated ¹⁴C ages that constrain retreat of the IIS margin from the continental shelf elsewhere in northwestern and western Ireland and the Irish Sea Basin associated with the start of the Cooley Point Interstadial (≥20–≤18.2 cal. kyr BP), suggesting widespread deglaciation of the IIS ∼19.5–20 kyr ago.     

Bounce Rock—A shergottite‐like basalt encountered at Meridiani Planum,Mars

Abstract– The Opportunity rover of the Mars Exploration Rover mission encountered an isolated rock fragment with textural, mineralogical, and chemical properties similar to basaltic shergottites. This finding was confirmed by all rover instruments, and a comprehensive study of these results is reported here. Spectra from the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and the Panoramic Camera reveal a pyroxene‐rich mineralogy, which is also evident in Mössbauer spectra and in normative mineralogy derived from bulk chemistry measured by the alpha particle X‐ray spectrometer. The correspondence of Bounce Rock’s chemical composition with the composition of certain basaltic shergottites, especially Elephant Moraine (EET) 79001 lithology B and Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 94201, is very close, with only Cl, Fe, and Ti exhibiting deviations. Chemical analyses further demonstrate characteristics typical of Mars such as the Fe/Mn ratio and P concentrations. Possible shock features support the idea that Bounce Rock was ejected from an impact crater, most likely in the Meridiani Planum region. Bopolu crater, 19.3 km in diameter, located 75 km to the southwest could be the source crater. To date, no other rocks of this composition have been encountered by any of the rovers on Mars. The finding of Bounce Rock by the Opportunity rover provides further direct evidence for an origin of basaltic shergottite meteorites from Mars.     

克拉美丽气田石炭系火山岩复杂岩性岩电特征

准噶尔盆地东部克拉美丽气田石炭系火山岩岩石类型复杂多样,且同一岩性由于结构、构造和成分的差异,电性特征差异亦较大,岩性识别困难。本文通过对该区14口井取心段岩电关系研究,认为自然伽马、电阻率、密度三种曲线岩性特征响应明显; 电阻率、中子、密度、声波四条曲线对火山岩岩石构造特征响应明显。并编制了岩性和岩石构造测井识别交会图版11张。进而利用电测资料识别出该区11种火山岩岩石类型: 正长斑岩、二长斑岩、玄武岩、粗面岩、英安岩、流纹岩、霏细岩、沉凝灰岩、熔结凝灰岩、火山角砾岩和熔结火山角砾岩; 识别出5种岩石构造类型: 正长斑岩中气孔及块状构造和玄武岩中杏仁、碎裂及块状构造。通过本区12口钻井取心后验,测井识别结果与钻井岩心分析结果吻合良好,可作为地区性火山岩测井岩性、岩石构造识别模式。     

Formation of 18O-depleted dolomite within a marine evaporitic sequence, Triassic Reichenhall Formation, Austria

Dark grey, bituminous dolostones interbedded with marine-derived anhydrite horizons occur in the Triassic Reichenhall Formation of western Austria. Fossils are rare and indicate a hostile, hypersaline depositional environment. The dolomites are finely crystalline, fairly stoichiometric, well ordered and non-ferroan. Closely spaced samples (94 in total) of individual dolomite units have been analysed for their carbon and oxygen isotopic composition. The data indicate surprisingly low δ¹⁸O values (-5.7 to -2.1%₀ PDB), whereas the δ¹³C values are comparable to the contemporary Triassic seawater (+0.2 to +2.6%₀ PDB). Sedimentological evidence, including (i) lack of any evidence for extensive dissolution, (ii) distinct oxygen and carbon isotope ratios of individual dolomite units, (iii) covariance of carbon and oxygen isotopes within some dolomite layers and (iv) inclusions of celestite in dolomite, indicates a nearly closed system after early diagenesis. Combining this information with water-rock interaction calculations suggests that the lightest oxygen isotope compositions are the result of freshwater influx into the basin during very early dolomite formation. A secondary factor may be dolomite recrystallization at elevated temperatures during burial.     

Magnesite diagenesis in redbeds: a case study from the Permian of the Northern Calcareous Alps (Tyrol, Austria)

The Upper Permian Gröden Formation of the Northern Calcareous Alps (Austria) is composed of alluvial fan and playa lake sediments that were deposited in intramontane basins. A conspicuous feature of these redbeds is the abundance of magnesite in the form of nodules and discrete layers in mudstones as well as intergranular cement in sandstones. Sedimentological observations indicate that the bulk of these carbonates formed during early diagenesis and were probably syndepositional. Petrographically, most magnesites consist of micrite or, less commonly, microspar. An early non-ferroan magnesite is post-dated by later stage ferroan magnesites. Nodules consisting of recrystallized, sparry magnesite were observed only at one location. The general absence of relics of a non-magnesite precursor mineral and the occurrence of shrinkage features suggest that the fine grained magnesites formed by transformation of a hydrated magnesium carbonate mineral, e.g. hydromagnesite. Carbon, oxygen, sulphur and strontium isotope ratios in conjunction with sedimentological criteria support a model of (hydro)magnesite precipitation in an inland playa lake system, which was fed by run-off from the surrounding hinterland. The scarcity of evaporites and the dominance of magnesite over calcite and dolomite suggest that the playa lake brines were low in sulphate and had high Mg/Ca ratios. The source for the high magnesium concentrations is thought to be the weathering of Devonian dolostones and associated massive magnesite deposits in the catchment area.     

ITERATIVE TOMOGRAPHIC METHODS TO LOCATE SEISMIC LOW-VELOCITY ANOMALIES: A MODEL STUDY1

The possibilities for reconstructing seismic velocity distributions containing low-velocity anomalies by iterative tomographic methods are examined studying numerical and analogue 2D model data. The geometrical conditions of the model series were designed to generalize the geometrical characteristics of a typical cross-hole tomographic field case. Models with high (30%) and low (8%) velocity contrasts were realized. Traveltimes of 2D ultrasonic P-waves, determined for a dense net of raypaths across each model, form the analogue data set. The numerical data consists of traveltimes calculated along straight raypaths. Additionally, a set of curved-ray traveltimes was calculated for a smoothed version of the high-contrast model. The Simultaneous Iterative Reconstruction Technique (SIRT) was chosen from the various tomographic inversion methods. The abilities of this standard procedure are studied using the low-contrast model data. The investigations concentrate on the resolving power concerning geometry and velocity, and on the effects caused by erroneous data due to noise or a finite time precision. The grid spacing and the source and receiver patterns are modified. Smoothing and slowness constraints were tested. The inversion of high-contrast analogue model data shows that curved raypaths have to be considered. Hence, a ray-tracing algorithm using velocity gradients was developed, based on the grid structure of the tomographic inversion. This algorithm is included in the SIRT-process and the improvements concerning anomaly localization, resolution and velocity reconstruction are demonstrated. Since curved-ray tomography is time-consuming compared with straight-ray SIRT, it is necessary to consider the effects of grid spacing, ray density, slowness constraints and the