Palaeomagnetism and magnetostratigraphy of the Permian–Triassic northwest central Siberian Trap Basalts

A detailed palaeomagnetic and magnetostratigraphic study of the Permian–Triassic Siberian Trap Basalts (STB) in the Noril'sk and Abagalakh regions in northwest Central Siberia is presented. Thermal (TH) and alternating field (AF) demagnetisation techniques have been used and yielded characteristic magnetisation directions. The natural remanent magnetisation of both surface and subsurface samples is characterised by a single component in most cases. Occasionally, a viscous overprint can be identified which is easily removed by TH or AF demagnetisation.The resulting average mean direction after tectonic correction for the 95 flows sampled in outcrops is D=93.7°, I=74.7° with k=19 and α₉₅=3.3°. The corresponding pole position is 56.2°N, 146.0°E.Unoriented samples from four boreholes cores in the same regions have also been studied. They confirm the reversed–normal succession found in outcrops. The fact that only one reversal of the Earth's magnetic field has been recorded in the traps can be taken as evidence for a rather short time span for the major eruptive episode in this region. However, there is evidence elsewhere that the whole volcanic activity associated with the emplacement of the STB was much longer and lasted several million years.     

Magnetostratigraphy of the lower Triassic volcanics from deep drill SG6 in western Siberia: evidence for long-lasting Permo–Triassic volcanic activity

The deep drill hole SG6 in western Siberia (66°N, 78.5°E) penetrated 1.1  km of lower Triassic basalts, which are possibly an extension of the central Siberian Permo– Triassic flood basalt province. About 300 samples of these basalts were progressively demagnetized and measured. Principal component analysis often shows multiple magnetizations carried by haematite and magnetite. The corrected mean inclinations are +77° and −77° for the haematite component. A magnetostratigraphic scale was derived and showed a N–R–N–R–N succession. This is quite different from the Noril'sk and Taimyr typical polarity scale, R–N.
  The basalts found in the SG6 deep drill hole are slightly younger than those of central Siberia and Taimyr. They correspond to middle–upper Induan age, whereas the Noril'sk and Taimyr sections correspond to an uppermost Permian and lower Induan age. Altogether they indicate that, after a high output rate of volcanic material near the Permo–Triassic boundary, this activity slowed down drastically on the Siberian platform and Taimyr, but persisted for several million years in western Siberia.     

Magnetic properties of the LL5 ordinary chondrite Chelyabinsk (fall of February 15, 2013)

Here we characterize the magnetic properties of the Chelyabinsk chondrite (LL5, S4, W0) and constrain the composition, concentration, grain size distribution, and mineral fabric of the meteorite's magnetic mineral assemblage. Data were collected from 10 to 1073 K and include measurements of low‐field magnetic susceptibility (χ₀), the anisotropy of χ₀, hysteresis loops, first‐order reversal curves, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and X‐ray microtomography. The REM and REM′ paleointensity protocols suggest that the only magnetizations recorded by the chondrite are components of the Earth's magnetic field acquired during entry into our planet's atmosphere. The Chelyabinsk chondrite consists of light and dark lithologies. Fragments of the light lithology show logχ₀ = 4.57 ± 0.09 (s.d.) (n = 135), while the dark lithology shows 4.65 ± 0.09 (n = 39) (where χ₀ is in 10^?9 m³ kg^?1). Thus, Chelyabinsk is three times more magnetic than the average LL5 fall, but is similar to a subgroup of metal‐rich LL5 chondrites (Paragould, Aldsworth, Bawku, Richmond) and L/LL5 chondrites (Glanerbrug, Knyahinya). The meteorite's room‐temperature magnetization is dominated by multidomain FeNi alloys taenite and kamacite (no tetrataenite is present). However, below approximately 75 K remanence is dominated by chromite. The metal contents of the light and dark lithologies are 3.7 and 4.1 wt%, respectively, and are based on values of saturation magnetization.     

How far between Iran and Eurasia was the Turan plate during Triassic–Jurassic times?

Calc-alkaline volcanic deposits from the south-west of the Turan plate, near the city of Turkmenbasi (40°00N, 52°58&\prime;E) in Turkmenistan, were studied paleomagnetically. These rocks have been affected by a greenschist-facies metamorphism, possibly of regional extent, that has been K/Ar-dated as 200 to 227 Ma old. A low-blocking-temperature component (D = 349°, I = 64°), close to the present field direction and probably of viscous or recent chemical origin, was isolated by a negative fold test at three sites. The mean direction of a high-blocking-temperature component isolated at 15 sites, mainly carried by magnetite, is scattered before and after tectonic correction and is therefore difficult to interpret. A group of seven sites with low inclinations before and after tectonic correction was isolated. The mean inclination of these sites (31 ± 8°), syn-folding or post-folding, corresponds to a paleolatitude of 17 ± 8° which is lower than the conventional Eurasian paleolatitudes for post-Permian times. The paleomagnetic data from the Turan and Iran plates constrain this low paleolatitude to the Late Triassic and Jurassic period. This requires a shortening of at least 7° between the Turan plate and Eurasia during this time.     

Interannual and geographical variability of the brood size of the euphausiids Euphausia pacifica and Thysanoessa spinifera along the Oregon coast (1999–2004)

Brood sizes of 1259 adult female Euphausia pacifica and Thysanoessa spinifera were measured during 48 h incubations (10 °C, ±0.5 °C) on 27 oceanographic cruises between July 1999 and September 2004. The data set includes measurements from several stations off Newport, Oregon (Newport Hydrographic line, 44°39′N) made over a 5-year period and measurements from 14 more extensive cruises at stations representative of continental shelf, slope, and oceanic waters off Oregon and California, USA. E. pacifica had similar brood sizes at inshore (<200 m) and offshore (>200 m) stations with an average of 151 and 139 eggs brood⁻¹ fem⁻¹, respectively. T. spinifera brood sizes were considerably higher at inshore stations—particularly at Heceta Bank (44°N) and south of Cape Blanco (42°50′N)—than at offshore stations, 155 and 107 eggs brood⁻¹ fem⁻¹, respectively. Average brood sizes of E. pacifica increased during the study period, from 125 (in 2000) to 171 eggs brood⁻¹ fem⁻¹ (in 2003). Average percentage of carbon weight invested in spawning (reproductive effort) was higher in E. pacifica (14%) than in T. spinifera (6%), because both species have similar brood size but T. spinifera females are larger than E. pacifica females and produce smaller eggs. Reproductive effort for both species was higher during summer 2002, probably associated with anomalous cool subarctic waters and high chl-a concentration observed during that summer. Brood sizes and chl-a values remained relatively high in 2003–2004 compared to the 1999–2001 period. Geographical and temporal variability in brood sizes for both species were significantly correlated with in situ measurements of chl-a concentration but not with sea surface temperature. No gravid females were collected during late autumn and winter cruises, thus the spawning season along the Oregon coast appears to extend from March through September for both species. However, T. spinifera usually starts reproductive activity earlier in the spring (March) than E. pacifica. Both species had their highest brood sizes in summer during the period of most intense upwelling, which is associated with an increase in regional phytoplankton standing stock.     

Experimental shock metamorphism of terrestrial basalts: Agglutinate-like particle formation,petrology, and magnetism

Hypervelocity impacts occur on bodies throughout our solar system, and play an important role in altering the mineralogy, texture, and magnetic properties in target rocks at nanometer to planetary scales. Here we present the results of hypervelocity impact experiments conducted using a two-stage light-gas gun with 5 mm spherical copper projectiles accelerated toward basalt targets with ~6 km s⁻¹ impact velocities. Four different types of magnetite- and titanomagnetite-bearing basalts were used as targets for seven independent experiments. These laboratory impacts resulted in the formation of agglutinate-like particles similar in texture to lunar agglutinates, which are an important fraction of lunar soil. Materials recovered from the impacts were examined using a suite of complementary techniques, including optical and scanning electron microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and high- and low-temperature magnetometry, to investigate the texture, chemistry, and magnetic properties of newly formed agglutinate-like particles and were compared to unshocked basaltic parent materials. The use of Cu-projectiles, rather than Fe- and Ni-projectiles, avoids magnetic contamination in the final shock products and enables a clearer view of the magnetic properties of impact-generated agglutinates. Agglutinate-like particles show shock features, such as melting and planar deformation features, and demonstrate shock-induced magnetic hardening (two- to seven-fold increases in the coercivity of remanence B_cr compared to the initial target materials) and decreases in low-field magnetic susceptibility and saturation magnetization.     

Magnetic properties of the Chelyabinsk meteorite: Preliminary results

This paper presents the distribution of magnetic susceptibility, χ₀, in fragments of the Chelyabinsk ordinary chondrite (LL5, S4, W0, fall of February 15, 2013) from the collection of the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, and results obtained by standard magnetic techniques for the meteorite material, including thermomagnetic analysis, measurements of natural remanent magnetization (NRM) and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM), as well as the spectra of their alternating field demagnetization at amplitudes up to 170 mT, measurements of hysteresis loops and back-field remanence demagnetization curves at temperatures from 10 K to 700°C etc. The mean logχ₀ values for the light-colored (main) lithology of the meteorite material and impact-melt breccia from our collection are 4.54 ± 0.10 (n = 66) and 4.65 ± 0.09 (n = 38) (×10^?9 m³/kg), respectively. According to international magnetic classification of meteorites, Chelyabinsk falls within the range of LL5 chondrites. The mean metal content was estimated from the saturation magnetization, M _s, of the light- and dark-colored lithologies as 3.7 and 4.1 wt %, respectively. Hence, the dark lithology is richer in metal. The metal grains are multidomain at room temperature and show low coercive force, B _c (<2 mT) and remanent coercive force, B _cr (15–23 mT). The thermomagnetic analyses of the samples showed that the magnetic properties of the Chelyabinsk meteorite are controlled mainly by taenite and kamacite at temperatures >75 K. In the temperature range below 75 K, magnetic properties are controlled by chromite; the magnetic hardness of the samples is maximal at 10 K and equals to 606 and 157 mT for the light- and dark-colored lithologies, respectively.     

Variability in duration and intensity of euphausiid spawning off central Oregon, 1996–2001

We tracked the duration and intensity of the euphausiid spawning season through biweekly sampling along a transect off Newport, OR (latitude 44°40′N) over a six year period from 1996 to 2001. Our sampling consisted of vertical plankton tows, CTD casts, and collection of water for determination of chlorophyll a. Here, we report on data collected from two stations, 5 and 15 nautical miles (9.3 and 27.8 km) offshore. The density of euphausiid eggs in our samples was highly variable spatially and temporally; we saw the most striking differences in egg densities and length of the spawning season, when we compared spawning before and after 1999. This year corresponded to the time when the Pacific Decadal Oscillation switched from warm phase (pre-1999) to cool phase (1999–present). The years 1996 and 1997 were characterized by one large, late summer peak in egg density at our inshore station. 1998, an El Niño year, followed this pattern for our offshore station, but eggs were nearly absent at our inshore station. Starting in 1999, we saw multiple peaks in egg density and found that the spawning season extended from spring through early fall. For example, in spring (March–May) at the inshore station, the abundance of eggs increased from an average of 0.4 m⁻³ (1996–1998) to 51.3 m⁻³ (1999–2001), and for summer (July–September), 27.8 m⁻³ to 132.6 m⁻³ for the same time period. At the offshore station, egg abundances doubled over the same two time periods: 7 m⁻³ versus 11 m⁻³ (spring) and 55 m⁻³ versus 186 m⁻³ (summer). Peaks in egg densities were often associated with phytoplankton blooms, but not in a predictable way. Peaks in egg densities often followed cold-water upwelling events, especially at the inshore station. It is not yet clear whether this connection is due to changes in advection or changes in upwelling-induced productivity.     

Paleomagnetic study of Sicily: consequences for the deformation of Italian and African margins over the last 100 million years

Paleomagnetic analysis of Cenozoic sediments from the Iblean platform (12 sites, 100 samples) has provided four new poles. These data are combined with those available from volcanic series to yield a new apparent polar wander path for “stable” Sicily since the Upper Cretaceous. This curve, when compared to a revised curve for Africa (using a selection of available data points), demonstrates a 15° rotation of Sicily with respect to Africa during the Plio-Pleistocene. This rotation accounts for the extensional tectonic regime that prevails in the Pelagian Sea and which is evidenced by “en relais” rifts (Malta, Pantelleria, Linosa), associated with alkaline volcanism of Pliocene and Quaternary age. Paleomagnetic directions from various areas of the Italian Peninsula also indicate anticlockwise rotations with diverse amplitudes. The chronology of these rotations is consistent with a deformation of the western Italian margin during progressive suturation from north to south of the Corsican-Sardinian block since the end of the Oligocene.