Is the transition impact to post‐impact rock complete? Some remarks based on XRF scanning,electron microprobe,and thin section analyses of the Yaxcopoil‐1 core in the Chicxulub crater

Abstract The transition from impact to post‐impact rocks in the Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1) core is marked by a 2 cm‐thick clay layer characterized by dissolution features. The clay overlies a 9 cm‐thick hardground, overlying a 66 cm‐thick crossbedded unit, consisting of dolomite sandstone alternating with thin micro‐conglomerate layers with litho‐ and bioclasts and the altered remains of impact glass, now smectite. The micro‐conglomerates mark erosion surfaces. Microprobe and backscatter SEM analysis of the dolomite rhombs show an early diagenetic, complex‐zoned, idiomorphic overgrowth, with Mn‐rich zones, possibly formed by hot fluids related to cooling melt sheet in the crater. The pore spaces are filled with several generations of coelestite, barite, K‐feldpar, and sparry calcite. XRF core scanning analysis detected high Mn values in the crossbedded sediments but no anomalous enrichment of the siderophile elements Cr, Co, Fe, and Ni in the clay layer. Shocked quartz occurs in the crossbedded unit but is absent in the clay layer. The basal Paleocene marls are strongly dissolved and do not contain a basal Paleocene fauna. The presence of a hardground, the lack of siderophile elements, shocked quartz, or Ni‐rich spinels in the clay layer, and the absence of basal Paleocene biozones P0 and Pa all suggest that the top of the ejecta sequence and a significant part of the lower Paleocene is missing. Due to the high energy sedimentation infill, a hiatus at the top of the impactite is not unexpected, but there is nothing in the biostratigraphy, geochemistry, and petrology of the Yax‐1 core that can be used to argue against the synchroneity of the end‐Cretaceous mass‐extinctions and the Chicxulub crater.     

Effect of metamorphism and partial melting of host rocks on zircons

Abstract Zircons have been studied from different layers of migmatites (from Arvika, western Sweden and Nelaug, southern Norway) and from a paragneiss (from Arvika) associated with one of the migmatites. The main purpose of the investigation is to establish whether or not information about zircons can help in the elucidation of the parentage and rock-forming processes of migmatites.
The elongation ratio of zircons from all layers is small and characteristic of sedimentary zircons. Further, the absence of characteristic colours and the growth trends of the zircons (indicated by the reduced major axes) observed in the various samples both support a sedimentary parentage for these rocks. The zircons of all layers exhibit secondary growth (overgrowth, outgrowth and multiple growth) due to metamorphism. Compared with the zircons from the paragneiss, those of the migmatite layers are more clouded and less rounded, some of them becoming opaque or even skeletal; this is especially true of the zircons from the leucosomes. These observations indicate an alteration of the original sedimentary zircons in the migmatite, especially in the leucosomes, in response to the migmatization process, previously interpreted as partial melting.     

Origin of Geochemical Variability by Arc-Continent Collision in the Biru Area, Southern Sulawesi (Indonesia)

Analyses of igneous rocks from the Eocene calc-alkaline andMiocene potassic volcanic arc in southwest Sulawesi indicatethat magmas became more heterogeneous in their trace elementand Pb–Sr–Nd isotopic signature following the collisionof the Buton microcontinent with the arc at     

Post-Collisional Transition from Subduction- to Intraplate-type Magmatism in the Westernmost Mediterranean: Evidence for Continental-Edge Delamination of Subcontinental Lithosphere

Post-collisional magmatism in the southern Iberian and northwesternAfrican continental margins contains important clues for theunderstanding of a possible causal connection between movementsin the Earth's upper mantle, the uplift of continental lithosphereand the origin of circum-Mediterranean igneous activity. Systematicgeochemical and geochronological studies (major and trace element,Sr–Nd–Pb-isotope analysis and laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar-agedating) on igneous rocks provide constraints for understandingthe post-collisional history of the southern Iberian and northwesternAfrican continental margins. Two groups of magmatic rocks canbe distinguished: (1) an Upper Miocene to Lower Pliocene (8·2–4·8Ma), Si–K-rich group including high-K (calc-alkaline)and shoshonitic series rocks; (2) an Upper Miocene to Pleistocene(6·3–0·65 Ma), Si-poor, Na-rich group includingbasanites and alkali basalts to hawaiites and tephrites. Maficsamples from the Si–K-rich group generally show geochemicalaffinities with volcanic rocks from active subduction zones(e.g. Izu–Bonin and Aeolian island arcs), whereas maficsamples from the Si-poor, Na-rich group are geochemically similarto lavas found in intraplate volcanic settings derived fromsub-lithospheric mantle sources (e.g. Canary Islands). The transitionfrom Si-rich (subduction-related) to Si-poor (intraplate-type)magmatism between 6·3 Ma (first alkali basalt) and 4·8Ma (latest shoshonite) can be observed both on a regional scaleand in individual volcanic systems. Si–K-rich and Si-poorigneous rocks from the continental margins of southern Iberiaand northwestern Africa are, respectively, proposed to havebeen derived from metasomatized subcontinental lithosphere andsub-lithospheric mantle that was contaminated with plume material.A three-dimensional geodynamic model for the westernmost Mediterraneanis presented in which subduction of oceanic lithosphere is inferredto have caused continental-edge delamination of subcontinentallithosphere associated with upwelling of plume-contaminatedsub-lithospheric mantle and lithospheric uplift. This processmay operate worldwide in areas where subduction-related andintraplate-type magmatism are spatially and temporally associated. KEY WORDS: post-collisional magmatism; Mediterranean-style back-arc basins; subduction; delamination; uplift of marine gateways     

P–T–fluid evolution in the Mahalapye Complex, Limpopo high-grade terrane, eastern Botswana

Metapelites, migmatites and granites from the c. 2 Ga Mahalapye Complex have been studied for determining the P–T–fluid influence on mineral assemblages and local equilibrium compositions in the rocks from the extreme southwestern part of the Central Zone of the Limpopo high‐grade terrane in Botswana. It was found that fluid infiltration played a leading role in the formation of the rocks. This conclusion is based on both well‐developed textures inferred to record metasomatic reactions, such as Bt ? And + Qtz + (K₂O) and Bt ± Qtz ? Sil + Kfs + Ms ± Pl, and zonation of Ms | Bt + Qtz | And + Qtz and Grt | Crd | Pl | Kfs + Qtz reflecting a perfect mobility (Korzhinskii terminology) of some chemical components. The conclusion is also supported by the results of a fluid inclusion study. CO₂ and H₂O ( = 0.6) are the major components of the fluid. The fluid has been trapped synchronously along the retrograde P–T path. The P–T path was derived using mineral thermobarometry and a combination of mineral thermometry and fluid inclusion density data. The Mahalapye Complex experienced low‐pressure granulite facies metamorphism with a retrograde evolution from 770 °C and 5.5 kbar to 560 °C and 2 kbar, presumably at c. 2 Ga.     

渤海湾老狼坨子海岸带^14C,^137Cs、^210Pb测年与现代沉积速率的加速趋势

通过对渤海湾西岸L剖面中同一关键层的碳酸钙和原生腹足类壳债权的^14C测年对比研究,确定了晚全新世的2800cal BP的层位及沉积速率0.045cm/a;8个样柱的^137Cs和^210Pbex强度、蓄积量揭示了距今约120年来堤后盐沼的平均沉积速率约为0.35cm/a,而面向开放海湾的潮坪上部则达到约2-3cm/a。研究区近1个世纪以来沉积速率的加速趋势,是渤海湾西岸泥质海岸带的特征之一。     

MEASURING AND MODELLING OF SOIL WATER DYNAMICS AND RUNOFF GENERATION IN AN AGRICULTURAL LOESSIAL HILLSLOPE

Surface runoff may be generated when the rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity, or when the soil profile is saturated with water. Indications exist that both types of overland flow may occur in hilly agricultural loess regions. Here, for a loessial hillslope under maize in the southern part of The Netherlands, it was shown, with pressure head and runoff measurements, that Hortonian overland flow occurs during typical summer rain events. Surface runoff was initiated after saturation of the top 5–10 cm of the soil. Deeper in the soil, unsaturated conditions prevailed while runoff took place. Peak runoff discharges at the outlet of the subcatchment occurred a few minutes after peak rainfall intensities were measured. It appeared that SWMS_2D, a two-dimensional water flow model, was capable in simulating observed pressure head changes and runoff. Simulated potential runoff for the transect studied was higher by a magnitude of three than the measured areal average. This indicates effects of surface ponding, and the probable location of this particular transect in a region with high runoff production.     

Lewis Cliff 86360: An Antarctic L-chondrite with a terrestrial age of 2.35 million years

Abstract— We measured the concentrations of the cosmogenic radionuclides ¹⁰Be (half-life = 1.51 × 10⁶ a), ²⁶Al (7.05 × 10⁵ a) and ³⁶Cl (3.01 × 10⁵ a) in Lewis Cliff (LEW) 86360, an L-chondrite from the Lewis Cliff stranding area, East Antarctica. In addition, the concentrations and isotopic compositions of He, Ne and Ar were measured. The combined results yield a terrestrial age of 2.35 ± 0.15 Ma. Only one other stony meteorite with a similar terrestrial age (～2 Ma) is known from the Allan Hills stranding area (ALH 88019), whereas all previously dated stony meteorites from Antarctica are younger than 1 Ma. We argue that LEW 86360 spent most of its terrestrial residence time deep inside the ice, near the base of the glacier, where ice flow rates are much lower than at the surface. The terrestrial ages of LEW 86360 and ALH 88019 are consistent with existing hypotheses concerning the stability and persistence of the East Antarctic ice sheet.     

Understanding and managing the morphology of branches incising into sand-clay deposits in the Dutch Rhine Delta

In the Rhine-Meuse delta in the south-western part of the Netherlands,the morphology of the river branches is highly dependent on the erodibility of the subsoil.Erosion processes that were initiated after closure of the Haringvliet estuary branch by a dam(in 1970),caused a strong incision of several connecting branches.Due to the geological evolution of this area the lithology of the subsoil shows large variations in highly erodible sand and poorly erodible peat and clay layers.This study shows how the geological information can be used to create 3D maps of the erodibility of the sub-soil, and how this information can be used to schematize the sub-soil in computational models for morphological simulations.Local incisement of sand patches between areas with poorly erodible bed causes deep scour holes,hence increasing the risk on river-bank instability(flow slides) and damage to constructions such as groynes,quays,tunnels, and pipelines.Various types of mathematical models,ranging from 1D(SOBEK) to quasi-3D(Delft3D) have been applied to study the future development of the river bed and possible management options.The results of these approaches demonstrate that models require inclusion of a layer-bookkeeping approach for sub-soil schematization, non-uniform sediment fractions(sand-mud),tidal and river-discharge boundary conditions,and capacity-reduction transport modeling.For risk-reducing river management it has been shown how the development of the river bed can be addressed on a large scale and small scale.For instance,the use of sediment feeding and fixation of bed can be proposed for large-scale management,while monitoring and interventions at initiation of erosion can be proposed as response to small-scale developments that exceed predefined intervention levels.