Late Quaternary submarine bedforms and ice‐sheet flow in Gerlache Strait and on the adjacent continental shelf,Antarctic Peninsula

Geophysical data from Gerlache Strait, Croker Passage, Bismarck Strait and the adjacent continental shelf reveal streamlined subglacial bedforms that were produced at the bed of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet (APIS) during the last glaciation. The spatial arrangement and orientation of these bedforms record the former drainage pattern and flow dynamics of an APIS outlet up‐flow, and feeding into, a palaeo‐ice stream in the Western Bransfield Basin. Evidence suggests that together, they represent a single ice‐flow system that drained the APIS during the last glaciation. The ice‐sheet outlet flowed north/northeastwards through Gerlache Strait and Croker Passage and converged with a second, more easterly ice‐flow tributary on the middle shelf to form the main palaeo‐ice stream. The dominance of drumlins with low elongation ratios suggests that ice‐sheet outlet draining through Gerlache Strait was comparatively slower than the main palaeo‐ice stream in the Western Bransfield Basin, although the low elongation ratios may also partly reflect the lack of sediment. Progressive elongation of drumlins further down‐flow indicates that the ice sheet accelerated through Croker Passage and the western tributary trough, and fed into the main zone of streaming flow in the Western Bransfield Basin. Topography would have exerted a strong control on the development of the palaeo‐ice stream system but subglacial geology may also have been significant given the transition from crystalline bedrock to sedimentary strata on the inner–mid‐shelf. In the broader context, the APIS was drained by a number of major fast‐flowing outlets through cross‐shelf troughs to the outer continental shelf during the last glaciation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolution of 2:1 layered silicates in low-grade metamorphosed Liassic shales of Central Switzerland

White mica from the Liassic black shales and slates in Central Switzerland was analysed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron microprobe to determine its textural and compositional evolution during very low-grade prograde metamorphism. Samples were studied from the diagenetic zone, anchizone and epizone (T ≈100°–450 °C). Phyllosilicate minerals analysed include illite/smectite (I/S), phengite, muscovite, brammallite, paragonite, margarite and glauconite. Textural evolution primarily is towards larger, more defect-free grains with compositions that approach those of their respective end-members. The smectite-to-illite transformation reduced the amounts of the exchange components SiK_?1Al_?1, MgSiAl_?2, and Fe³⁺Al_?1. These trends continue to a lesser degree in the anchizone and epizone. Correlations between the proportion of smectite in I/S and the composition of I/S indicate that smectite layers may contain a high layer charge. Illite in I/S bears a compositional resemblance to macrocrystalline phengite in some samples, but is different in others. Paragonite first appears in the upper diagenetic zone or lower anchizone as an interlayer-deficient brammallite, and it may be mixed with muscovite on the nanometre scale. Owing to the small calculated structure factor for paragonite-muscovite superstructures, conventional X-ray powder diffraction cannot distinguish between mixed-layer structures and a homogeneous compositionally intermediate solid solutions. However, indirect TEM evidence shows that irregularly shaped domains of Na- and K-rich mica exist below 10 nm. Subsequent coarsening of domains at higher grades produced discrete paragonite grains at the margins of muscovite crystals or in laths parallel to the basal plane of the host muscovite. Margarite appears in the epizone and follows a textural evolution similar to paragonite in that mixtures of margarite, paragonite, and muscovite may initially occur on the nanometre scale. However, no evidence of interlayer-poor margarite has been found.     

High-pressure eclogites in northern Jiangsu – southern Shandong province, eastern China

Abstract Eclogites are distributed for more than 500 km along a major tectonic boundary between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons in central and eastern China. These eclogites usually have high-P assemblages including omphacite + kyanite and/or coesite (or its pseudomorph), and form a high-P eclogite terrane. They occur as isolated lenses or blocks 10 cm to 300 m long in gneisses (Type I), serpentinized garnet peridotites (Type II) and marbles (Type III). Type I eclogites were formed by prograde metamorphism, and their primary metamorphic mineral assemblage consists mainly of garnet [pyrope (Prp) = 15–40 mol%], omphacite [jadeite (Jd) = 34–64 mol%], pargasitic amphibole, kyanite, phengitic muscovite, zoisite, an SiO₂ phase, apatite, rutile and zircon. Type II eclogites characteristically contain no SiO₂ phase, and are divided into prograde eclogites and mantle-derived eclogites. The prograde eclogites of Type II are petrographically similar to Type I eclogites. The mantle-derived eclogites have high MgO/(FeO + Fe₂O₃) and Cr₂O₃ compositions in bulk rock and minerals, and consist mainly of pyrope-rich garnet (Prp = 48–60 mol%), sodic augite (Jd = 10–27 mol%) and rutile. Type III eclogites have an unusual mineral assemblage of grossular-rich (Grs = 57 mol%) garnet + omphacite (Jd = 30–34 mol%) + pargasite + rutile. Pargasitic and taramitic amphiboles, calcic plagioclase (An₆₈), epidote, zoisite, K-feldspar and paragonite occur as inclusions in garnet and omphacite in the prograde eclogites. This suggests that the prograde eclogites were formed by recrystallization of epidote amphibolite and/or amphibolite facies rocks with near-isothermal compression reflecting crustal thickening during continent–continent collision of late Proterozoic age. Equilibrium conditions of the prograde eclogites range from P > 26 kbar and T= 500–750°C in the western part to P > 28 kbar and T= 810–880°C in the eastern part of the high-P eclogite terrane. The prograde eclogites in the eastern part are considered to have been derived from a deeper position than those in the western part. Subsequent reactions, manifested by (1) narrow rims of sodic plagioclase or paragonite on kyanite and (2) symplectites between omphacite and quartz are interpreted as an effect of near-isothermal decompression during the retrograde stage. The conditions at which symplectites re-equilibrated tend to increase from west (P < 10 kbar and T < 580°C) to east (P > 9 kbar and T > 680°C). Equilibrium temperatures of Type II mantle-derived eclogites and Type III eclogite are 730–750°C and 680°C, respectively.     

Biostratigraphic and aminostratigraphic constraints on the age of the Middle Pleistocene glacial succession in north Norfolk,UK

Considerable debate surrounds the age of the Middle Pleistocene glacial succession in East Anglia following some recent stratigraphical reinterpretations. Resolution of the stratigraphy here is important since it not only concerns the glacial history of the region but also has a bearing on our understanding of the earliest human occupation of north‐western Europe. The orthodox consensus that all the tills were emplaced during the Anglian (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12) has recently been challenged by a view assigning each major till to a different glacial stage, before, during and after MIS 12. Between Trimingham and Sidestrand on the north Norfolk coast, datable organic sediments occur immediately below and above the glacial succession. The oldest glacial deposit (Happisburgh Till) directly overlies the ‘Sidestrand Unio‐bed’, here defined as the Sidestrand Hall Member of the Cromer Forest‐bed Formation. Dating of these sediments therefore has a bearing on the maximum age of the glacial sequence. This paper reviews the palaeobotany and describes the faunal assemblages recovered from the Sidestrand Unio‐bed, which accumulated in a fluvial environment in a fully temperate climate with regional deciduous woodland. There are indications from the ostracods for weakly brackish conditions. Significant differences are apparent between the Sidestrand assemblages and those from West Runton, the type site of the Cromerian Stage. These differences do not result from contrasting facies or taphonomy but reflect warmer palaeotemperatures at Sidestrand and a much younger age. This conclusion is suggested by the higher proportion of thermophiles at Sidestrand and the occurrence of a water vole with unrooted molars (Arvicola) rather than its ancestor Mimomys savini with rooted molars. Amino acid racemisation data also indicate that Sidestrand is significantly younger than West Runton. These data further highlight the stratigraphical complexity of the ‘Cromerian Complex’ and support the conventional view that the Happisburgh Till was emplaced during the Anglian rather than the recently advanced view that it dates from MIS 16. Moreover, new evidence from the Trimingham lake bed (Sidestrand Cliff Formation) above the youngest glacial outwash sediments (Briton's Lane Formation) indicates that they also accumulated during a Middle Pleistocene interglacial – probably MIS 11. All of this evidence is consistent with a short chronology placing the glacial deposits within MIS 12, rather than invoking multiple episodes of glaciation envisaged in the ‘new glacial stratigraphy’ during MIS 16, 12, 10 and 6. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary landscapes in Central Australia: sedimentary history and palaeoecology of Puritjarra rock shelter

Puritjarra rock shelter provides a long record of late Quaternary vegetation in the Australian arid zone. Analysis of the sedimentary history of this rock shelter is combined with reanalysis of charcoal and phytolith records to provide a first‐order picture of changing landscapes in western Central Australia. These show a landscape responding to increasing aridity from 45 ka with deflation of clay‐rich red palaeosols (<45 ka) and sharp declines in grassland and other vegetation at 40–36 ka, and at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (24 ka). Vegetation in the catchment of the rock shelter recovered after 15 ka with expansion of both acacia woodland and spinifex grasslands, registering stronger summer rainfall in the interior of the continent. By 8.3 ka re‐vegetation of local palaeosols and dunes had choked off sediment supply to the rock shelter and the character of the sediments changed abruptly. Poaceae values peaked at 5.8 ka, suggesting the early–mid Holocene climatic optimum in Central Australia is bracketed between 8.3 and 5.8 ka. Local vegetation was disrupted in the late Holocene with a sharp decline in Poaceae at 3.8 ka, coinciding with an abrupt intensification of ENSO. Local grasslands recovered over the next two millennia and by 1.5 ka the modern vegetation appears to have become established. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bedrock, soils, and hillslope hydrology in the Central Texas Hill Country, USA: implications on environmental management in a carbonate-rock terrain

The Hill Country of Central Texas, USA, is undergoing rapid socioeconomic development, but environmental management of this region is hampered by misconceptions about local bedrock, soils, terrain, and hydrologic processes. The Hill Country is underlain mostly by Glen Rose Limestone (Lower Cretaceous) and exhibits a stepped terrain, which has been incorrectly attributed to alternating hard and soft bedrock strata. Other characteristics mistakenly attributed to this landscape include thin soils with scant water-retention capabilities, and rapid runoff as the dominant hydrologic process. This report presents new findings: unweathered bedrock is well indurated, but interbeds exhibit variable weathering rates. Recessive slopes (“risers”) on this stepped terrain result from rapid deterioration of strata having generally heterogeneous depositional fabrics (bioturbation and irregular clay partings) in contrast to ledge-forming strata having homogeneous fabrics. A stony regolith is thus formed beneath risers, providing porous and permeable ground that retards runoff and promotes the formation of moderately deep to deep (two-tiered) regolith/soil zones. These surficial materials on local steep slopes compose important natural environmental buffers; they support diverse biota and enhanced geochemical cycling of nutrients; they also exhibit significant water retention and enhanced erosion abatement. Proper land management demands recognition of these attributes in the siting, design, and construction of facilities.     

Modelling of periodic wave transformation in the inner surf zone

In this paper, we analyse the ability of the nonlinear shallow-water (NSW) equations to predict wave distortion and energy dissipation of periodic broken waves in the inner surf zone. This analysis is based on the weak-solution theory for conservative equations. We derive a new one-way model, which applies to the transformation of non-reflective periodic broken waves on gently sloping beaches. This model can be useful to develop breaking-wave parameterizations (in particular broken-wave celerity expression) in both time-averaged wave models and time-dependent Boussinesq-type models. We also derive a new wave set-up equation which provides a simple and explicit relation between wave set-up and energy dissipation. Finally, we compare numerical simulations of both, the NSW model and the simplified one-way model, with spilling wave breaking experiments and we find a good agreement.     

鲁苏榴辉岩的地球化学

以微量元素、稀土元素、Ｓｒ和Ｎｄ同位素变异特征为依据，确定鲁苏榴辉岩为多成因、多来源和多阶段，指出主要是在印支期扬子陆块与华北陆块碰撞造山作用过程中，挤入的上地幔碎片以及不同原岩类型的壳内高压变质岩碎块。燕山晚期的区域构造热事件使得某些榴辉岩的同位素体系再平衡。