A multi‐system geochronology in the Ad‐3 borehole,Pannonian Basin (Hungary) with implications for dating volcanic rocks by low‐temperature thermochronology and for interpretation of (U–Th)/He data

Independent geochronological and thermal modelling approaches are applied to a biostratigraphically exceptionally well‐controlled borehole, Alcsútdoboz‐3 (Ad‐3), in order to constrain the age of Cenozoic geodynamic events in the western Pannonian Basin and to test the efficacy of the methods for dating volcanic rocks. Apatite fission track and zircon U–Pb data show two volcanic phases of Middle Eocene (43.4–39.0 Ma) and Early Oligocene (32.72 ± 0.15 Ma) age respectively. Apatite (U–Th)/He ages (23.8–14.8 Ma) and independent thermal and subsidence history models reveal a brief period of heating to 55–70 °C at ~17 Ma caused by an increased heat‐flow related to crustal thinning and mantle upwelling. Our results demonstrate that, contrary to common perception, the apatite (U–Th)/He method is likely to record ‘apparent’ or ‘mixed’ ages resulting from subsequent thermal events rather than ‘cooling’ or ‘eruption’ ages directly related to distinct geological events. It follows that a direct conversion of ‘apparent’ or ‘mixed’ (U‐Th)/He ages into cooling, exhumation or erosion rates is incorrect.     

Tracing metamorphism,exhumation and topographic evolution in orogenic belts by multiple thermochronology: a case study from the Nízke Tatry Mts., Western Carpathians

A combination of four thermochronometers [zircon fission track (ZFT), zircon (U–Th)/He (ZHe), apatite fission track (AFT) and apatite (U–Th–[Sm])/He (AHe) dating methods] applied to a valley to ridge transect is used to resolve the issues of metamorphic, exhumation and topographic evolution of the Nízke Tatry Mts. in the Western Carpathians. The ZFT ages of 132.1 ± 8.3, 155.1 ± 12.9, 146.8 ± 8.6 and 144.9 ± 11.0 Ma show that Variscan crystalline basement of the Nízke Tatry Mts. was heated to temperatures >210°C during the Mesozoic and experienced a low-grade Alpine metamorphic overprint. ZHe and AFT ages, clustering at ~55–40 and ~45–40 Ma, respectively, revealed a rapid Eocene cooling event, documenting erosional and/or tectonic exhumation related to the collapse of the Carpathian orogenic wedge. This is the first evidence that exhumation of crystalline cores in the Western Carpathians took place in the Eocene and not in the Cretaceous as traditionally believed. Bimodal AFT length distributions, Early Miocene AHe ages and thermal modelling results suggest that the samples were heated to temperatures of ~55–90°C during Oligocene–Miocene times. This thermal event may be related either to the Oligocene/Miocene sedimentary burial, or Miocene magmatic activity and increased heat flow. This finding supports the concept of thermal instability of the Carpathian crystalline bodies during the post-Eocene period.     

How do early successional patterns in man-made wetlands differ between cold temperate and Mediterranean regions?

The early stages of succession in newly created wetlands should be impacted by the region in which the wetland is located, since climate may have filtered the dominant biological strategies of the taxa leading this process and may condition their dynamics. We studied the early successional patterns of macroinvertebrates within man made ponds, located in cold temperate (Scandinavian Peninsula) and Mediterranean regions (Iberian Peninsula), during the first three years following their creation. We predicted (1) non random subsets of the regional species pool (deterministic assembly) guiding the successional process in cold temperate wetlands, and random (stochastic) assembly in the Mediterranean region; (2) higher successional rates in Mediterranean ponds than in the cold temperate ponds, with contrary episodes of highest and lowest change throughout the year; and (3) a significant difference in the composition of biological traits between regions, due to the dominance of traits adapted to hydrological variability in the Mediterranean region. Hypotheses on community structure (1) and the composition of dominant biological traits (3) were mostly supported – deterministic assembly mechanisms in the cold temperate ponds and stochastic assembly in the Mediterranean ponds; and a dominance of different biological traits between regions, explained by the need to overcome hydrological disturbances in the Mediterranean ponds. The dynamics of succession (2) were explained by climatic factors in the cold temperate region but not in the Mediterranean ponds. We suggest that the intrinsic hydrological variability of Mediterranean lentic systems may be a major factor driving community changes in man-made wetlands in this region. In order to generalize the observed patterns, we performed a meta-analysis of the temporal trends of taxonomic distinctness parameters of other successional studies across a latitudinal gradient in Europe, which supported the differences we had observed between latitudinal extremes.     

Assessing volcanic origins within detrital zircon populations——A case study from the Mesozoic non-volcanic margin of southern Australia

Detrital zircon U/Pb geochronology is a common tool used to resolve stratigraphic questions,inform basin evolution and constrain regional geological histories.In favourable circumstances,detrital zircon populations can contain a concomitant volcanic contribution that provides constraints on the age of deposition.However,for non-volcanic settings,proving isolated detrital zircon grains are from contemporaneous and potentially remote volcanism is challenging.Here we use same grain(U-Th)/He thermochronology coupled with U/Pb geochronology to identify detrital zircon grains of contemporary volcanic origin.(U-Th)/He ages from Cretaceous zircon grains in southern Australia define a single population with a weighted mean age of 104±6.1 Ma.indistinguishable from zircon U/Pb geochronology and palynology(～104.0-107.5 Ma).Detrital zircon trace-element geochemistry is consistent with a continental signature for parent rocks and coupled with detrital grain ages,supports derivation from a2000 km distant early-to mid-Cretaceous Whitsunday Volcanic Province in eastern Australia.Thus,integration of biostratigraphy,single-grain zircon double-dating(geochronology and thermochronology)and grain geochemistry enhances fingerprinting of zircon source region and transport history.A distal volcanic source and rapid continental-scale transport to southern Australia is supported here.     

Thermotectonic evolution of the Ukrainian Donbas Foldbelt revisited: new constraints from zircon and apatite fission track data

The Donbas Foldbelt (DF) is the compressionally deformed segment of a large Late Palaeozoic rift cross‐cutting the southern part of the East European Craton and is traditionally described as a classic example of an inverted intracratonic rift basin. Proposed formational models are often controversial and numerous issues are still a matter of speculation, primarily due to the lack of absolute time constraints and insufficient knowledge of the thermal evolution. We investigate the low‐temperature thermal history of the DF by means of zircon fission track and apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology applied to Upper Carboniferous sediments. In all samples, the AFT chronometer was reset shortly after deposition in the Early Permian (～275 Ma). Samples contained kinetically variable apatites that are sensitive to different temperatures and using statistic‐based component analysis incorporating annealing characteristics of individual grains assessed by D_par , we identified several distinct age populations, ranging from the Late Permian (～265 Ma) to the Late Cretaceous (～70 Ma). We could thus constrain the thermal history of the DF during a ～200 Myr long period following the thermal maximum. We found that earliest cooling of Permian and Permo‐Triassic age is recorded on the basin margins whereas the central parts were residing in or slowly cooling through the apatite partial annealing zone during Jurassic and most of Cretaceous times, and then finally cooled to near‐surface conditions latest around the Cretaceous/Palaeogene boundary. Our data show that Permian erosion was less significant and Mesozoic erosion more significant than generally assumed. Inversion and pop‐up of the DF occurred in the Cretaceous and not in the Permian as previously thought. This is indicated by overall Cretaceous AFT ages in the central parts of the basin.     

Adjustments in channel morphology due to land‐use changes and check dam installation in mountain torrents of Calabria (southern Italy)

In Mediterranean semi‐arid conditions, the availability of studies monitoring channel adjustments as a response to reforestation and check dams over representative observation periods, could help develop new management strategies. This investigation is an integrated approach assessing the adjustments of channel morphology in a typical torrent of southern Italy after land‐use changes and check dam construction across a period of about 60 years. A statistical analysis of historical rainfall records, an analysis of land‐use changes in the catchment area and a geomorphological mapping of channel adjustments were carried out and combined with field surveys of bed surface grain‐size over a 5‐km reach including 14 check dams. The analysis of the historical rainfall records showed a slight decrease in the amount and erosivity of precipitation. Mapping of land‐use changes highlighted a general increase of vegetal coverage on the slopes adjacent to the monitored reaches. Together with the check dam network installation, this increase could have induced a reduction in water and sediment supply. The different erosional and depositional forms and adjustments showed a general narrowing between consecutive check dams together with local modifications detected upstream (bed aggradation and cross‐section expansion together with low‐flow realignments) and downstream (local incision) of the installed check dams. Changes in the torrent bends were also detected as a response to erosional and depositional processes with different intensities. The study highlighted: the efficiency of check dams against the disrupting power of intense floods by stabilizing the active channel and the influence of reforestation in increasing hillslope protection from erosion and disconnectivity of water and sediment flows towards the active channel. Only slight management interventions (for instance, the conversion of the existing check dams into open structures) are suggested, in order to mobilize the residual sediment avoiding further generalized incision of the active channel and coast line erosion. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Directional wave spectra at the regional scale with the KuROS airborne radar: comparisons with models

Ocean Dynamics - In situ observations, satellite observations, and regional observations from airborne remote sensing are very useful to characterize sea state evolution and related physical...     

Geomorphic controls on floodplain sediment and soil organic carbon storage in a Scottish mountain river

River floodplains constitute an important element in the terrestrial sediment and organic carbon cycle and store variable amounts of carbon and sediment depending on a complex interplay of internal and external driving forces. Quantifying the storage in floodplains is crucial to understand their role in the sediment and carbon cascades. Unfortunately, quantitative data on floodplain storage are limited, especially at larger spatial scales. Rivers in the Scottish Highlands can provide a special case to study alluvial sediment and carbon dynamics because of the dominance of peatlands throughout the landscape, but the alluvial history of the region remains poorly understood. In this study, the floodplain sediment and soil organic carbon storage is quantified for the mountainous headwaters of the River Dee in eastern Scotland (663 km²), based on a coring dataset of 78 floodplain cross-sections. Whereas the mineral sediment storage is dominated by wandering gravel-bed river sections, most of the soil organic carbon storage can be found in anastomosing and meandering sections. The total storage for the Upper Dee catchment can be estimated at 5.2 Mt or 2306.5 Mg ha^-1 of mineral sediment and 0.7 Mt or 323.3 Mg C ha^-1 of soil organic carbon, which is in line with other studies on temperate river systems. Statistical analysis indicates that the storage is mostly related to the floodplain slope and the geomorphic floodplain type, which incorporates the characteristic stream power, channel morphology and the deposit type. Mapping of the geomorphic floodplain type using a simple classification scheme shows to be a powerful tool in studying the total storage and local variability of mineral sediment and soil organic carbon in floodplains. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late stage differential exhumation of crustal blocks in the central Eastern Alps: evidence from fission track and (U–Th)/He thermochronology

Thermal history modelling based on zircon‐ and apatite fission track and apatite (U–Th)/He data constrain and refine the near‐surface exhumation of the south‐eastern Tauern Window (Penninic units) and neighbouring Austroalpine basement units in the Eastern Alps. Fast exhumation on both sides of the Penninic/Austroalpine boundary coincides with a period of lateral extrusion and tectonic denudation of the Penninic units in Miocene time (22–12 Ma). The jump to older ages occurs within the Austroalpine unit along the Polinik fault, which therefore defines the boundary between the tectonically denuded units and the hangingwall at that time. According to the different (U–Th)/He ages between the Penninic Hochalm‐ and Sonnblick Domes we demonstrate a differential cooling history of these two domes in the latest Miocene and early Pliocene.