The isotope geochemistry of fracture calcites from the Chalk River area,Ontario, Canada

Calcite is a common fracture inflilling mineral in the Grenville gneisses of the Chalk River area, Ontario, Canada. It exhibits a variety of occurrences and textures which suggests calcite has precipitated under different hydrogeochemical conditions that may be identified through a detailed chemical and isotopic investigation of the calcite and associated infilling minerals.The δ¹⁸O of these calcites range over 20%. but the δ¹³C varies over a narrow range of 5%.. None of the calcites analyzed is in isotopic equilibrium with both the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C of the present day ground water. The lightest δ¹⁸O calcites (near 0%. SMOW) are present in sealed fractures and are sometimes associated with laumontite. This suggests that these light calcites formed from hydrothermal solutions (at temperatures less than about 300°C) shortly after the period of metamorphism that formed the gneisses. This interpretation is supported by relatively unradiogenic⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios near 0.709 and δ¹³C values of −5 to −6%..Most of the Chalk River calcites, however, are considerably heavier in¹⁸O and lighter in¹³C than the hydrothermal end member. This may be the result of low temperature recrystallization of the hydrothermal calcites by meteoric waters under variable water/rock ratios. The¹³C contents and⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of these younger, low temperature calcites appear to be partially buffered by the isotopic composition of the original hydrothermal calcite.Pyrite is often associated with the fracture calcites. These pyrites display a wide range in δ³⁴S values of about 70%., which suggests that sulphide precipitation occurred under semi-closed conditions. These data indicate that fracture permeability has been a major control on the isotopic composition of fracture minerals since formation of the gneiss.     

The role of buried bedrock valleys on the development of karstic aquifers in flat-lying carbonate bedrock: insights from Guelph, Ontario, Canada

A spatial relationship between high capacity municipal production wells (>5,000 m³/day), completed in a deep bedrock aquifer, and a buried bedrock valley was recognized in the city of Guelph, southwestern Ontario, Canada. Most production wells are completed in a discrete zone, ～60 m below ground surface, within flat-lying dolostones of the Silurian Amabel Formation. Thick overburden and limited subsurface data make characterization of the karstic aquifer difficult. This study integrates hydrogeologic data with models of karst formation, deriving a conceptual model of porosity development as it relates to valley incision. Bedrock valley incision likely occurred prior to the early Wisconsinan age (>60–75 ka). Incision created steep hydraulic gradients within the flat-lying bedrock, and provided the driving force required to integrate regional groundwater flow into karst conduits that drained at the base of the valley. Dissolution in production zone dolostones was favoured over dissolution in shallower bedrock due to abundant bedding plane partings and fossiliferous facies with high intercrystalline porosity. Burial of the valley during subsequent ice advances reduced the valley’s hydraulic influence and the efficacy of the flow system to cause dissolution. The high capacity municipal wells near the buried bedrock valley tap into the now dormant karst aquifer system.     

High-resolution lake sediment reconstruction of industrial impact in a world-class mining and smelting center,Sudbury, Ontario,Canada

A lake sediment core from Vermillion Lake, Sudbury, Ontario was tightly sampled and analyzed for a wide range of trace elements as well as for Pb isotopes. The data resolve multiple historical events in the 140-a history of logging and mining in the Sudbury area in unprecedented detail. Lead-210 data, ¹³⁷Cs activity and historical information on the start of anthropogenic activities in the Sudbury area were combined to derive an age model for the sedimentary column. Using the age information, it is possible to identify sediment sections enriched and depleted in trace metal(loid)s, particularly Ni and Cu, the two most relevant metals in the Sudbury area. Maxima and minima in the chronology of Ni and Cu coincide well with local production values for both elements until environmental regulations in the 1990s resulted in a decrease in their emission and drainage into Vermillion Lake. Differences in the deposition rates of Ni and Cu, trace-metal distribution patterns throughout the sedimentary column, Pb-isotope data, and comparison with data for local rocks and ores in the Sudbury area were used to identify the sources of pollutants in the early and late periods of mining activities. In addition, the environmental impact on the sediment itself was also studied via the variation of water content and organic matter. Finally, a surficial Fe–Mn-enriched layer with elevated concentrations of the oxy-anions (PO₄)³⁻, (AsO₄)⁴⁻, and (MoO₄)²⁻ was identified. This can be distinguished from accumulation of Zn and an increase in the Y / Ho ratio in the upper core sections, which likely imply increasing drainage of fertilizers into the Vermillion River watershed. The chemistry, mineralogy, and isotope composition of the Vermillion Lake sediment column thus contain a very detailed >140-a account of initial severe anthropogenic disturbance, the efforts of remediation and the effects of changing land use towards agricultural and recreational activities.     

Platinum group element geochemistry of komatiites from the Alexo and Pyke Hill areas, Ontario, Canada

Thirty-three whole-rock drill core samples and thirteen olivine, chromite, and sulfide separates from three differentiated komatiite lava flows at Alexo and Pyke Hill, Canada, were analyzed for PGEs using the Carius tube digestion ID-ICP-MS technique. The emplaced lavas are Al-undepleted komatiites with ∼27% MgO derived by ∼50% partial melting of LILE-depleted Archean mantle. Major and minor element variations during and after emplacement were controlled by 30 to 50% fractionation of olivine Fo_93-94. The emplaced lavas are characterized by (Pd/Ir)_N = 4.0 to 4.6, (Os/Ir)_N = 1.07, and Os abundances of ∼2.3 ppb. Variations in PGE abundances within individual flows indicate that Os and Ir were compatible (bulk D_Os,Ir = 2.4-7.1) and that Pt and Pd were incompatible (bulk D_Pt,Pd < 0.2) during lava differentiation, whereas bulk D_Ru was close to unity. Analyses of cumulus olivine separates indicate that PGEs were incompatible in olivine (D_PGEs^Ol-Liq = 0.04-0.7). The bulk fractionation trends cannot be accounted for by fractionation of olivine alone, and require an unidentified Os-Ir-rich phase. The composition of the mantle source (Os = 3.9 ppb, Ir = 3.6 ppb, Ru = 5.4 ppb, Pt and Pd = 5.7 ppb) was constrained empirically for Ru, Pt, and Pd; the Os/Ir ratio was taken to be identical to that in the emplaced melt, and the Ru/Ir ratio was taken to be chondritic, so that the absolute IPGE abundances of the source were determined by Ru. This is the first estimate of the PGE composition of a mantle source derived from analyses of erupted lavas. The suprachondritic Pd/Ir and Os/Ir of the inferred Abitibi komatiite mantle source are similar to those in off-craton spinel lherzolites, orogenic massif lherzolites, and enstatite chondrites, and are considered to be an intrinsic mantle feature. Bulk partition coefficients for use in komatiite melting models derived from the source and emplaced melt compositions are: D_Os,Ir = 2.3, D_Ru = 1.0, D_Pt,Pd = 0.07. Ruthenium abundances are good indicators of absolute IPGE abundances in the mantle sources of komatiite melts with 26 to 29% MgO, as Ru fractionates very little during both high degrees of partial melting and lava differentiation.     

Mercury in lake sediments of the Precambrian Shield near Huntsville, Ontario, Canada

 Long sediment cores (>1 m) were collected from eight Precambrian Shield lakes in southern Ontario, Canada and analyzed for mercury (Hg), loss-on-ignition (LOI), and a suite of 36 other elements. Results indicated at least 100-fold variation in sediment Hg concentrations between lakes in close proximity (from 450 ppb), comparable to the variation reported for lakes across the whole of Canada. Strong areal correlations between Hg concentrations and LOI (r ² =0.77), between Hg and other trace element concentrations (Pb, Zn, Cd, Sb, As, Br), and similarities in the vertical concentration profiles of Hg and LOI, all point to the importance of organic matter in the release, transport and redistribution of metals in watershed systems. The spatial pattern of Hg concentrations in deep, precolonial sediments (>20 cm) was found to mirror the pattern of Hg concentrations in modern surface sediments, an observation that was confirmed in a follow-up survey (r ² =0.85;n=25 lakes), indicating that natural processes govern the unequal distribution of Hg among these lakes. Between-lake differences in surface sediment Hg concentrations normalized to organic carbon (Hg/C) were also reflected by Hg concentrations in smallmouth bass normalized to 35 cm length (R ² =0.63;n=15 lakes). The latter relationship suggests that smallmouth bass and lake sediment indicators provide mutually supportive information regarding Hg loading to the lacustrine environment from geological sources in the watershed system. Received: 31 October 1996 · Accepted: 27 May 1997     

Quaternary stratigraphy and geochemistry at the Owl Creek Gold Mine, Timmins, Ontario, Canada

The Owl Creek Gold Mine is located in Hoyle Township, approximately 18 km northeast of Timmins, Ontario, Canada. The open-pit mine exposes a sequence of altered and mineralized mafic tholeiitic volcanics bounded to the north and south by greywacke and argillite. Gold occurs in the free state in quartz veins, often with graphite, and as fine gold on surfaces of, and within fractures in, pyrite.The study was designed to determine the distribution and distance of transport of Au in overburden down-ice from subcropping Au mineralization. This required an understanding of the glacial history of the area.The Quaternary stratigraphy at Owl Creek was studied and sampled by means of 17 sonic and 15 reverse-circulation overburden drill holes near the open pit, and several overburden exposures in the open-pit walls. Nonmagnetic heavy-mineral concentrates (specific gravity >3.3) were made from the <2000 μm (−10 mesh) fraction of all overburden samples from the drill hole and section sampling. The heavy-mineral concentrates were analyzed for Au by neutron activation. A till pebble lithology study was done on the >2000 μm (−10 mesh) fraction of the sonic drill core.Our stratigraphic studies indicate that there were three major Wisconsinan (Weichselian) ice advances and one minor, late readvance in the Timmins area. The transport and deposition of sediments comprising the “Oldest”, “Older”, Matheson and Cochrane stratigraphic “packages” (oldest to youngest) are related to three ice advances and one readvance which moved towards 240° ± 10°, 150° ± 5°, 170° ± 5° and 130° ± 5°, respectively.Geochemically anomalous levels of Au in the overburden define two dispersal trains down-ice of the Owl Creek Gold Mine. One, in the “Older” lodgement till, is 400–500 m long. The other in Matheson ablation and waterlain tills, is approximately 700 m long.The till pebble lithology study showed that pebble counting can be used to approximate bedrock contacts, but may not necessarily identify the source rock type of the matrix.     

Mineral chemistry and geochemistry of vanadian silicates in the Hemlo gold deposit,Ontario, Canada

Some of the most vanadium-rich silicate minerals known are present in green mica schist from the Hemlo gold deposit, Ontario, Canada. Vanadium-rich silicate minerals include green mica (up to 17.6 wt. % V₂O₃), phlogopite (10.1 wt. % V₂O₃), pumpellyite (25.7 wt. % V₂O₃), garnet (18.5 wt. % V₂O₃), epidote-group minerals (9.1 wt. % V₂O₃), antimonian vesuvianite (4.3 wt. % V₂O₃), and titanite (18.5 wt. % V₂O₅). In addition, minor amounts of V (<2 wt. % V₂O₃) are present in tourmaline, chlorite, talc and tremolite in other lithologies of the Hemlo deposit. The principal substitution that incorporates V into most of these silicate minerals is Al³⁺=V³⁺ in octahedral positions. Vanadium is incorporated into phlogopite mainly by the two substitutions: 3Mg²⁺ =2V³⁺+ and ^VIMg²⁺+^IVSi⁴⁺=^VIV³⁺ +^IVAl³⁺, and all of the three substitutions Ti⁴⁺+O^2- =V³⁺+(OH,F)^-, Ti⁴⁺=V⁴⁺, and 5Ti⁴⁺=4V⁵⁺ + may have operated in titanite.Vanadium-enriched green mica schist from the Hemlo gold deposit is characterized by uniform Ti/Zr ratios, systematically low Ti, Ni, Co and Sc abundances, and low levels of incompatible elements Th, U, Hf and Zr and is distinct in these respects from its Cr-enriched counterpart. These geochemical features, along with textural evidence (relict quartz and oligoclase phenocrysts), indicate that the V-enriched green mica schist from Hemlo was most likely derived mainly from quartz-oligoclase porphyry. However, its anomalously high V and Cr contents were probably introduced metasomatically from local maficultramafic sources and were fixed in green mica and oxides during the waning of a second regional metamorphism. Vanadium was further remobilized, and its concentration probably enhanced, during the late hydrothermal alteration, which resulted in the formation of the characteristic V-rich calc-silicate minerals.     

Reconstruction of Holocene lake level from diatoms, chrysophytes and organic matter in a drainage lake from the Experimental Lakes Area (northwestern Ontario, Canada)

A paleolimnological study of lake-level changes in Lake 239 (Rawson Lake), a headwater lake in the Experimental Lakes Area in northwestern Ontario, indicates large fluctuations have occurred over the Holocene. Analyses are based on diatoms, the proportion of chrysophyte scales to diatoms and organic matter content from near-shore sediment cores. Quantitative estimates of lake level are based on a diatom-inferred depth model that was developed from surficial sediments collected along several transects in Lake 239. Declines of ∼ 1-3 m occurred during the late Holocene, whereas declines of at least 8 m occurred during the more arid mid-Holocene. These results provide the first substantive evidence of large declines in lake level in northwestern Ontario during the mid-Holocene. Conditions during the mid-Holocene may provide a partial view of future conditions under increasing global temperatures.     

不同来源区洪水对黄河下游流量-含沙量关系的影响

根据1950-1960年及1974-1985年实测洪峰水沙资料,分析了不同来源区洪水对黄河下游花园口、高村、艾山、利津水文站流量 含沙量关系的影响,以河口镇至龙门区间、马莲河和北洛河总来水量占三门峡、黑石关、小董总水量的20%或25%以上作为中游粗沙来源区洪水,以河口镇至龙门区间、马莲河和北洛河总来水量占三门峡、黑石关、小董总水量的20%或25%以下作为细沙来源区或少沙区洪水。这样,黄河下游花园口、高村、艾山、利津水文站平均流量 平均含沙量关系可分为以增加平均含沙量为主和以增加平均流量为主的两个区。同时,河口镇至龙门区间、马莲河和北洛河的洪水,大大增加了黄河下游平均来沙系数和平均含沙量,并导致全下游河段的必然淤积。     

Indicator mineralogy of kimberlite boulders from eskers in the Kirkland Lake and Lake Timiskaming areas, Ontario, Canada

Sixteen kimberlite boulders were collected from three sites on the Munro and Misema River Eskers in the Kirkland Lake kimberlite field and one site on the Sharp Lake esker in the Lake Timiskaming kimberlite field. The boulders were processed for heavy-mineral concentrates from which grains of Mg-ilmenite, chromite, garnet, clinopyroxene and olivine were picked, counted and analyzed by electron microprobe. Based on relative abundances and composition of these mineral phases, the boulders could be assigned to six mineralogically different groups, five for the Kirkland Lake area and one for the Lake Timiskaming area. Their indicator mineral composition and abundances are compared to existing data for known kimberlites in both the Kirkland Lake and Lake Timiskaming areas. Six boulders from the Munro Esker form a compositionally homogeneous group (I) in which the Mg-ilmenite population is very similar to that of the A1 kimberlite, located 7–12 km N (up-ice), directly adjacent to the Munro esker in the Kirkland Lake kimberlite field. U–Pb perovskite ages of three of the group I boulders overlap with that of the A1 kimberlite. Three other boulders recovered from the same localities in the Munro Esker also show some broad similarities in Mg-ilmenite composition and age to the A1 kimberlite. However, they are sufficiently different in mineral abundances and composition from each other and from the A1 kimberlite to assign them to different groups (II–IV). Their sources could be different phases of the same kimberlite or—more likely—three different, hitherto unknown kimberlites up-ice of the sample localities along the Munro Esker in the Kirkland Lake kimberlite field. A single boulder from the Misema River esker, Kirkland Lake, has mineral compositions that do not match any of the known kimberlites from the Kirkland Lake field. This suggests another unknown kimberlite exists in the area up-ice of the Larder Lake pit along the Misema River esker. Six boulders from the Sharp Lake esker, within the Lake Timiskaming field, form a homogeneous group with distinct mineral compositions unmatched by any of the known kimberlites in the Lake Timiskaming field. U–Pb perovskite age determinations on two of these boulders support this notion. These boulders are likely derived from an unknown kimberlite source up-ice from the Seed kimberlite, 4 km NW of the Sharp Lake pit, since indicator minerals with identical compositions to those of the Sharp Lake boulders have been found in till samples collected down-ice from Seed. Based on abundance and composition of indicator minerals, most importantly Mg-ilmenite, and supported by U–Pb age dating of perovskite, we conclude that the sources of 10 of the 16 boulders must be several hitherto unknown kimberlite bodies in the Kirkland Lake and Lake Timiskaming kimberlite fields.     

Uranium and copper exploration by nearshore lake sediment geochemistry, Kaipokok region of Labrador

Uranium and copper concentrations were determined on 184 sediment samples collected systematically arount the periphery of 24 lakes in the Kaipokok region of Labrador. The results allowed us to define several zones across glacial drift and lake-covered terrain which are enriched in these elements and which warrant further exploration. Some zones are extensions of known U and Cu mineralization, but others had not previously been found.This survey demonstrates that systematic nearshore lake sediment sampling and geochemical analysis is an informative method of mineral exploration which can be used as a follow-up to reconnaissance level sampling.     

The geochemistry,geochronology and paleomagnetism of dikes and sills associated with the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift near Thunder Bay,Ontario, Canada

The Midcontinent Rift (MCR) of North America comprises a series of basaltic sheets, flows and intrusive rocks emplaced in the Lake Superior region during the Mesoproterozoic. The mafic rocks preserved on the northern flank of Lake Superior represent the older portions of the rift sequence and offer insights into the early development of the rift. New geochronological, geochemical and paleomagnetic data are presented for the dikes and sills located in and south of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Three sill suites are recognized within the study area; an earlier, spatially restricted ultramafic unit termed the Riverdale sill, the predominant Logan sills and Nipigon sills in the north of the study area. In addition three dike sets are recognized, the north-east trending Pigeon River swarm, the north-west trending Cloud River dikes and the Mt. Mollie dike. The geochemical data demonstrate that the majority of sills south of Thunder Bay are of Logan affinity and distinct from those of broadly similar age in the Nipigon Embayment to the north. The Pigeon River dikes that intrude the sills are geochemically coherent but distinct from the Logan sills and could not be feeders to the sills. The new age of 1109.2 ± 4.2 Ma for the Cloud River dike and its R polarity are consistent with published magnetostratigraphy. The Mt. Mollie dike age (1109.3 ± 6.3 Ma) indicates that it is not coeval with the spatially associated Crystal Lake gabbro as previously thought. The complexity of the dike and sill suites on the northern flank of suggests that the early phases of rifting occurred in distinct and changing stress fields prior to the main extensional rifting preserved in younger rocks to the south. The geochemistry and geochronology of the intrusions suggest a long-lived and complex magmatic history for the Midcontinent Rift.     

The contribution of rain-on-snow events to annual NO3-N export from a forested catchment in south-central Ontario,Canada

The contribution of rain-on-snow (ROS) events to NO₃-N levels in stream water has received relatively little research attention. However, individual ROS events during January and February contributed up to 40% of annual NO₃-N export from a forested catchment in south-central Ontario between 1980 and 2000, but comprised less than 10% of annual precipitation. Nitrate-N concentrations in stream water increased rapidly following ROS events, and were similar to the concentrations in incident rainfall and the accumulated snow pack, likely due to limited contact of runoff with mineral soil under snow cover and low winter biological activity. Increased NO₃-N associated with ROS events resulted in substantial depressions in stream pH and alkalinity, which may delay the biological recovery from acidification. The contribution of ROS events to annual or winter NO₃-N export has been generally greater in recent years, although there is a considerable year-to-year variation. As a result, ROS events contribute to inter-annual variability in stream NO₃-N concentrations and will have a strong effect on apparent temporal trends. The contribution of ROS events to annual NO₃-N export should be considered when assessing surface water recovery from acidification and the N-status of forests, particularly if climate change projections for winter warming result in a greater proportion of winter precipitation occurring as rain.     

Mineralogy and Petrology of Nepheline Syenites from the Coldwell Alkaline Complex, Ontario, Canada

Nepheline natrolite syenites of Center 2 of the Coldwell alkalinecomplex exhibit rare wispy mafic-rich modal layering, extensivexenolith-rich zones and a wide variety of textural types, thelatter resulting from the imposition of high temperature shearingand recrystallization on consolidated syenite. The texturesdeveloped range from allotriomorphic granular to porphyroclasticto mosaic granulob-lastic. The nepheline syenites are pyroxene-poor.Pyroxenes occur most commonly as corroded diopside to diopsidichedenbergite cores surrounded by amphibole and less commonlyas acmitic hedenbergite overgrowths upon cores of iron-richamphiboles. Amphiboles are the dominant mafic phase and rangefrom magnesian hastingsitic hornblende to hastingsite to hastingsitichornblende to ferroedentic hornblende. Nephelines contain excesssilica and have not equilibrated to compositions characteristicof low temperatures. Feldspars lack microcline twinning andperthites and have undergone extensive ion exchange at highsub-solidus temperatutes with sodium-rich fluids. Formationof late stage primary and replacement natrolite, muscovite andthomsonite is characteristic. The nepheline syenites are consideredto be a part of a cycle of continental rift magmatism and tohave been emplaced by cauldron subsidence as a hot hydrous magma.The rocks did not undergo long term subsolidus re-equilibrationas the high temperature mineral assemblage has been preservedby uplift during post-intrusive regional block faulting. Thenepheline syenites were probably dervied by extensive fractionalcrystallization of alkali basaltic magmas.     

Seasonal variations in pore water and sediment geochemistry of littoral lake sediments (Asylum Lake, MI, USA)

Background  

Seasonal changes in pore water and sediment redox geochemistry have been observed in many near-surface sediments. Such changes have the potential to strongly influence trace metal distribution and thus create seasonal fluctuations in metal mobility and bioavailability.     

Mafic Mineralogy of Ferroaugite Syenite from the Coldwell Alkaline Complex, Ontario, Canada

A 1500 m thick sheet-like body of ferroaugite syenite is divisiblemineralogically into an upper and lower series of syenites.The lower syenites are characterized by well developed igneouslayering defined by mafic cumulus minerals. The syenites aresaturated to oversaturated and contain as cumulus phases alkalifeldspar, olivine (Fa_83–93), ferroaugite (Di₅₀Hd₄₅Ac₅–Di₅Hd₉₀Ac₅)and ilmeno-magnetite. Amphiboles which crystallized from theintercumulus liquid range in composition from ferrohastingsitichornblende to ferroedenitic hornblende to ferroactinolitic edenite.The upper series are coarse grained cumulates with poorly definedlayering and abundant patch pegmatites. Cumulus phases are alkalifeldspar, olivine (Fa₉₃), and acmitic-hedenbergite (Di₅Hd₅₀Ac₅–Ac₅₀Hd₅₀).Intercumulus liquids are peralkaline and crystallized to aenigmatiteand amphiboles which range in composition from ferrorichteritickatophorite to ferrorichterite, Patch pegmatites are peralkalinerocks composed of ferrorichterite, ferroactinolite, alkali feldspar,aenigmatite, quartz and zircon. Extreme differentiation of ferroaugitesyenite magma generates residua which are ironrich, oversaturatedand peralkaline. Initial and final temperatures of crystallizationare estimated from mineral stability data to be 800–900°C to 500–550 °C respectively. Thermodynamic dataand mineral compositions indicate that during crystallizationthe oxygen fugacity of the magma decreased from approximately10^–15 to 10^–23–10^–24 bars. Ferroaugitesyenite pyroxene compositional trends are similar to those ofundersaturated peralkaline syenites (llimaussaq) and demonstratethat acmite enrichment trends are independent of silica activityand take place under decreasing oxygen fugacities.     

Late quaternary stratigraphy and geochemistry of the R47 section,Rouge River Basin,south-central Ontario,Canada: Correlation with Scarborough Bluffs

Quaternary glacial diamictons in section R47, overlying Ordovician shale in the Rouge River Basin of south-central Ontario, are considered to be representative of older and younger Wisconsinan glacial diamictons in the field area. Field characteristics, clast composition, mineralogy, particle size and geochemistry permit delineation of two units within the sequence and subdivision of deposits that correlate with Sunnybrook and Halton diamictons of Wisconsinan age. No Wisconsinan interstadial deposits are present in the section; however, outwash sandy gravel capping the Halton diamicton was probably emplaced by a high-energy stream draining into Lake Iroquois just prior to the incision of the Rouge Valley in the later Wisconsinan (ca. 11 000-12 000 yr BP). A buried palaeosol, which developed in this sandy gravel and in overlying aeolian sediment, shows partial leaching of carbonates and a slight increase of clay in the palaeosol solum. The main clay-mineral transformations in the buried palaeosol appear to involve the degradation of illite and illite-smectite accompanied by the production of vermiculite and minor amounts of chlorite. The ground soil capping the buried palaeosol is formed in colluvium emplaced 200 ± 80 yr BP following a local forest fire; the ground soil Ahk horizon gives an age of 4000 yr in the future, probably as a result of nuclear bomb testing effects on modern radiocarbon. The presence of an A/C profile in the ground soil system, although thin, indicates that surface soils may form rapidly. The geochemistry of the two Wisconsinan diamictons shows similar calcite and SiO₂-corrected mean element concentrations, with slightly elevated levels of Ca, Sr, Hf and Lu in the younger deposit. Both diamictons are geochemically quite different from the shale bedrock in the area, indicating that the bulk of transported sediment came from outside the area.     

Anthropogenic impact on sediment composition and geochemistry in vertical overbank profiles of river alluvium from Belgium and Luxembourg

The geochemical study of alluvial sediments allows to reconstruct pollution through time. Geochemical and sedimentological variations recorded in 40 vertical overbank sediment profiles from Belgium and Luxembourg can be classified in three dominant pattern types:• type 1 profiles with dominantly non-anthropogenically influenced geochemical distribution patterns. These profiles are devoid of anthropogenic particles such as charcoal, plastic, brick and slag fragments, with the exception, in some cases, of their uppermost parts. Background concentrations thus are displayed throughout the profile (subtype 1A). However, in this group, profiles displaying anomalous values caused by the presence of heavy minerals (subtype 1B) or by base metal mineralisations in the catchment (subtype 1C) also occur;• type 2 profiles displaying clear evidence of anthropogenic influences. Most of these profiles display a gradual increase in heavy metal content in their upper part, with values doubling or tripling (subtype 2A). However, other profiles display a dramatic increase in pollution-related elements caused by past or present-day heavy industrial activities in the catchment (subtype 2B). Here also the sedimentological patterns reflect the influence of the industrial activities;• type 3 profiles contain features related to pedogenetic translocations of mobile elements. Apart from classical pedogenetic features such as illuviation/eluviation, the mobility of As and Cd is of particular importance. From a sedimentological point of view, these profiles do not necessarily differ from type 1 or 2 profiles.It should be noted that in some profiles, pattern types can be superimposed. Type 2B profiles are of particular environmental concern, because the potential release of heavy metals may have consequences for agricultural activities or groundwater contamination in the catchment. Furthermore, reworking of polluted sediments temporarily stored in the alluvial plain can also have negative effects on the ecosystem.