Age determination of intermoraine areas, Austerdalen, southern Norway

This paper is concerned with the size variation of thalli of the lichen Rhizocarpon geographicum agg. on intermoraine surfaces in the proglacial valley of Austerdalen, southern Norway, and with the use of thallus dimensions for both relative and absolute dating of intermoraine deposits. Measurements of the five largest lichens in 200 m² search areas at 255 sites show significant cross-valley and down-valley variations, with the smallest thalli located towards the centre of the valley and at up-valley sites. This variation has been examined in greater detail by dividing the intermoraine areas into twelve morphological zones, for which geomorphological and stratigraphical relations enable the construction of a relative time sequence of formation. This relative time sequence was then found to he confirmed by mean values of measurements of the largest lichen thalli in 100 m square quadrats within each morphological zone. This approach has allowed not only the relative age of morainic and intermorainic deposits to he established from geomorphological evidence but also, using tentative dates for the moraines, the construction of a chronology of moraine and intermoraine depositional events.     

Geophysical lineaments of Western Ghats and adjoining coastal areas of central Kerala,southern India and their temporal development

A family of geophysical lineaments have been identified in ~15,000 km~2 in central Kerala between9 30'N to 10 45'N and 76 00'E to 77°30′E,integrating geophysical data with geological and geomorphological features. The characteristics of these lineaments in the magnetic and gravity fields and their derivatives have been analysed. The evolution of the lineaments has been traced to the temporal phases of global evolution of the region. A group of these faults have formed by reactivation of the deep-seated distensional fractures associated with and accompanying dyke emplacements during the episodic breakup of Gondwana at ~90 and 65 Ma under distinctive mantle thermal regimes. It is possible that reactivation of these distensional faults may have started during the cooling interval of time between the two distensions in the 90 and 65 Ma and post 65 Ma periods and later in the Cenozoic, when the lineaments were enlarged to their present dimension, possibly under the influence of forces that led to the uplift of the western Ghats. These may extend down to the crust-mantle interface. A cluster of youngergeophysical lineaments has been generated by reactivation along the weak planes of transformation of the charnockitic rocks of the Precambrian. They seem to have a strike-slip character. They are devoid of any dyke association and were formed on a cold crust. They may be confined to the upper-middle crust.They were generated in the high intensity intra-plate palaeo-stress fields of the triple forces arising from(1) the back-thrust from the Himalayan Collision;(2) the impact of epeirogenic forces and related isostatic uplift of the Western Ghats and(3) the flexural isostatic uplifts due to surface loads of late Mesozoic basaltic lavas and Cenozoic sedimentation in the coastal rifted basins in late Cenozoic, probably in the time span of 20 Ma to the present, when the palaeostress fields were most intense.     

Esker formation and glacier dynamics in eastern Skane and adjacent areas, southern Sweden

Eskers were investigated in an area with overall terrestrial deglaciation - the eastern part of the province of Skåne and adjacent areas in southern Sweden. On the basis of the proposed model of esker formation, the dynamics of the receding Weichselian Ice Sheet are discussed. The deglaciation was characterized by the gradual retreat of an active ice sheet, bordered by a zone of thin, stagnant ice. For the most part, the ice sheet was probably at the pressure melting point in a marginal zone, where it was penetrated by surface meltwater which constituted most of the subglacially flowing meltwater. The esker sediments, consisting of glaciofluvially reworked basal debris and basal till, accumulated progressively in an up-glacier direction. Deposition took place close to the live ice boundary in the zone with stagnant ice that fringed the receding ice sheet. The time-transgressive formation of the eskers is reflected by repeated sediment sequences (morphosequences), i.e. sedimentary units composed of ridges that merge into extended hummocky deposits in a down-glacier direction. They represent the momentary deposition of stratified drift in the proximal portion of the zone with stagnant ice.     

Effects of fracture lineaments and in-situ rock stresses on groundwater flow in hard rocks: a case study from Sunnfjord, western Norway

Systematic field mapping of fracture lineaments observed on aerial photographs shows that almost all of these structures are positively correlated with zones of high macroscopic and mesoscopic fracture frequencies compared with the surroundings. The lineaments are subdivided into zones with different characteristics: (1) a central zone with fault rocks, high fracture frequency and connectivity but commonly with mineral sealed fractures, and (2) a damage zone divided into a proximal zone with a high fracture frequency of lineament parallel, non-mineralized and interconnected fractures, grading into a distal zone with lower fracture frequencies and which is transitional to the surrounding areas with general background fracturing. To examine the possible relations between lineament architecture and in-situ rock stress on groundwater flow, the geological fieldwork was followed up by in-situ stress measurements and test boreholes at selected sites. Geophysical well logging added valuable information about fracture distribution and fracture flow at depths. Based on the studies of in-situ stresses as well as the lineaments and associated fracture systems presented above, two working hypotheses for groundwater flow were formulated: (i) In areas with a general background fracturing and in the distal zone of lineaments, groundwater flow will mainly occur along fractures parallel with the largest in-situ rock stress, unless fractures are critically loaded or reactivated as shear fractures at angles around 30° to σ_H; (ii) In the influence area of lineaments, the largest potential for groundwater abstraction is in the proximal zone, where there is a high fracture frequency and connectivity with negligible fracture fillings. The testing of the two hypotheses does not give a clear and unequivocal answer in support of the two assumptions about groundwater flow in the study area. But most of the observed data are in agreement with the predictions from the models, and can be explained by the action of the present stress field on pre-existing fractures.     

Structure of terrestrial crust in southern Sakhalin and adjacent aquatoria

Recent deep seismic sounding and other data suggest presence of a deep rift which cuts across southern Sakhalin, Aniva Bay, La Perouse Strait, and Hokkaido Island, a suboceanic type of crust in the Sea of Okhotsk, and a continental one in Sakhalin. The density-velocities relationship determined here may account for the observed gravity anomalies as due primarily to variations in thickness of the crust (fig. 6), without resorting to other hypotheses.     

Magnetic anomalies of the Baikal rift zone and adjacent areas

The magnetic field of the Baikal rift zone differs both from that of adjacent territories and from oceanic rifts in its character and intensity. There is no strip-like structure of the field in Baikal. It is assumed that the thickness of the magnetic anomaly-generating layer in this region is small, due to a high thermal gradient in the crust. Basic intrusions are predicted at depths up to 18 km. There is evidence of instability in the geothermal field.     

Phanerozoic evolution of the basins of Northern Egypt and adjacent areas

The results of integrating geological well data and geophysical information from the subsurface of northern Egypt are presented in terms of basin dynamics. Recent biostratigraphic data from wells and scarce outcrops are shown to be critical to an understanding of syndepositional tectonics. Six tectonostratigraphic phases of basin evolution are recognized to span the Phanerozoic. These phases initially record the development of intracratonic subsidence, controlled by deep crustal strike-slip tectonics, as Nubian continental and Tethyan marine influences competed across the northern margin of Gondwanaland. Evidence is also presented for the formation of the present day continental margin to northern Egypt. After a phase of crustal stretching, oceanic rifting focused on the western margin of the Arabian Platform, propagating progressively westwards during the Early-Mid-Jurassic. Thereafter, the effects of passive subsidence on the continental margin were disturbed by discrete phases of intracratonic strike-slip, associated Syrian Arc folding, and the formation of deep basins in the opening Red Sea and Gulf of Suez. Three structural fabrics persisted throughout Phanerozoic basin evolution, the result of repeated extensional reactivation and inheritance from Pan-African basement.     

Vertical velocity of mantle flow of East Asia and adjacent areas

Based on the high-resolution body wave tomographic image and relevant geophysical data, we calculated the form and the vertical and tangential velocities of mantle flow. We obtained the pattern of mantle convection for East Asia and the West Pacific. Some important results and understandings are gained from the images of the vertical velocity of mantle flow for East Asia and the West Pacific. There is an upwelling plume beneath East Asia and West Pacific, which is the earth’s deep origin for the huge rift valley there. We have especially outlined the tectonic features of the South China Sea, which is of the “工” type in the upper mantle shield type in the middle and divergent in the lower; the Siberian clod downwelling dives from the surface to near Core and mantle bounary (CMB), which is convergent in the upper mantle and divergent in the lower mantle; the Tethyan subduction region, centered in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, is visible from 300 to 2 000 km, which is also convergent in the upper mantle and divergent in the lower mantle. The three regions of mantle convection beneath East Asia and the West Pacific are in accordance with the West Pacific, Ancient Asia and the Tethyan structure regions. The mantle upwelling originates from the core-mantle boundary and mostly occurs in the middle mantle and the lower part of the upper mantle. The velocities of the vertical mantle flow are about 1–4 cm per year and the tangential velocities are 1–10 cm per year. The mantle flow has an effect on controlling the movement of plates and the distributions of ocean ridges, subduction zones and collision zones. The mantle upwelling regions are clearly related with the locations of hotspots on the earth’s surface. Translated from Geology in China, 2006, 33(4): 896–905 [译自: 中国地质]     

Late proterozoic and Carboniferous ultramafic magmatism of carbonatitic affinity in southern Norway

Ultramafic dikes with carbonatitic affinities (“damtjernites”) in southern Norway were generated during two magmatic events separated by about 275 Ma. The older event is late Proterozoic and the younger is mid Carboniferous.

More than 50 satellitic damtjernite intrusions occur within a 1500 km² large region surrounding the Fen Central Complex. Phlogopite macrocrysts from 10 of these satellites yield a Rb---Sr isochron age of 578±24 Ma (2σ expanded errors). This demonstrates that the late Proterozoic carbonatitic magmatism centered at the Fen Central Complex occurred on a regional scale. This region is termed “the Fen Province”. The emplacement of the magmas in the Fen Province most likely occurred in connection with minor extensional tectonic activity on the Baltic platform during the drift-phase after the Proto-Atlantic opening.

Sr-isotopic data also show that a dike mineralogically and chemically similar to the Fen damtjernites was emplaced at 324±4 Ma (mid Carboniferous). This dike very likely dates the initiation of magmatism in the Oslo rift. Consequently very similar carbonate-bearing ultramafic magmas were generated within the south Norwegian mantle during the relatively minor Fen event and in the initial extensional period when the magma production in the Oslo rift was still low.     

鄂尔多斯盆地及周缘地区晚古生代沉积演化

基于笔者多年对鄂尔多斯盆地及周缘地区晚古生代研究成果,结合野外剖面实测、钻井资料分析、地层学与层序地层学、地球化学、年代学等研究结果,从岩性特征、地层厚度、地层接触关系、物源分析、沉积相类型多方面进行对比研究,认为鄂尔多斯盆地及周缘地区上古生界是华北地台的一部分,因此,其沉积充填及沉积演化研究必须置于晚古生代大华北盆地之中。在此研究基础上绘制了晚古生代各组鄂尔多斯盆地及周缘沉积相平面展布图,亮点是向东部和南部进行了扩张,并详述了晚古生代沉积演化过程,为该时期华北地台原始沉积面貌的恢复提供了新的依据。     

长江口及其邻近海域孔隙水地球化学特征

对长江口沉积物有机碳、总氮、总磷、Fe、Mn、AI及孔隙水和上覆水体中营养盐、Fe、Mn的含量进行了测试,结合早期成岩模型及地球化学热力学分析,探讨了在河口环境中影响孔隙水营养盐和Fe、Mn分布的主要因素,并对沉积物-水界面营养盐扩散通量进行了估算。结果表明,孔隙水中NH4^＋、NO3^-、PO3^4、H4SiO4和Fe、Mn的含量显著高于上覆水体。早期成岩过程是控制长江口沉积物孔隙水营养盐和Fe、Mn分布的主要因素。NH^4＋剖面暗示长江口近岸和远岸海域存在两类不同的生物地球化学过程。孔隙水Fe、Mn剖面暗示在河口环境中其是有机质降解的重要电子受体。在近岸海域MnO2可能是底部NH4^＋ -N移除的重要机制。长江口孔隙水中低磷酸盐与铁及沉积物中磷的形态有关。通量计算结果显示NH4^＋、NO3^-、PO4^3-、地SiO4、Fe和Mn向上覆水体扩散的通量分别为356—3074μmol／（m2·d）、-45．3～62．6μmol／（m2·d）、-0．3～1．7μmol／（m^2·d）、323—3172μmol／（m^2·d）、3．0～10．5μmol／（m^2·d）和35．7～439．5μmol／（m^2·d）。N、P、Si界面通量对上覆水体浮游生物所需营养盐的贡献分别为0．19％～1．65％、0．13％～0．14％和1．2％～12．2％,因此在考虑长江口区域浮游生物所需营养的来源时,沉积物-水界面营养盐扩散通量可以忽略。     

Petroleum source rocks of the Tarfaya Basin and adjacent areas, Morocco

This work characterizes the source rock potential of the Tarfaya Basin and enabled us to reconstruct its geochemical history. Outcrop samples covering different stratigraphic intervals, plus the northwestern part of the Zag/Tindouf Basin (Bas Draa area), were analyzed for total organic carbon (C_org) and total inorganic carbon contents and total sulfur content. Rock-Eval analysis and vitrinite reflectance measurements were performed on 56 samples chosen on the basis C_org content. A set of 45 samples were extracted and non-aromatic hydrocarbons were analyzed by way of gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Non-isothermal open system pyrolysis at different heating rates was applied to obtain kinetic parameters for modelling petroleum generation from four different source rocks.High quality petroleum source rocks with high C_org content and hydrogen index (HI) values were found for samples of Eocene, Coniacian, Turonian and Cenomanian age. Most samples were carbonate rich and organic/sulfur values were high to moderate. Various maturity parameters indicated immature or possibly early mature organic matter. Based on organic geochemical and petrological data, the organic matter is of marine/aquatic origin (Cenomanian) or a mixture of aquatic and terrigenous material (Eocene). The Early Cretaceous interval did not contain high quality source rocks, but indications of petroleum impregnation were found.     

The last glaciation of Germania Land and adjacent areas,northeast Greenland

A profile across the unglaciated coast of northeast Greenland at 77°N was studied with regard to the Quaternary stratigraphy and glacial history. The Germania Land peninsula is characterised by till-covered lower ground which contrasts sharply with the blockfields and extensive gelifluction deposits of its higher altitudes. Two glaciations are distinguished. The older one extended over the entire area and had its margin on the continental shelf. The younger one, of Late Weichselian age, reached the present coastline and several mountains and high plateaus on western Germania Land formed nunataks. The Late Weichselian glaciation was more extensive and occurred later on the Germania Land peninsula than on the coast further south. Radiocarbon dates suggest that the glacier margin rested to the east of the present coastline until ca. 10 000 yr BP. This correlates with the Late Weichselian Milne Land Stage, which is found as a late glacial readvance along the coast of East Greenland. A series of recessional moraines formed during the deglaciation were probably caused by glacier dynamics, as opposed to being of climatic origin.     

Albeluvisol development with time in loamy marine sediments of southern Norway

This paper reports a study on soil development in loamy marine sediments on both sides of the Oslofjord (Vestfold, Østfold). This region has been subject to steady glacio-isostatic uplift during the whole Holocene. Hence, land surface age continuously increases from the coast inland. Several sea level curves, based on radiocarbon datings, enable estimation of land surface age for all locations. Clay illuviation starts in less than 1650 years. E horizons become lighter with age, but their lower boundary stays around 40 cm for more than 10 000 years. Albeluvic tongues develop between 4600 and 6200 years. Initially, they form along intersections of cracks. As preferential flow and leaching along the cracks continues, the tongues increase in length and width, progressively consuming the prisms between the cracks in the upper Bt horizon. The Fe_d/Fe_t ratios (weighted means of the upper meter) show a clear linear increase with soil age and may be used for “pedo-dating”, i.e. for estimating the ages of non-dated land surfaces covered with similar sediments. In contrast, the logarithmic decrease of base saturation and pH, with rapid changes in the first time but only very slight changes between 2000 and 10 000 years, makes these parameters unsuitable for “pedo-dating”.     

Cenozoic tectonics and landform evolution in the Qilian Mountains and adjacent areas

ABSTRACT

The formation of the Qilian mountains and the evolution of adjacent basins were controlled by the uplift and northeastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau. In a field survey conducted on the main Cenozoic basin sediments in the Qilian Mountains and adjacent areas, fission track age data of apatite obtained previously were analyzed. Cenozoic tectonics and landform evolution in the area where the Qilian Mountains now stand and its response to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau were studied. In the Oligocene Epoch, the Tibetan Plateau was initially uplifted and extended northeastward, forming the Guide-Xining-Lanzhou-Linxia foreland basin on the northern margin of the western Qinling Mountains, and the foreland basin in the area where the Qilian Mountains now stand received widespread sediments. In the Miocene, influenced by the enhanced uplift and northeastward thrust of the Tibetan Plateau, a stage of intracontinental squeezing orogeny and foreland basin splitting began in the area where the Qilian Mountains now stand. In the Pliocene Epoch, the Qilian Mountains were continuously uplifted, the basins shrank, large lake basins disappeared gradually, and large-area red-clay-type aeolian sediments appeared. During the Quaternary Period, the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau accelerated, causing a rapid rise in the altitude of the Qilian Mountains. Global climate change occurred and mountain glaciers began to develop. Quaternary moraine deposits appeared for the first time in the area, and very thick loess sediments appeared in the Longzhong area, east of the area where the Qilian Mountains now stand, forming the famous Loess Plateau.     

Tectonics of the Scandian orogeny and the Western Gneiss Region in southern Norway

Two crust-forming events dominate the Precambrian history of the Western Gneiss Region (WGR) at about 1800–1600 Ma and 1550–1400 Ma. The influence of the Sveconorwegian orogeny (1200–900 Ma) is restricted to the region south of Moldefjord-Romsdalen. A series of anorthosites and related intrusives are present, possibly derived from the now-lost western margin of the Baltic craton that may have been emplaced in the WGR as an allochthonous unit before the Ordovician.The Caledonian development is split into two orogenic phases, the Finnmarkian (Cambrian — Early Ordovician) and the Scandian (Late Ordovician/Early Silurian — Devonian). The lower tectonic units west of the Trondheim Trough may be Finnmarkian nappes ; they were part of the lower plate during the Scandian continental collision. The Blåhö nappe is correlated with dismembered eclogite bodies along the coast. A regional change of nappe transport direction from 090 to 135 marks the initiation of an orogen-parallel sinistral shear component around 425 Ma. The change caused the development of a complex sinistral strike-slip system in the Trondheim region consisting of the Möre-Tröndelag Fault Zone and the Gränse contact. The latter cut the crust underneath the already emplaced Trondheim Nappe Complex, thus triggering the intrusion of the Fongen-Hyllingen igneous complex, and initiating subsidence of the Trondheim Trough, and was subsequently turned from a strike-slip zone into an extensional fault. Minor southward transport of the Trondheim Nappe Complex rejuvenated some thrusts between the Lower and the Middle Allochthon. A seismic reflector underneath the WGR is interpreted to be a blind thrust which subcrops into the Faltungsgraben. During Middle Devonian orogenic collapse, detachment faulting brought higher units, now eroded elsewhere, down to the present outcrop level, such as the Bergen and Dalsfjord nappe and the Old Red basins.     

A comparison of methods of strain determination in rocks from southwest Dyfed (Pembrokeshire) and adjacent areas

A variety of methods devised in the last twelve years for measuring two-dimensional strain ratios have been applied to the same deformed oolitic limestone from southwest Dyfed. Their relative merits are discussed. A graphical method for studying relative locations of marker objects is described and its application to a variety of rocks illustrated. It is shown to have theoretical and practical advantages, while giving values of two-dimensional strain ratios comparable with those of other methods.     

A reconnaissance study of the distribution of Ba, Nb, Y, and Zr in some Jotun kindred gneisses from Central Jotunheimen, southern Norway

Abstract The Bergen-Jotun kindred rocks of this study, the Storådalen Complex (SCX), Svartdalen Gneiss (SG) and Mjølkedøla Purple Gabbro (MPG), have been shown to be a co-magmatic series with calc-alkaline affinities. The analyses of Ba, Nb, Y, and Zr presented here show no variation in these elements between the three rock units and are consistent with the calc-alkaline character of the rocks. The lithophile elements Ba, K, and Sr are enriched relative to MORB and the high field strength elements Nb, Y, and Zr are depleted relative to MORB, Zr especially so.
The SCX contains rocks with low (>30) differentiation indices which are interpreted as plagioclase + pyroxene ± olivine ± amphibole cumulates. The remainder of the SCX, together with the MPG and SG, is regarded as the congealed liquid in equilibrium with these cumulates. The distribution of trace elements between these two components of the SCX can be adequately modelled using a Rayleigh fractionation process, measured 'liquid'compositions, and calculated bulk distribution coefficients. It is thus concluded that the trace element geochemistry of the rocks of this study is consistent with subduction-related, mantle-derived magmas that fractionate within a continental or mature island arc environment. Subsequent high-grade metamorphism and deformation of Sveconorwegian age have been essentially isochemical.